No. 11 Texas vs. No. 4 Alabama odds: Quinn Ewers in great spot for Heisman Trophy by upsetting Tide
Without question the marquee matchup around the college football nation in Week 2 is No. 11 Texas at No. 4 Alabama on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Heisman Trophy odds of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers actually got longer, from +1200 to +2000 at one major book, after his performance in the season-opening win over Rice. However, three of the past five starting QBs to lead a victory at Alabama have won the Heisman. The Tide are currently -7 with a total of 55.
#ThisIsTexas didn’t look great against Rice on Saturday, but that was to be expected with the Horns perhaps looking past the Owls to this game. They won 37-10 with Ewers completing 19 of 30 for 260 yards, three TDs and no picks. He also rushed for a score. Yet his Heisman odds got longer? Touted freshman QB Arch Manning didn’t play at all and presumably won’t here. Maalik Murphy did play vs. Rice, so apparently he’s the true No. 2.
Those three QBs mentioned above who used a win at Alabama to catapult themselves to the Heisman Trophy were Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2010, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel in 2012 and LSU’s Joe Burrow in 2020. Those were all also SEC games late in the year and this obviously is not.
Last year in Austin, #HookEm probably should have beaten Alabama but lost on a field goal in the final seconds, 20-19. Ewers left late in the first quarter with a sprained clavicle (dirty hit) and missed the next three games. The Tide have won back-to-back meetings in the series after starting 0-7-1 vs. Texas. The Horns’ 7-2-1 all-time mark vs. Alabama is the best of any school the Tide have faced at least five times.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe got a huge Heisman boost to +2000 following his stellar Week 1 performance in a 56-7 rout of Middle Tennessee. Milroe went 13-of-18 passing for 194 yards and three scores to go with his 48 yards rushing and two touchdowns and was named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week in his second career start.
The #RollTide have now won 43 straight non-conference home games (all by at least 14 points) and 21 straight at home overall, the longest active FBS streak.
They might be a bit thin defensively as starting cornerbacks Malachi Moore and Jaylen Key are both considered day-to-day. Moore, a preseason All-SEC pick, and Key, an honorable mention All-Conference USA pick at UAB in 2022, started the opener against Middle Tennessee and left with injuries.