Texas Game Plan vs. Alabama: Be Aggressive, Play With No Fear
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The buildup to Texas vs. Alabama was huge. Of course, everything is bigger in Texas, so the importance of Saturday’s showdown at Bryant-Denny Stadium from the Longhorns’ perspective was about 100 on a scale of one to 10.
The Longhorns played like it, too. The defense mauled Alabama’s offensive line. It also put constant pressure on quarterback Jalen Milroe, who was sacked four times. The secondary picked off Milroe twice. Quinn Ewers played like an All-SEC quarterback, connecting on big play after big play.
The result was a 34-24 upset of the No. 3 Crimson Tide, and a signature win for Steve Sarkisian as a Longhorn.
“There are a lot of individual performances to talk about but it was a heck of a team win,” Sarkisian said. “We have a ton of respect for (Alabama). I know how well they’re coached and how hard they play. They were 52-1 walking into this stadium in the last 53 games, so it shows a lot of what we are capable of.”
The way the Longhorns lost last year’s meeting with Alabama was tough to swallow, especially for a program trying to get back to national prominence.
Also, Texas is joining the SEC in a couple of seasons, and what better way to prove it belongs than to take down mighty Alabama?
The biggest obstacle for the Longhorns was getting rid of the fear.
“I’ve been in that locker room,” said Sarkisian, who was defensive coordinator for Alabama a couple of times under Nick Saban. “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.”
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Quinn Ewers passed for 349 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Two touchdown passes were 39-plus yards, and he also had two more explosive throws. It was a big moment for Ewers, who left last year's game against Alabama with an injury.
"It was awesome to hit on those deep balls, especially when they are touchdowns," Ewers said. "Those were huge."
The other message Sarkisian delivered to the team was to be aggressive. The defense set the tone with getting pressure on Milroe, and the offense hit on big plays and converted on two fourth downs.
“We knew we were going to face some adversity tonight,” Sarkisian said. “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.”
The win is big, but Sarkisian’s third message to the Longhorns was about staying the course. Texas will move up in the rankings from its No. 11 spot for sure, but it’s only Week 2 of the season.
“This game is not going to define our season,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve 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.”
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