Can the Crimson Tide and Tigers keep pace in this new era of college football?
Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond reacts after catching a touchdown pass in the final minute on a fourth-and-long play to secure a win over Auburn during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov.
25, 2023, in Auburn, Ala. A reporter wanted to know about the Longhorns’ red-zone offense. What has Sarkisian seen at practice that makes him think Texas will be better at scoring touchdowns this season?Enter your email to subscribe to Joe’s weekly newsletter, Sports Happy Hour: After losing to Washington in the College Football Playoff, Texas went to work buying some of the best skill players in the country. The total number of career touchdowns that transferred to Texas this offseason: 38.Three receivers, a tight end and a running back from Texas’ 2023 team are now in the NFL. To replace those players, Texas went shopping. They took Alabama’s Iron Bowl hero and best tight end , pilfered Oregon State’s top receiver , robbed Houston of its touchdown machine and, just for kicks, brought in SMU’s veteran running .Sarkisian answered the question by saying as long as his players don’t stub their toes, then they should be fine.“When you analyze it, we have to do a better job of not stubbing our own toe in the red area,” Sarkisian said. Against Washington, Texas reached the red zone six times. Four of those trips ended in touchdowns. Texas still lost to Washington 37-31. Alabama then hired Washington’s coach to replace Nick Saban and Texas lured away Alabama’s best receiver with a Lambo. That’s your college football offseason in a nutshell. College football is back and Texas, along with rival Oklahoma, are now members of the SEC. To make things even crazier, schools can now pay players through third-party slush funds. I’m not going to call it dirty, but it sure isn’t clean. We’ve entered the era of college football that will be defined by desperate money, and picking apart a Saban-less Alabama is everyone’s goal. There were 73 billionaires in Texas in 2023, 97 in Florida, 18 in Georgia, eight in Oklahoma … and only one in Alabama.Goodman: Alabama's secret weapon for the Iron Bowl is a family tradition“We should always be hovering around 10 draft picks,” Sarkisian said. “Some years it might be plus or minus two or three.” That was always Saban’s playbook. Alabama’s former coach preferred the college game to the NFL because he knew he could recruit more future first-round draft picks than anyone else. All things being equal, there’s no out-scheming talent.“Naturally, there are certain guys that the ball finds them,” Sarkisian said. “I used to say this a lot about DeVonta Smith when we had him . The ball would find DeVonta. It wasn’t like we had to design plays a lot of the times. “There are other players that you have to design plays for them to make sure they get their touch. And that, every year, really takes on a life of its own. That’s something we’re going to have to monitor early in the season. Who does the ball find naturally, and who do you need to design plays for during games to make sure they get their touches?” If that’s the biggest problem facing Texas going into Saturday’s season opener against Colorado State, then the rest of the SEC might be in trouble.While Alabama and Auburn play tune-ups on Saturday, Texas A&M begins its season with the country’s marquee game of the weekend. ESPN College GameDay is even heading to College Station, Texas, for Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame. Not bad considering Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher in the offseason and hired former Duke coach Mike Elko.Elko impressed last season with his ability to lead Duke to a bowl game. The quarterback for the Blue Devils was Riley Leonard. Leonard is now the quarterback of Notre Dame and his first game with the Fighting Irish is against his old coach at Texas A&M. “It’s interesting and weird and not something I really want to do,” Elko said, “but at the end of the day it’s just kind of part of the game.” Don’t forget about Notre Dame in this pay-for-play era. Is it easier to transfer to Notre Dame as a football player than qualify as an incoming freshman? It’s something to consider. “I think one of the unique things about openers is you’re watching film from about eight different colleges as you get ready for this offense,” Elko said about the Irish. “You got Duke film on the there, you got FIU film on there, you got Clemson film on there, you got Notre Dame film, you got LSU film.”Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind forI happen to think Alabama should leave the SEC and join the ACC. From a purest Bama fan standpoint, if the Capstone is all about winning championships as opposed to the mediocrity standard of maintaining traditional rivalries, then why not? I’m all about guaranteeing a better shot in the playoffs each year where more likely than not, we’re resting and not injuring our key players after halftime during the season.“We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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