Texas is likely the football team Alabama has had the least noteworthy history with out of all the teams it has played throughout the years.
On Saturday in Austin against the Longhorns, the top-ranked Crimson Tide is a three-touchdown favorite and is predicted to double its overall series win total. Including regular-season losses against Texas in 1902, 1915, and 1922 in which the Longhorns outscored the Crimson Tide by a total score of 49-10, Alabama is just 1-7-1 against Texas.
But the postseason has been where Alabama and Texas have played the majority of their games. Following is a summary of those six meetings:
Alabama: 7; Texas: 27 (1948 Sugar Bowl)
Harry Gilmer of Alabama and Bobby Layne of Texas, who had tied for fifth place in the Heisman Trophy voting, were to face off in a game that ended in a rout for Layne’s Longhorns in New Orleans. The No. 6-ranked Red Drew’s Crimson Tide arrived at 8-2 and on a seven-game winning streak. A one-point loss to SMU was all that stood between Blair Cherry’s 9-1 and No. 5 rated Longhorns and the Southwest Conference title. Texas took an early lead in the Sugar Bowl as Layne connected with Ralph Blount for a 99-yard touchdown. The Longhorns defeated the Crimson Tide 21-0 in the second half after Gilmer’s 8-yard pass to Ed White tied the score at 7-7 at the break. Texas scored thanks to Layne’s 1-yard run, a touchdown-scoring interception return, and a fumble recovery in the end zone. After passing for 195 yards and rushing for 34, Layne was voted the game’s MVP. Gilmer was intercepted twice and only had 40 yards of total offense.
Texas 3, Alabama 3, (1960 Bluebonnet Bowl)
Between 1959 and 1987, Houston hosted 29 Bluebonnet Bowl games, initially at Rice Stadium and then at the Astrodome. On a clear and crisp mid-December day, Alabama and Texas faced off in the second round, but despite the great conditions, there was no offensive shootout. Prior to its matchup with Darrell Royal’s Longhorns, Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Crimson Tide held a No. 9 ranking and an 8-1-1 record (with the lone defeat coming at Tennessee). Texas finished 7-3, but defeats to SMU and Arkansas in the middle of October prevented it from competing for the SWC championship. Both teams kicked field goals in the second half; Alabama kicked one from 30 yards out in the third quarter and Texas from 20 yards out in the fourth. The game was 0-0 at the half. On the game’s final play, the Crimson Tide was penalized for pass interference, giving the Longhorns a chance to win. Petty, though, missed from 25 yards out, and the score remained tied. Ten years later, Alabama faced Oklahoma in the Bluebonnet Bowl, and coincidentally, the game likewise ended in a tie (24-24 that time).
Texas 21, Alabama 17 (1965 Orange Bowl)
Four years after that tie in the Bluebonnet Bowl, Bryant and Royal faced off once more, this time in Miami, with their programs already having established themselves as perennial national title contenders. Actually, Alabama’s 10-0 record had already earned it the title of 1964’s national champions. Texas was 9-1 and rated No. 5, with its sole loss coming by one point to Arkansas in the middle of October. The first Orange Bowl to be played at night lived up to the expectations, with Texas leading 21-7 at halftime thanks to touchdowns of 79 and 69 yards before Alabama came back in the second half behind a hobbled Joe Namath. The Crimson Tide player suffered a devastating knee injury in the middle of the season, but he came back in the final months to help his team defeat Georgia Tech and Auburn. Namath made two touchdown passes against Texas to narrow the Longhorns’ advantage to 21-14. Alabama subsequently scored on a field goal by David Ray to make the score a four-point game. For what it’s worth, Namath and many of his teammates have long insisted that they scored on the play. Namath drove the Crimson Tide inside the Longhorns’ 5-yard line in the closing seconds but was stopped just short of the goal line on a fourth-down sneak try to preserve the Texas victory. Namath, who threw for 255 yards despite the team’s defeat, was named the game’s MVP, and the next day he signed with the New York Jets of the American Football League for a then-record $400,000 signing bonus.
Bryce Young talks all things Texas ahead of Saturday's trip to Austin
"We know it's going to be a very hostile environment. Obviously, it's going to be hot. Us going into circumstances like that, I think it's a great opportunity for us."https://t.co/O1GlcSkT4S pic.twitter.com/NQc5OeZUCx
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 6, 2022
Texas 17, Alabama 13, and (1973 Cotton Bowl)
The Crimson Tide’s defeat to Auburn in the infamous “Punt Bama Punt” Iron Bowl game severely damaged Alabama’s chances of winning the national championship in 1972, and a contentious loss to No. 7 Texas in Dallas effectively ruined those chances. The outcome of the game was likely to determine the title anyhow because No. 1 USC and No. 3 Ohio State played in the Rose Bowl on the same day. The Longhorns lost to their bitter rival Oklahoma 27-0; Oklahoma was ranked No. 2 when the teams met in the Sugar Bowl. In the Cotton Bowl, No. 4 Alabama stormed out to an early lead, leading 13-3 at the break thanks to Wilbur Jackson’s touchdown run of 31 yards and two field goals. Alan Lowry, the Texas quarterback who threw two interceptions in the first half, drew the Longhorns within 13-10 with a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and sealed the victory with a 31-yard rush on a bootleg play with 4:22 left in the game. The second touchdown is still up for debate because Lowry almost stepped out of bounds at the 10-yard line. After then, Alabama advanced to the Texas 43-yard line before losing the ball due to a turnover. Bryant and Royal would meet one more time when Royal resigned at the conclusion of the 1976 campaign. When Bryant was a student at Texas A&M, Royal was 3-0-1 against him.
Alabama 12, Texas 14 (1982 Cotton Bowl)
Eight years after the contentious 1973 Cotton Bowl, the Crimson Tide and Longhorns faced off against one another in Dallas as Top 5 teams. After losing to inferior Georgia Tech early in the season and tying Southern Miss in the middle of the season, SEC champion Alabama was 9-1-1 and ranked No. 3. When No. 1 Clemson won the Orange Bowl that evening, Alabama’s limited chances of winning the national championship were rendered meaningless. Alabama also attempted to set a record by winning its seventh straight bowl game. The No. 7 Texas team was also 9-1-1, but it was eliminated from title contention after a humiliating loss to Arkansas and a tie with Houston. Bryant’s final great Alabama squad lost by a razor-thin margin to the Longhorns, now led by Fred Akers. The majority of the action occurred in the fourth quarter, which Alabama entered led 7-0 thanks to a touchdown throw from Walter Lewis to Jesse Bendross (filling in for an injured Alan Gray). With 10:38 remaining, the Crimson Tide increased its advantage to 10-0 thanks to a short Peter Kim field goal, but the Longhorns responded with back-to-back touchdown runs of 30 and 8 yards by Terry Orr to take a 14-10 lead with 2:05 remaining. Joey Jones of Alabama then successfully returned the subsequent kickoff 61 yards to the Texas 38-yard line, but the following play, Lewis was intercepted by William Graham at the Longhorns’ 1. As the final seconds of the game ticked off the clock, Alabama was unable to move into field-goal range and Texas took advantage of an intentional safety to make it a two-point game.
.Texas 21, Alabama 37 (2010 BCS National Championship Game)
Before the Crimson Tide and Longhorns played each other again, nearly 30 years had passed and both programs had undergone a number of coaching changes. This time, the indisputable BCS national championship was decided at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas, both of which were 13-0. Mack Brown’s Longhorns were vying for their second crown in five years, while Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide was vying for its first in 17 years. Texas jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but by that point, Colt McCoy, its ace quarterback, had already suffered a shoulder injury. The biggest play was defensive lineman Marcell Dareus’ 28-yard interception return for a touchdown as Alabama seized the lead with 24 points in the second quarter. Texas’s backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert, a freshman, brought the score to 24-21, but Alabama’s defense once again made a crucial play. Gilbert lost the ball after being blindsided by Crimson Tide defender Eryk Anders with 3:04 left in the game, which Courtney Upshaw recovered at the 3-yard line. Soon after, Mark Ingram sprinted into the end zone to give Alabama a 31-21 lead. With 47 seconds left, Trent Richardson scored a touchdown and the Crimson Tide had a 16-point lead after their fifth takeaway of the contest, which came on a Javier Arenas interception. In hindsight, the game signaled the start of different paths for Texas and Alabama. While the Longhorns have hardly been nationally relevant since and are on their third head coach since Brown was forced out at the end of the 2013 season, Saban and the Crimson Tide won their first of six championships over the course of the following 12 years.
FAQs
Alabama is the Million Dollar Band, but why?
After the 1922 football game versus Georgia Tech, “Champ” Pickens gave the group the moniker “Million Dollar Band.” Despite conflicting tales, it is said that the band had to ask local companies for money in order to attend the game. They succeeded in raising enough cash to take a tourist sleeper to the game.
How many members makeup Million Dollar Band from Alabama?
400 people
For more than a century, the Million Dollar Band has performed at Crimson Tide athletic events and around campus. The Color Guard and the Crimsonettes are among the bands with more than 400 current members. The UA’s biggest student organization is this one.
What is the Million Dollar Band’s admissions process?
How can I sign up? A: Go to the website’s MILLION DOLLAR BAND area! A letter of recommendation from your present band director is required for all new members, and auditions are required for all positions (wind, percussion, Colorguard, and Crimsonette).
Which university features the Million Dollar Band?
Alabama State University
The University of Alabama’s official marching band is The Million Dollar Band, sometimes known as MDB. The Million Dollar Band, which was founded in 1912, is the biggest group of students at the University of Alabama.