Notebook: Longhorns' Finish Alabama in 4th Quarter Offensive Explosion

After years of surrendering leads in the fourth quarter, the Texas Longhorns reclaimed their lead against Alabama and ended up winning the game on the road.

Any remaining worries from the Texas Longhorns' season-opening win versus Rice were quickly put to bed in the historic 34-24 road win against the No. 3 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

What will go down as a historic win for the program and coach Steve Sarkisian could mark just the beginning of a potentially special season as the Longhorns hope to win the Big-12 championship for the first time since 2009.

Sophomore Surge 

A big talking point during the offseason was whether starting quarterback Quinn Ewers could take the necessary steps forward to help Texas return to the mountaintop of college football. 

Historically, Year 2 in coach Steve Sarkisian's offensive system has seen past quarterbacks bear the fruits of their labor; a recent example of this was former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who developed into a Heisman candidate and first-round NFL Draft pick in his second year as a starter. 

Ewers may become the newest example of enjoying the benefits of Sarkisian's guidance as he put together arguably his best performance ever in a Longhorns uniform to date in the biggest game. 

The redshirt sophomore, who skipped his senior year of high school to enroll at Ohio State early, completed 24 of his 38 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns in a performance that will surely garner him a lot of Heisman attention. 

Dominant Line of Scrimmage Play

One of the biggest questions coming into Saturday was about the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football for the Longhorns. If Texas were going to beat Alabama, it would be largely due to the performance up front. 

Not only did the Longhorns get away Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe by sacking him five times, but they also held the Tide to just 107 rushing yards on 35 attempts, which yielded 3.1 yards per carry. The rushing totals for the Tide do include Milroe, who was their second-leading rusher with 44 yards on 15 carries. 

The Longhorns' pass rush proved troublesome for the Alabama passing game, which didn't get going until the fourth quarter. 

Additionally, offensively, Texas will walk away from Bryant-Denny Stadium extremely happy with the performance of their offensive line, especially in pass protection, as they kept Ewers off the ground. After giving up some sacks in the opener, the Longhorns didn't allow a sack versus the Crimson Tide.

Fourth Quarter Finish

Sep 9, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (5) celebrates his touchdown pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / USA Today Sports

In the past, going into the fourth quarter, trailing a team like Alabama after surrendering a lead in the third quarter may have been the end for the Longhorns. Yet, it wasn't this time as Texas not only fought back to reclaim a lead that had for the majority of the game, but they also put the Crimson Tide away. 

After the 49-yard touchdown pass from Milroe to Jermaine Burton gave Alabama their first lead going into the fourth quarter, Texas answered back as Ewers found former Georgia transfer Adonai Mitchell for the go-ahead touchdown to put them up 20-16 before Jonathon Brooks capitalized off the Jerrin Thompson interception with a five-yard touchdown run. 

Even with a 27-16 lead in the fourth quarter, that didn't prove to be the ball game as Milroe would lead the Tide on a touchdown drive to bring them within a field goal, forcing Ewers and the Longhorns offense to go score again. 

They did exactly that as with the game in the balance, Sarkisian trusted Ewers to guide the Longhorns down the field, where he'd eventually find Mitchell for the 39-yard dagger to give Texas the 34-24 win.