While Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban praised his team’s resiliency, he was critical of their performance, saying they didn’t play “Alabama football” for most of the game. “We had too many penalties,” Saban said. “We pretty much shot ourselves in the foot.” Alabama’s 15 penalties were the most ever under Saban and one shy of the school record set in 2002.
The offensive line was especially hit by a record 105,213 fans inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young was sacked twice and forced 12 dropbacks. “I think the energy on the field created some uncharacteristic mistakes on both sides,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “But I’d like to think that maybe we had a small part to do with it.” Through the first three quarters, Young was 1 of 8 for 7 yards when pressured. In the fourth quarter, he completed 3-of-4 passes under pressure, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Young, who threw for 213 yards and a touchdown, ran the ball seven times for 38 yards. However, no run was more pivotal than his 20-yard run into Texas territory with less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The play set up a 33-yard game-winning field goal by Will Reichard. “At the end of the day, this is the best team in the country,” Sarkisian said of the Crimson Tide. “In a weird way, we feel pretty good about ourselves, kind of where we’re at in the state of our schedule. “Big teams find a way. I thought we found a way there to take the lead and I thought we found a way to win it. So I don’t think we’re that far off.” Reichard’s kick kept Alabama’s 53-game nonconference regular season streak alive. The last time the Tide lost a non-conference game during the regular season was 2007 — Saban’s first season at Bama. “Well, we didn’t block them very well up front, we didn’t protect very well, we pressured them in the pocket,” Saban said. “We weren’t very effective throwing the ball. We didn’t get people open. We probably have to do a better job planning-wise, the way they played us. Well, you know it all comes down to execution.” Saban appeared to blame distractions for his team’s underperformance. “When you play games like this, you have to focus on what’s in front of you,” he said. “You can’t worry about all the other stuff that’s going on — what people are saying, what they’re saying on ESPN, what all of you [the media] say, how much they favor you in the game. You need to focus on what’s in front of you. You are aggressive, this is the guy to block. If you’re a receiver, this is the guy to beat. If you’re a quarterback, you have to take what the defense gives you. If you are a runner, you have to hit the hole and make the right cuts. “So we didn’t do any of that the way we needed to. So it wasn’t just one thing.” Alabama closed as a 21.5-point favorite against Texas at Caesar’s Sportsbook and was about -1,600 to win the game outright. “Let’s put it this way: Nobody gave us a chance in this game,” Sarkisian said. “None of you, none of the national media. Nobody gave us a chance. But we believed in our locker room that we could win this game. And we played like a team that believed they could win this game. And we played like a team that thought they were going to win the game.” Texas lost starting quarterback Quinn Ewers to a left collarbone injury late in the first quarter after completing 9 of 12 passes for 134 yards. The injury forced third-year Hudson Card off the bench. He completed 14 of 22 passes for 158 yards and no touchdowns. “I thought the quarterback left the game [Ewers] he was playing really well, he hit some really good shots. He’s a very talented guy,” Saban said. “But I thought the quarterback that came into the game did a really good job, too. He mixed up and extended some plays that maybe the other guy couldn’t make in critical situations because he’s so athletic.” Texas starter Bijan Robinson finished with 130 yards of total offense (73 receiving, 57 rushing) and one touchdown. Texas (1-1) hosts UTSA next Saturday, while Alabama (2-0) hosts Louisiana-Monroe. ESPN’s Dave Wilson and David Purdum contributed to this report.
