Texas opens as a 19.5-point underdog against No. 1 Alabama

Big Noon Saturday. College GameDay.

The eyes of the college football world will be on the Forty Acres next Saturday when the Texas Longhorns host the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide as Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian faces off against his old boss Nick Saban.

On Sunday, the Longhorns opened as 19.5-point underdogs against the Crimson Tide, according to DraftKings*, an illustration of just how tough the challenge will be for Texas coming off a dominating 52-10 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

The game will also be historic, as Texas has hosted the nation’s top-ranked team on only two other occasions — in 1950, when SMU came to town and in 2006 when Ohio State visited the Forty Acres.

Texas is 7-1-1 all-time against the Crimson Tide, but the one loss is the biggest of them all. The teams last met in 2010 for the BSC National Championship game, which seemingly sent both teams on different trajectories.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.