Alabama is a one-score favorite when Texas comes calling on Saturday.

Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide, which is coming off a 56-7 win of Middle Tennessee on Saturday, is a 7-point favorite according to BetMGM as of Sunday afternoon.

Other point spreads:

• FanDuel: Alabama -6.5
• Circa Sports: Alabama -7
• DraftKings: Alabama -7.5

It didn’t take long after Texas‘ 37-10 win over Rice on Saturday for coach Steve Sarkisian to get peppered with questions about the Crimson Tide. The former Alabama offensive coordinator said they started preparing things for the Tide in the offseason.

“It’s a heck of an opportunity,” Sarkisian said in the postgame press conference Saturday. “We’re playing a great opponent. We all know that. The reality of it is we have to acknowledge that, the opportunity that we have, and then we have to get right back to being present with our preparation. …

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“Everybody wants to win next Saturday night at 6. What are you going to do Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to prepare to put yourself in position to win? That’s what we have to make sure do. I think we have a mature enough team to do that. That’s going to start with us as coaches with our approach and leadership. …

“It’s going to be a heck of a challenge. Great team. Great environment. An awesome stage for us. We’re going to have to play better than we did today, and I think we can.”

Quinn Ewers passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as No. 11 Texas overcame a sluggish start with an overwhelming third quarter to beat Rice. The Longhorns are favorites to win the Big 12 in their final season in the league before joining the SEC.

Last year, two fourth-quarter plays by Bryce Young carried top-ranked Alabama to a 20-19 win over the Longhorns in Austin. Young’s scramble set up Will Reichard’s 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds left.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.