Everything Steve Sarkisian Said After Texas' 34-24 Win Over Alabama

The Longhorns' head coach became the third former assistant coach to beat Nick Saban, but the first to do so at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Opening statement from Texas coach Steve Sarkisian after beating Alabama 34-24 Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium:

"Really proud of our players. Everybody worked really hard this week. I was proud that they believed in the plan, even when it got dicey. We trailed 16-13 and I loved the response with the grit and perseverance the guys showed.

"Two to nothing in the turnovers played a huge factor in the game. Ultimitely, getting the ball with seven minutes to go in the game and finishing the game with the ball in our hands and not giving it back was big. That’s an explosive team and for us to possess it is indicative of how far we’ve come.

"Our ability to rebound when things don’t go our way in the second half and our ability to finish games on the road and possess the ball and finish it out was big.

"Lot of individual performances to talk about but it was a heck of a team win. We have a ton of respect for (Alabama). I know how well they’re coached and how hard they play. They are 52-1 walking into this stadium in the last 53 games, so it shows a lot of what we are capable of.

"This game is not going to define our season. We got 10 more regular season games to play, but it does serve as a benchmark of what we are capable of and the potential for who we can be as a team."

On falling behind 16-13

"We knew we were going to face some adversity tonight. When you play a good team on the road not everything is going to go your way. I told the team before the game, and I didn’t waver, we were going to be aggressive tonight and we were going to stay aggressive."

"We went for it on some fourth downs—didn’t make some—but you have to try and win the game. I never felt it was slipping away, I just felt it was our turn. Our guys responded."

On the defensive effort

"I think in the end, getting pressure on the quarterback was big. I like to think that forced a couple of errant throws. We got a couple of turnovers. We got a couple of really big sacks—Anthony Hill had a big-time sack late in the game. To play good defense you have to stop the run and affect the quarterback. They hit some plays and they’re going to do that. But in the end we stopped the run enough, and we created two turnovers and made plays in critical plays."

On hitting deep passing plays

"As the game went on you could feel the coverage moving toward Xavier (Worthy) and that gave opportunities for (Ja’Tavion Sanders) and (Adonai Mitchell) and Jordan Whittington to make some big plays. To hit the deep ball early with Xavier and then to come back and get that deep ball to (Mitchell) for that touchdown and finding some of those intermediate throws to some different people, that’s what we have to get accustomed to."

On creating a special culture at Texas

"We’ve worked long and hard on the culture aspect. I love these guys. They really give us everyting they have and they trust us and believe in us. We’ve tried to recruit really well to get players in our program that are made of the right stuff. It’s not about stars, it’s whether they are made of the right stuff and coachable. That’s what this group has. The coaching continuity is shining through a little bit. Our guys understand our calls and why we are doing what we are doing. The put forth the preparation and try to go out and execute."

On offensive line not giving up a sack

"A lot of that is on Quinn (Ewers) where he has a good understanding of what we were calling scheme-wise, and that was getting the ball out, even when he was getting his secondary reads. I thought our tackles had really good games; I just felt like Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones protected well. Ultimately you have to change protections and keep moving on them because I know how well (Alabama) is coached. To go two straight games with no turnovers and protecting the quarterback and running the ball was big.

"You have to be able to run the football when they know you are going to run the ball. That’s what that last drive was. Seven minutes to go and we finished with the ball in our hands."

Message to the team of not fearing Alabama

"I’ve been in that locker room. A lot of people walk in that stadium—and with the mystique of Alabama—they are beat before the game starts. I had to make sure that our players understood that they were good enough to come in here and win. The moment doubt creeps in that’s when you can make mistakes that can get you beat. I wanted to be clear with our players that it’s not about fearing them—we do respect them—but we were good enough to come in here and win if we played the way we are capable of doing."

Biggest stride Quinn Ewers made tonight

"I don’t think the moment was too big for him. From the moment the ball got snapped he showed great composure. There were times his feet got choppy in the pocket, but we got him settled down. I thought he managed the line of scrimmage really good. To be in this environment and not have one false start is a credit to Quinn managing things. It’s not like we lined up in static formations. There were shifts and motions and that’s a credit for our guys to manage all that."

On Nick Saban and time at Alabama

I have a ton of respect for him and I owe everything to him. I would not be standing here without Nick Saban. Tuscaloosa, the University of Alabama, Nick Saban, it changed my life. In a moment of my life when things were not going great, Nick extended me an olive branch. Everybody was so supportive of me coming here, and then bringing me back a second time, then to having to have open-heart surgery while I was here. These people here mean a lot to me. I’m grateful for everyone at Alabama and Tuscaloosa for what they showed my family, my wife. To come here and play them and play the way we played, it’s humbling. Life comes full circle.

Breakout moment for Quinn Ewers?

I think for Quinn, like our entire team—why did we play well tonight? Because we prepared very well and practiced really well. For them now to recognize that’s what it takes every week, that’s what championship teams do. They don’t have ups and downs in preparation. They prepare right mentally and they prepare right physically. Preparation plus practice equals peak performance. That’s what Quinn did tonight. He prepared great and had a good understanding of what we were trying to do and why we were doing it. He had good reads and never got stuck on his progressions. He was able to bounce back when things weren’t going so great. I think this can serve as a springboard for Quinn, if he can create the habits Sunday through Friday to get himself ready to play.

On the fourth quarter performance

I believe this—you get what you enphasize in this profession. In year one, I know how ugly some of those fourth quarters were. We played decent fourth quarters, and we didn’t play decent fourth quarters and lost some games. As you continue to put for an emphasis in practicing things, tonight I think it shined through with our ability to play fourth-quarter football. We worked hard on conditioning, worked hard on getting guys reset and refocused in the fourth quarter. It comes down to execution in the fourth quarter.

SEE ALSO: Everything Nick Saban Said After Alabama's 34-24 loss to No. 11 Texas