4 reasons Texas football can pull off the shocking upset of Alabama

The most highly anticipated week of the non-conference schedule for both the Texas football program and the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide has arrived. Following the dominating win of the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in the regular season opener at home on Sep. 3 by the final score of 52-10, Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian should be riding a bit of a high this week.

Yet, head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide should also have plenty of confidence heading into this high-stakes meeting with Sark and the Longhorns at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Sep. 10. The Utah State Aggies took a drubbing from Alabama in Tuscaloosa this weekend, in a game that ended with a score of 55-0.

This was a pretty good Utah State team that Alabama just rolled over.

Texas will have to come into this game with some real grit and confidence if they want any shot at pulling off the upset of an Alabama team that is far and away the National Championship favorite this season. Both the betting odds for this game and the ESPN Football Power Index have moved in Alabama’s favor in the last 24 hours alone.

How Bijan Robinson and Texas football can put Alabama on upset alert in Week 2

Originally, Alabama was given a little more than a 77 percent chance to beat Texas in Austin next weekend in the FPI. But the ESPN FPI as of the late morning of Sep. 5 now gives Alabama nearly an 82 percent chance to beat Texas.

As much as it seems unlikely, there is still a way that the Longhorns could pull off the upset of the Crimson Tide next weekend. Texas is roughly a 20-point underdog, not a 50-point underdog.

Here’s a look at four reasons why the Longhorns could pull off the shocking upset of Alabama on Sep. 10.