How the Texas Longhorns football graded out in their 34-24 win over Alabama

Just how big was Texas' 34-24 win Saturday night over Alabama? Let us count the ways: It solidified the Longhorns as the team to beat in the Big 12, it sent notice to the rest of the country that they're national players, it placed them in control of their own CFP destiny and it checked all the SEC boxes Texas will need in their new conference. It also snapped the country's longest home winning streak, it gave Quinn Ewers a chance to impress a lot of fans, scouts and award voters, and it gave Steve Sarkisian his signature win at Texas.

Accordingly, our Longhorns report card is handing out a lot of good grades this week:

Quarterback: A+

Simply put, this was Quinn Ewers' best game yet as a Longhorn. Better than the 49-0 whipping of Oklahoma, and better than the 369-yard night in the Alamodome loss to Washington. This stage was a huge one, its spotlight glaring and Ewers rose to the occasion in what was only his 12th career start. He finished 24-of-38 for 349 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He discovered his touch on the deep pass — at least for one night — and had some beauties, including that high, arching touchdown that dropped right into Xavier Worthy's hands for a 44-yard score and back-to-back 32- and 34-yard throws to Ja'Tavion Sanders and Worthy in the third quarter. Ewers followed his excellent first quarter against Bama in 2022 with four more solid ones on Saturday. Reminder: this was Alabama, not an eventual 6-7 OU team.

Go figure: Ewers completed passes to eight different players — and also caught one himself

Season average: A- (Rice B, Alabama A+)

Running backs: C

It was Ewers, not the running game, that powered Texas' win. But don't forget that it was the running game, not the passing game, that Sarkisian rode to run out the clock for the final seven minutes. Texas' final 11 plays of the game were runs, and we're not including Ewers' three kneel downs at the very end. CJ Baxter (11-31, plus 4 catches for 21) was used extensively, but it was Jonathon Brooks (13-57-1) that converted some important third downs and led the way in the final two quarters. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry. As strong as the passing game is humming along right now, it sure would be nice if either Brooks or Baxter would emerge as a backfield alpha. Maybe that won't happen this year.

Go figure: The Longhorns averaged just 2.8 yards per carry as a team

Season average: C (Rice C, Alabama C)

Wide receivers: A

Texas' Big Three — Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington — all shined, had their moments and played a part in this win. Worthy dropped a short third-down touchdown pass, making Texas settle for a field goal, but he made up for it with that beautiful 44-yard score; Mitchell caught two touchdowns and led all wide receivers with 78 yards; and Whittington's 31-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter was the key play on what became UT's final scoring drive. Mitchell fumbled once (Texas recovered) and drew a pass interference call. Nine Longhorns caught a pass, but only three of them were receivers. Lots of action to the running backs.

Go figure: Worthy has been targeted a team-high 10 times in each of the first two games

Season average: B+ (Rice B, Alabama A)

Tight ends: A

For the second straight game, Ja'Tavion Sanders gave Texas a big play. But unlike the opener, where his 44-yard touchdown was pretty much is lone highlight, Sanders really shined in Tuscaloosa. He produced four big plays: he pounced on a Mitchell fumble inside Bama's 15-yard line in the first quarter (preserving a field goal drive), he converted a fourth-and-2 a few players after his recovery, he had a 34-yard catch to Bama's 28 in the third quarter, and his athletic 50-yard catch and run helped seal the victory as it set up a touchdown on the next play. Heading into the game, Sanders was seen as one of those X-factors who the Horns needed to have a big night. He did.

Go figure: Sanders led Texas with 114 receiving yards, a career high for him

Season average: A (Rice A-, Alabama A)

The offensive line: A

Ewers dropped back to pass 38 times, and the Alabama defense didn't get a single sack. A lot of that has to do with Ewers' quick releases and Texas' shorter routes, but the fact that the offensive line stood toe-to-toe with an Alabama defensive front that routinely produces NFL draft picks cannot be overstated. Right tackle Christian Jones stood out, but the interior guards held their own against Bama's defensive tackles. Texas' running game looked off for the second straight week, and though that's a shared fix to make, it all starts up front. One of the barometers we're looking at to see how ready Texas is for the rigors of the SEC is its offensive and defensive lines. Texas, which has been stockpiling five- and four-star offensive line recruits the past two years, looked SEC-ready on Saturday.

Go figure: Ewers has dropped back to pass 68 times this season. He's been sacked two times.

Season average: B (Rice C, Alabama A)

The defensive line: A

Much like the offensive line, one of the more interesting matchups Saturday was how much of a push Texas could manage against Alabama's big, physical offensive line. The Longhorns' defensive linemen passed with flying colors. Texas sacked Jalen Milroe five times, hurried him four more times and finished with nine tackles for loss. Ethan Burke had a strong performance for the second straight week, with a sack and two tackles for loss, Barryn Sorrell had a couple of pressures and Milroe very rarely looked comfortable. As often as Milroe was on the run, he did a masterful job of getting out of a handful or more sack attempts, as Texas' linemen were constantly chasing him. Last week we wondered if the Texas defensive front's confidence and productivity shown in the win over Rice would last as the competition got harder. It did.

Go figure: New edge rusher Ethan Burke has two sacks through two games

Season average: A (Rice A, Alabama A)

Linebackers: A-

Anthony Hill Jr. showed us why he was a five-star prospect coming out of Cedar Hill. He had two of Texas' five sacks and also had a hurry. He and David Gbenda, who also had a sack, each finished with six tackles, tied for second-most on the team. And Jaylan Ford had five. Hill's first sack forced a third-quarter punt and his second, in the fourth quarter, left Milroe with grass stuck in his face mask as he headed back to the sideline. Ford, like Sanders, was one of those Longhorns who we all felt needed to have one of those special Jaylan Ford performances. That didn't happen, but the Texas' 'backers as a unit were solid from start to finish.

Go figure: Through two games, Gbenda is Texas' leading tackler with 12 stops

Season average: B+ (Rice B, Alabama A-)

Defensive backs: A

It was a good night for Texas cornerbacks and safeties. Jahdae Barron picked off a Milroe pass on Alabama's first drive, which set up a field goal for an early 3-0 lead. Jerrin Thompson gave up a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Burton at the end of the third quarter, but made up for it by making a critical interception in the fourth that turned the game in Texas' favor. And Ryan Watts broke up a touchdown pass to Ja'Corey Brooks in the end zone on Bama's second drive — remember, it was Bryce Young getting out of a failed Watts sack that set up the Tide's game-winning field goal last year. No Bama receiver had more than five catches or 70 receiving yards. We'll let Gavin Holmes' night go; he was flagged for pass interference in the third quarter, and on the punt at the end of that same drive, he pushed an Alabama player on punt coverage into the side judge, who had to leave the field, bleeding from his face after the collision.

Go figure: Jalen Catalon, an Arkansas transfer, was Texas' leading tackler with seven stops

Season average: A (Rice A, Alabama A)

Special teams: B

Bert Auburn was good on two of his three field goal tries, converting from 32 and 29 yards but missing to the left from 42 that would have made it a 16-9 lead midway through the third quarter. He missed from 56 yards against Rice. But kudos to defensive back Kitan Crawford, who made a brilliant save of a Ryan Sanborn punt that was bouncing into the end zone in the first half; Crawford skied high to flip the ball back into the playing field, which Keilan Robinson was able to down around the 5-yard line.

Go figure: Stanford transfer Ryan Sanborn averaged 50 yards per punt, on three punts

Season average: A- (Rice A, Alabama B)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football report card: How UT graded vs. Alabama