Texas the Better Team in Week 2, But Can it be Alabama in the End?

Tip your hat, the veteran Longhorns pulled out an impressive 34-24 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium. How the Crimson Tide responds will determine its season.

One minute and nine seconds. That’s how long the University Alabama football team had the lead on Saturday night, and it was not only quickly erased, but part of a 21-point fourth quarter by Texas.

That’s not supposed to happen at Bryant-Denny Stadium, especially during the Nick Saban era. Nevertheless, one had to give credit to Steve Sarkisian and his team following the 34-24 victory, making him the first former Saban assistant coach to beat him in Tuscaloosa. Simply put, the Longhorns, who hadn’t defeated a top-three time in the AP Top 25 since 2008, earned it.

There will be a lot to unpack after the way things played out, both good and bad for the No. 3 Crimson Tide (1-1). It had hoped to turn this into an old-fashioned physical sloberknocker, only to see it become a second-half shootout, which worked to the advantage of the visiting team.

The minuses were many, including the lack of offensive rhythm. The turnovers. The penalties. The Longhorns being able to answer after Alabama came back and took the lead before a revved-up home crowd. Yet the biggest difference may have simply been that Texas had the more veteran team, and didn’t make key mistakes. When this Alabama team gets to that point, it could be very, very tough to beat, only we’re obviously a long ways from that.

There’s still a lot to like about the 2023 Crimson Tide, but for a Week 2 matchup it got exposed in a lot of the key places where everyone thought it could happen. Remember, Texas returned 10 offensive starters, including all five on the line, plus sophomore Quinn Ewers looked like he grew up some from a year ago. It goes well beyond the haircut, as he was the quarterback to show poise this time, finishing with 349 yards on 24-for-38 passing and three touchdowns.

“We knew all week that we were going to ball out,” Ewers said during his postgame interview on the field with ESPN.

“We still have a lot of games left to win.”

Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Jaylen Milroe looked like a young quarterback who was making his third career start. He was 14-for-27 and 255 yards, with two touchdowns, but also two back-breaker-type interceptions. He wasn’t alone in struggling as Texas notched five sacks without blitzing much, there were numerous botched snaps, and the receivers had trouble getting separation.

Alabama also had 10 penalties, including two nullifying touchdowns. On the defensive side, it didn’t muster much of a pass rush while giving up too many big plays (especially late), and Sarkisian’s aggressive play-calling paid off. As Saban noted, it’s a good way to pay.

“Just all in all, we didn’t need what we needed to do,” he said.

We all know firsthand just how good of a play-caller the former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator is, and he also had the benefit of knowing Saban’s defensive tendencies. For example., the only touchdown of the first half had a really nice setup and was executed beautifully by the Longhorns.

It was done so with three straight deep balls, including an attempted double-pass to draw a key pass-interference call. Ewers wasn’t known for his completions on post-and-go attempts, and he reportedly was 0-for-6 on throws 20 yards downfield against Rice last week (he seemed to have hardly missed against the Crimson Tide).

The high-arc throw into the end zone, that the Showband of the Southwest probably got a good look at from the upper deck of Bryant-Denny Stadium, ended with an outstanding catch by wide receiver Xavier Worthy. With that, the tone was set for the night.

TEXAS GETS THE FIRST TD 🤘 pic.twitter.com/V90XN5YNZN

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 10, 2023

With Alabama having a pair of starters on the back end dealing with injuries, plus some inexperience, and that matchup quickly became the key to Texas’ chances of pulling off the upset. It also took quite a while for the Alabama offense to counter.

With 7:58 to go in the third quarter Alabama had third-and-4 at the Crimson Tide 41, when new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees dialed up a great pass play to Jase McClellan out of the backfield. Texas got caught with linebacker David Gbenda in coverage, a clear mismatch. Only Milroe led the ball just a little too much, just beyond the reach of the running back, who had lots of green in front of him. Like with so many other things Saturday night, the timing was off just a little, and it was costly.

When Texas followed with a missed field goal, Alabama’s first subsequent play was a play-action, with a wide open receiver, only the ball was thrown to his feet. Kobe Prentice reacted by looking back to the clearly frustrated. The play was followed by a run for no gain, a false start and then a sack.

Yet then things started to click, as the Crimson Tide wasn't ready to yield. The 49-yard strike to wide receiver Jermaine Burton gave Alabama its first lead with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter, 16-13. It too exploited a matchup as by putting Isaiah Bond into motion, leaving Button in man coverage by a slower safety. Later, the Crimson Tide enjoyed a 39-yard touchdown to tight end Amari Niblack, which was aided by some sloppy tackling.

“We had a chance,” Saban said.

John David Mercer / USA Today Sports

But one of the ways Sarkisian countered was with something similar to the Burton touchdown. On the 39-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, reserve safety Trey Amos was left trailing on coverage. The coordinator also went after freshman safety Caleb Downs some, with Ewers either trying to get him to hesitate, or commit in coverage, before going the other way. 

He’ll get better. So will Alabama.

If there’s a good side to the loss, it’s that there’s still plenty time to bounce back and improve, although doing so through an SEC schedule can’t be called desirable. Saban’s had only two teams run the table, and this one wasn’t likely to do so.

It just can’t afford another game like this. Who knows, maybe it could earn another matchup with Texas in the postseason, but only if the Crimson Tide can scrape, claw and earn that opportunity. It did just in 2015 to make the College Football Playoff, after losing at home to No. 15 Ole Miss on Week 3. 

“This was a test for us,“ Saban said. “But it’s the midterm and not the final.”

Christopher Walsh's column regularly appears on BamaCentral.