The most anticipated game in Week Two of the 2023 college football season gets a primetime slot befitting the sport's most recognizable brands.

Texas and Alabama's rematch is officially set for a 6 p.m. ESPN broadcast on September 9 from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

A surefire AP Top 25 matchup, Steve Sarkisian will get another chance to topple Nick Saban's empire, this time on his former boss's home turf. The Crimson Tide will be an almost entirely different squad than the one that escaped Austin last season with a narrow 20-19 victory after quarterback Bryce Young led a surgical game-winning drive. Saban is replacing both his coordinators for only the fifth time in his illustrious 17-year reign, and those coordinators need to find answers to replace the No.1-overall NFL Draft pick. as well as two-time defensive player of the year Will Anderson Jr.

While Alabama appears more vulnerable than ever, Texas is the betting favorite to win the Big 12. Quinn Ewers enjoyed a coming-out party in the first quarter of last year's game, completing 9-of-12 passes for 134 yards before he was knocked out of the contest and Longhorn fans wondered all season what could have been. A defense that held Alabama to a season low point total returns All Big-12 linebacker Jaylan Ford and several pieces in the secondary.

But Texas faces a more daunting task this year travelling to Alabama. Anderson Jr. called Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium the loudest environment he'd played in after the Tide committed an uncharacteristic 15 penalties. Now, Bryant-Denny Stadium will get their chance to respond.