SUN SPORTS:...Horns Beat Favored Alabama, Go 2-0...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Undefeated Texas (1-0) sashayed into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Saturday evening, went about its business and left after pasting a 34-24 beatdown on the fabled Crimson Tide.

The game was a up & down, here & then there sort of contest, with the Longhorns scoring first and scoring more against renowned coach Nick Saban. It was something of a payback after Bama beat Texas 20-19 last season in Austin.

This from espn.com: [ Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns gave themselves an early welcome to the Southeastern Conference. And perhaps a welcome back to national title contention.

Ewers finished what he started last season, passing for 349 yards and three touchdowns. The Longhorns (2-0) delivered the biggest victory under coach Steve Sarkisian in a game that slipped away last season after a red-hot Ewers exited because of a first-quarter shoulder injury. He was back and with another big playmaker in wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

"Even when it got dicey ... I love the response and the grit and perseverance our guys showed," Sarkisian said.

It didn't come without a fight from the Crimson Tide (1-1), who have now seen three games slip away late in the past two seasons. Alabama had its 21-game home winning streak snapped along with a 57-game regular-season run against nonconference teams dating to Nick Saban's debut season in 2007.

"This was a test for us," Saban said. "I told the players early in the week that this was going to be a test, that we were playing a really good team and that we would find out where we were as a team. It was a test for everybody. It was a test for the coaches, it was a test for me, it was a test for all the players.

"And we obviously didn't do very well. But it's the mid-term, it's not the final." ]

Nope, it's not a final test, but it is a loss for Bama, a team that has dominated college football this decade, even as Georgia has won the last two NCAA championships. Who knows how far Alabama will fall in the rankings this week?

Texas should gain a few spots into the Top 10.

The Horns take on the Wyoming Cowboys next weekend...

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