AUSTIN – Forgive Texas fans from suffering déjà vu on Saturday in a loss to Alabama, and maybe even vertigo. The Longhorns played well enough on defense to pull the upset against a Crimson Tide team that flirted with a school-record for flags in the game. Unfortunately for the DKR Stadium record of 105,213 mostly Texas fans, an injury to starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and the inability to establish a consistent running game prevented the Longhorns from taking advantage. 

Alabama was shutout in the second and third quarters as the Crimson Tide amassed more penalties than first downs during that two-quarter stretch. The Longhorns missed an opportunity to take a 13-10 lead into halftime when Bret Auburns’ kick was blocked as time expired. Two third-quarter field goals by Auburn gave the Longhorns a 16-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young – the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner – woke up from his slumber in the fourth quarter to lead the Crimson Tide on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass with 8:29 left in the game. Texas’ offense – with a limping Hudson Card leading the charge after the Ewers injury – immediately responded with a drive that ended in an Auburn field goal with 1:26 left in the fourth quarter. 

DKR exploded as the Longhorns kicked to Alabama with a 19-17, but the defense couldn’t come up with one final stop after a tremendous performance for much of the game. Young avoided a sack attempt by Ryan Watts and scrambled for 20 yards to set up the Crimson Tide in field goal range. Will Reichard made a 33-yard field goal with seconds left to give Nick Saban’s squad the 20-19 victory.  

FIELD GOALS, NOT TOUCHDOWNS 

The Longhorns reached the red zone five times in the loss to Alabama. For comparison, the Crimson Tide were in Texas’ red zone twice. The Longhorns settled for one touchdown and four field goal attempts in those trips. The blocked field goal to end the first half proved costly. The Longhorns amassed 16 red zone points in five trips. They needed 19. Much will be made about Texas’ decision to kick field goals rather than go for it on fourth down, but there is no guarantee that Texas scores on any of those chances. 

Steve Sarkisian decided to take the points because his offense wasn’t running on all cylinders following Ewers’ departure. The Longhorns ran the ball 33 times for 79 yards and one score. That’s 2.4 yards a rush. Texas showed no signs of moving the ball against the middle of Alabama’s defense. Bijan Robinson finished the game with 21 carries for 57 yards. Roschon Johnson had five rushes for 16 yards. And Alabama recorded three second-half sacks. What was Texas supposed to call on fourth down? Why would those results be any different than the first three downs? 

Texas’ first two drives covered at least 67 yards and ended in points. Only one of the next 10 drives to end the game covered that much distance, and that was the 86-yard drive to end the first half that ended in a blocked field goal. Six of Texas’ seven second half drives didn’t last longer than 45 yards. The Longhorns struggled to move the football, and that forced Sark’s hand on fourth down. He goes for it on at least two of those drives if Ewers is in the game and/or the running game was at all operational. 

"We didn't lose today, we just ran out of time," Sarkisian said. "I"m proud of our team." 

MORAL VICTORIES 

There was a time when moral victories didn’t exist for the Texas Longhorns. Those times ended after Colt McCoy ran out of eligibility following the last time Texas lost to Alabama. Texas was 84-67 since that game back in 2009 when the Longhorns hosted Alabama at DKR on Saturday. They’ve had five losing seasons in that span and haven’t won a single conference title. Their Big 12 record during that span is 55-51. Losing by one against top-ranked Alabama in a game the Longhorns were 21-point underdogs at home absolutely counts as a moral victory. 

The loss can serve as a building block for Sarkisian and his staff, on and off the field. The narrow defeat allows the existing locker room to build confidence. This is a Texas team that blew lead after lead in the second half of 2021. This current Texas team answered every blow Alabama landed in the second half, and probably felt like a game-winning field goal was coming if the Longhorns had the ball last. Texas’ goals for 2022 are to win the Big 12, and the Longhorns can leave the game against Alabama knowing they can play with anyone on the schedule for four quarters. 

The close call also serves as enticement for recruits. The Longhorns hosted several big-name targets and commits for the game against Alabama. Those recruits saw DKR in rare form. They also saw a Texas team that doesn’t appear too far away from competing with the best teams in the country. Sark’s offense is also enticing for offensive recruits. The Texas defense finally looked like a unit capable of playing complimentary football. 

Are moral victories good enough at Texas? Of course not, but the reality is obvious – this isn’t the Longhorns of the Mack Brown era. This is a team that lacked confidence throughout 2021, and it is a team that looks improved in year two under Sark. Those baby steps won’t satisfy the Longhorn faithful for long, but it will absolutely serve as the medicine needed to put this game in the rear-view mirror and focus on the Big 12 schedule. 

"Let's call it like it is. Nobody gave us a chance in this game," Sarkisian said. "We believed in our locker room that we could go win this game. And we played like a team that believed they could win this game." 

WHAT IS NEXT FOR TEXAS? 

The context of this loss won’t be determined until the end of the season. Is this a close call that helps turn momentum for good in Austin? Was this more about Alabama committing dumb penalties and not playing up to its standard? There is no way to know. If Texas goes 10-2, it can look back at this performance as proof of concept. If the Longhorns limp to a record somewhere between 8-4 and 5-7, this game is simply a memory of a bad performance by Alabama. 

The big concern for Texas leaving the contest with Alabama is health, specifically for Ewers. Texas can feel undone by quarterback injuries for the second time in as many meetings against Saban’s Tide. The McCoy injury was talked about at length during the buildup to the game. Ewers’ injury served as an unkind flashback. Ironically, both backup quarterbacks in that game played high school football at Lake Travis. 

Texas without Ewers looks different. Card isn’t the same caliber of quarterback. He did prove capable of moving the football, however, and one would think the Longhorns find more success on the ground against most of the Big 12 than it did against Alabama’s front seven. A healthy dose of Robinson and Johnson is enough to beat most of the Big 12 if the defense can repeat its performance. 

GAME BALL – TEXAS LB JAYLAN FORD 

Texas’ linebacker core needed to improve from the 2021 effort. Enter Jaylan Ford. The junior led the Longhorns with 10 tackles. He recorded six solo stops, two tackles for loss, and one sack. Alabama didn’t score in the second or third quarters, only accounting for 23 yards during that span. The Crimson Tide figured it out in the fourth quarter, but Ford’s improvement at linebacker gives Texas a solid pair at the second level with DeMarvion Overshown established as an all-conference performer.