As rapidly as it can, Alabama football is getting away from neutral site, out of conference, season-openers. The primary reason is the new economics of college football. Even elite programs such as Alabama football need attractive home games in a season ticket package.
Plus, the allure of an early-season, neutral-site game to Dallas or Orlando has become less enticing. After a 2021 game in Atlanta against Miami, the Crimson Tide is turning to high-profile, home-and-home games every season. The first of those is at Texas in the second week of the 2022 season.
As Nick Saban has said, finding teams willing to face the Crimson Tide is not easy.