Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher has a new toy for the 2023 season. After the Aggie offense struggled last season, including in the final seconds of a loss to Alabama football, Fisher went looking for an offensive coordinator.

He brought in Bobby Petrino, who was just weeks into a stint as OC at UNLV, which he left a head coach job at Missouri State for. On Saturday, Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked about facing the Petrino-led Aggie attack.

“He’s a great offensive coach, there’s no doubt,” Saban said on the SEC coaches teleconference. “I do see some similarities in the run gam as well as the passing game and more utilization of various personnel groups, which causes you a lot of different things that you gotta work on in practice to prepare for.”

Saban and Petrino have faced off before, having won all five previous matchups. The first four times came when Petrino was head coach at Arkansas, while the most recent was during his second stint at Louisville in 2018, a game Alabama won 51-14.

Petrino came the closest to beating Saban and the Crimson Tide in 2010 at Arkansas. That year, the Razorbacks blew a 13-point lead in the second half.

The Petrino-Fisher partnership was the subject of some scrutiny in the offseason, as the Aggie head coach seemed reluctant to admit Petrino would be calling the plays. Texas A&M has had its offensive struggles this season, but has been good enough to get to 4-1 overall and 2-0 to start SEC play.

“I think the combination of him and Jimbo has been very productive for them offensively in terms of how they utilize their players,” Saban said.

Alabama and Texas A&M are set to face off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in College Station. The game will be aired on CBS.

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