No one — well, almost no one — picked Texas to actually beat top-ranked Alabama. But as a barometer of where the Longhorns stand two games into Steve Sarkisian’s second season, the Crimson Tide's 20-19 win paints an optimistic picture about the state of the program..
On defense in particular, the Longhorns did what few have done to Alabama in years: bottle up an offense that annually ranks among the best in the Bowl Subdivision.
After getting a field goal on the game's opening possession and then scoring on an 81-yard run to lead 10-3 at the end of the first quarter, Alabama wouldn't put together another scoring drive until marching 75 plays on 11 plays to retake the lead, 17-16, midway through the fourth.