President Donald Trump told a crowd in Mobile that he’ll be at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa next weekend. That's when the Crimson Tide faces Georgia in what sportswriters call one of the games to watch during the 2026 season. The heightened security that accompanies a Presidential visit is familiar territory for residents of Tuscaloosa. If Trump comes to see the upcoming Alabama game, it’ll be the fourth time.
The Presidential visit comes as Trump's poll numbers continue to slump, reportedly due to the ongoing war with Iran, and higher prices for groceries and gasoline, The American Automobile Association reports the price per gallon of diesel is at $6 dollars. That's roughly two dollars and fifty cents higher than a year ago. Regular is selling at $1.20 higher than in 2025.
Trump came to Tuscaloosa in 2019 to see LSU, and quarterback Joe Burrow, defeat Alabama. The other two trips were also games between the Crimson Tide and Georgia. That includes the 2018 national championship at Mercedes Benz Stadium where Alabama beat the Bulldogs in overtime, when freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw the so called “Tua bomb” to freshman wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Trump’s reception that day didn’t appear uniformly positive. Fans at the stadium had to stand in driving rain during the extra time going through security checkpoints. That may have prompted the “boo’s” heard from the stands, while Trump stood on the field during the playing of the National Anthem.
This isn’t Trump’s only trip to a college football game this year. He attended top-ranked Texas’ victory over Tennessee after their first visit to Neyland Stadium.
“It's just kind of a little bit of a tradition here at Tennessee, so we had cigars or somebody had cigars in there,” coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I’m not certain. So my suit’s probably going to stink whenever I get on the plane.”
Colin Simmons tied the program record with five sacks as Texas held the 14th-ranked Volunteers 20-17 on Saturday with President Donald Trump on hand. The cigar tradition stems from the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry, which Arch Manning's uncle Peyton played in for the Vols in the 1990s.
“It’s not about me,” the Texas quarterback said. “I didn’t play very well, but our team played great. Defense played well.”
Raleek Brown ran for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and his 4-yarder with 5:41 left gave the Longhorns (4-0) the winning margin in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Giannis Spetic kicked a pair of field goals.
“We win big games around here, we do,” Sarkisian said. “I know we don’t win them all, but we won a lot of them. And what an incredible performance by our defense.”
Texas dominated defensively with 10 sacks, led by Simmons. The linebacker's day for the record books also will be remembered for his vulgar celebration after one sack. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct with the referee saying Simmons was “simulating” using the restroom.
“We took him out, we addressed it and put him back in,” Sarkisian said. “At that point, I’m not going to give the guy a death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct. We got to fix it, though. That can't continue.”
Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon made it interesting late, capping an 80-yard drive with a 30-yard TD pass to Mike Matthews with 1:22 left. Linebacker Arion Carter recovered the onside kick, and Jelani McDonald batted away Brandon’s Hail Mary pass to Travis Smith Jr. in the end zone on the final play.
Sarkisian called it a crazy finish to a game in which Texas also gave up a 57-yard punt return by Qua Moss for a TD. Sarkisian took a timeout that gave Tennessee a second chance at the onside kick after sending the first out of bounds.
“Next thing you know you're fighting to finish a game, which we were able to do,” Sarkisian said.
Manning threw for 201 yards while being sacked six times. He also was intercepted once with the Longhorns needing the smothering defensive performance on a day with too many penalties, including two illegal forward passes by Manning.
Tennessee (3-1) hadn't beaten The Associated Press' No. 1 team since 1985, and that drought continues.
“Up front we weren’t good enough,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “Quarterback was not good enough. We didn’t play smart enough, but I’ll take the effort.”
The Longhorns have lots to clean up, particularly when it comes to penalties they can control. They piled up 11 for 115 yards with seven of those in the first half. Jermaine Bishop Jr. wiped out his own 22-yard punt return in the third quarter with a fair catch signal that officials noticed.
The Vols came in 14th nationally in total offense at 516.3 yards per game. They came nowhere near that with Brandon surviving a beating in his SEC debut. Brandon finished 17 of 29 for 145 yards. He didn't talk to reporters after the game.
