Not long after No. 11 Texas dispatched Rice 37-10 on Saturday, the conversation turned to No. 4 Alabama.

Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, who served at Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama, was asked about the upcoming road trip to Tuscaloosa against the Crimson Tide.

“It’s a heck of an opportunity,” Sarkisian said, per CBS Austin. “We’re playing a great opponent. The reality of it is we have to acknowledge that, and then get back to being present with our preparation.

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“Everybody wants to win next Saturday at 6. What are you going to do Sunday-Friday to put yourself in position to win? We have a mature enough team to do that. 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 Texas overcame a sluggish start with an overwhelming third quarter to beat Rice in the season-opener for both teams.

Sarkisian, when asked about saving things from a schematic standpoint for Alabama, said the Longhorns had Alabama-specific things they worked on earlier in camp.

“We got a lot to work on,” Sarkisian said, per On3. “There are some third and shorts, fourth and shorts we need to improve upon. Find some rhythm in all aspects of the offense. And then we got to have an impact in the special teams unit. We had one good punt return, but I think we can be more impactful.”

The Longhorns are in their final season in the Big 12 and are favorites to win their first league title since 2009 before moving to the SEC.

It was announced Saturday that ESPN’s “College GameDay” and SEC Network’s “SEC Nation” will head to Tuscaloosa for the game.

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.