Texas Longhorns football knocks off Alabama in impressive fashion

In what has been a rematch one year in the making, the Texas-Alabama game is finally over. The No. 11 Longhorns were 7-point underdogs today in Tuscaloosa against the No. 3 Crimson Tide.

Game updates and analysis:

It's over: Texas beats Alabama

The Longhorns have just beaten Alabama 34-24, an impressive display of a tough, physical, play-making defense, a solid night from Quinn Ewers and a nice play-calling night from Steve Sarkisian.

4th quarter: Texas is closing this one out

There's 1 minute left. Texas is on its way to winning this game.

The Longhorns are working the clock. Up by 10, Texas is letting the clock run in between snaps and is work the running game. Jonathan Brooks converted a third-and-2 for a first down for a tough three yards, drawing the first of three Alabama timeouts with 5:19 left.

CJ Baxter run for 3, Brooks for 5, Brooks for 3, Brooks for 2, Brooks for 1, Brooks for 14, Keilan Robinson for 3, Brooks for 0 and Brooks for 4, finally leaving Texas with a fourth-and-3 from Bama's 35. Then a Bama lineman jumped offside, which gave Texas five yards and an automatic first down.

The Longhorns, up 34-24, are going to win this one.

4th quarter: Bama blinks

There's 7:14 left. Texas still leads 34-24.

The Longhorns have forced an Alabama punt after Anthony Hill's sack of Jalen Milroe on third down. Texas takes over at its own 30.

4th quarter: Another touchdown for Mitchell

There's 8:23 left, and Texas leads Alabama 34-24.

Quinn Ewers' deft 39-yard touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell has given Texas a little bit of breathing room again. These two teams are going back and forth in this second half, and the ball again moves to Alabama's court.

Ewers is 24-of-38 for 349 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Mitchell has two scores tonight.

Ewers is 20 yards off his career high. He threw for 369 yards in the Alamo Bowl loss to Washington.

4th quarter: Bama strikes back

There's 11:08 left in the game, and Alabama has cut the Texas lead to 27-24.

Jalen Milroe found tight end Amari Niblack for a 39-yard touchdown over the middle, a play that saw several longhorns (three) miss tackles on him. Alabama converted a third-and-17 to keep the drive alive. Milroe found Isaiah Bond for the successful 2-point play.

4th quarter: Disaster strikes Alabama

There's 13:54 left to play, and Texas is leading 27-16.

Jonathon Brooks scored from 5 yards out, but the touchdown came courtesy of the Longhorns' second interception of the game after Jerrin Thompson picked off a bad Jalen Milroe pass and returned it 32 yards to Bama's 5-yard line. Momentum is clearly on the Horns' side after producing two quick touchdowns.

4th quarter: Three plays later, Texas leads again

There's 14:05 left to play. Texas is back on top, 20-16.

The Horns answered the Alabama touchdown in quick fashion: a 75-yard touchdown drive that needed only three plays and 1:09 off the clock, a 7-yard touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers to Adonai Mitchell that followed a huge 50-yard catch-and-run by Ja'Tavion Sanders down to Bama's 7-yard line.

For the game, Ewers is 20-of-33 for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

3rd quarter: Bama goes on top

There's 14 seconds left in the third quarter, and Alabama has taken its first lead of the game.

Jalen Milroe's 49-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Burton has the Tide up 16-13. Burton got past Jerrin Thompson downfield on the senond-and-11 play.

Texas has led this game all night. Now the Horns are trailing with one quarter to go. How will they respond?

3rd quarter: Texas turns it over

On downs, we mean. Not an interception or fumble.

There's 2:52 left in the third quarter. Texas still leads 13-9.

On fourth-and-1 from Texas' own 48-yard line, Texas went for it. The ball was fumbled — or was it? — as Ewers tried to push his way forward on a sneak. But Jonathon Brooks picked up the ball on the ground and squirted off the left side for the first down. It was ruled a fumble, and by rule only Ewers would have been able to progress it. So Alabama was awarded the ball.

But the Longhorns protested, and after a video review, it was ruled that Ewers never had control of the snap, so it was a muff. So Brooks' play was ruled good and the Horns' drive stayed alive.

Later on in the drive, Texas went for it again on fourth-and-2, and Brooks was stopped just short. So Texas has punted, and Bama has the ball back near midfield.

Bert Auburn missed a 42-yard field goal try on Texas' previous drive. And freshman LB Anthony Hill sacked Jalen Milroe on a third-down blitz to force a Bama punt on the Tide's last drive.

3rd quarter: Bama adds another field goal

There's 11:04 left in the third quarter. It's Texas 13, Will Reichard 9.

The Tide have settled for another field goal, a 51-yarder from Reichard. Bama opened the second half with a seven-play, 42-yard drive, but it was a bittersweet score. A penalty took away an Alabama touchdown for the second time tonight; this time, it was a holding call on another one of those Milrose improvisations where he eluded a sack.

Halftime: stats, stats, stats!

Total yards — Texas 186, Alabama 178; Passing yards — Texas 138, Alabama 80; Rushing yards — Alabama 98, Texas 48; First downs — Texas 12, Alabama 11; Third-down conversions — Texas 5-of-10, Alabama 2-of-7; Sacks — Texas 1, Alabama 0; Turnovers — Alabama 1 (interception), Texas 0

Halftime: Some game observations

Texas, a 7-point underdog today, leads Alabama 13-6 at halftime. Some observations through the first two quarters:

∙ Texas' defensive front is having a day. The Horns are pressuring Jalen Milroe. The interior line is stuffing the run. Milroe has shown his quick feet to get out of sacks, but also has been forced into a couple of throwaway passes.

∙ The offensive line is protecting Quinn Ewers.

∙ CJ Baxter is Texas' lead back tonight. He got the first touch of the game. He's the Horns' leading rusher. He looks quick out there. Texas has gone to him even on short-yardage runs.

∙ So far, Texas has avoided mistakes. Can't say the same for Bama, which had a costly pass interference penalty and a costly facemask penalty, both 15-yarders that led to scores.

Texas' biggest plays so far:

∙ Quinn Ewers' 44-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy to make it 10-3.

∙ Jahdae Barron's interception, which set up a UT field goal and 3-0 lead.

∙ Ryan Watts' end zone pass breakup, forcing Bama to settle for a field goal.

∙ David Gbenda's third-down sack to force a punt.

∙ Ja'Tavion Sanders' fumble recovery, preserving an eventual field goal.

Halftime: Texas leads by 7

It's halftime. Will Reichard's 30-yard field goal has this a 13-6 game.

On what probably would have been the play of the game, Jalen Milroe's 15-yard touchdown pass that came after he evaded two would-be UT sacks and was caught in the end zone only after Jaylan Ford tipped it on what should have been an interception was called back because of a penalty.

Alabama's drive started at its own 38 with 1:34 left in the half. The big play was a 28-yard pass from Jalen Milroe to Kobe Prentice on third-and-8 near midfield.

The Crimson Tide will get the ball to start the third quarter.

2nd quarter: Texas pads its lead

There's 4:05 left in the first half. Texas is up by 10 points, 13-3, on Bert Auburn's 29-yard field goal.

Drive observations:

∙ It was a 14-play, 82-yard drive that took up 6:25 off the clock.

∙ Quinn Ewers was sharp on the drive, hanging tough in the pocket to find Ja'Tavion Sanders for a nice gain, finding his targets, completing his short passes.

∙ Texas' front line showed its muscle on a short push up the middle by CJ Baxter for a first down. It didn't produce a lot of yards, but it did result in a first down.

∙ This easily could have been a 17-3 game, but Bama DB Kool-Aid McKinstry was able to break up what would've been a TD catch by Jonathon Brooks.

∙ An early facemask penalty got Texas out of an early hold on the drive, as it started at the Horns' own 7-yard line. The penalty, though, moved the ball past the 20.

2nd quarter: Texas gets the ball back

There's 10:30 left in the half. Texas still leads 10-7.

How did Alabama respond to the Xavier Worthy touchdown?

The crowd feels a bit stunned. Jase McClellan dropped an easy catch. The Tide converted a third-and-5. Jalen Milroe evaded two sack attempts on the same play but then LB David Gbenda made Texas' third big defensive play of the day by sacking Milroe on another third down. Bama punted, and Texas will take over at its own 7.

(The first two big defensive plays, by the way, are Jahdeae Barron's interception that set up the first field goal and Ryan Watts' end zone pass breakup that forced Bama to settle for their field goal.)

2nd quarter: A Ewers deep throw ... and a Texas touchdown

There's 13:26 left in the second quarter, and Texas is leading Alabama 10-3.

And the touchdown couldn't have come in a more welcome fashion: a 44-yard deep threw from Quinn Ewers to Xavier Worthy, a high, arching throw that literally dropped into Worthy's hands in the end zone. It was the second deep shot the two tried on this drive; on the first one, Ewers' throw ended up closer to a Bama safety than to Worthy. Ewers was 0-for-4 on deep shots and 0-for-7 on throws longer than 20 yards in last week's win over Rice. So this 44-yarder was good news for the Horns.

The 44-yarder is tied for Texas' longest TD pass of the season. Ja'Tavion Sanders had a 44-yard touchdown catch vs. Rice.

2nd quarter: Will Reicher sighting

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Alabama tied this game.

Will Reicher's 42-yard field goal has it at 3-3.

Just as Steve Sarkisian rolled the fourth-down dice in Texas' last drive, so too did Nick Saban on this one. Bama went for it on fourth-and-3 from Texas' 43-yard line, and converted it on a really nice catch in traffic by Malik Benson. But Ryan Watts broke up a Jalen Milroe pass into the end zone, and just as the Horns had to settle for a field goal, so have the Crimson Tide.

We're keeping an eye on the battles up front tonight — Texas' offensive line vs. Alabama's defensive line, and Bama's offensive front against Texas' defensive front. So far, it's pretty even. The Horns aren't generating a disruptive pass rush, but are delivering good pops when Bama runs. On the other side, Quinn Ewers hasn't been harassed yet, but he's also generally throwing quick, shorter routes.

1st quarter: Longhorns draw first blood

There's 4:42 left in the opening quarter, and Texas leads Alabama 3-0.

Bert Auburn's 32-yard field goal has the Longhorns up early, all made possible by Jahdae Barron's interception on Alabama's first drive. Barron set the offense up at the 30, and Steve Sarkisian gambled on a fourth-and-2 from Bama's 12 rather than taking the three points. His gamble paid off — Quinn Ewers found Ja'Tavion Sanders for a short gain to set up a first-and-goal — but it didn't lead to a touchdown. On third-and-goal from the 4, Ewers' pass to Xavier Worthy in the end zone went through the receiver's hands.

Sanders was the hero of the drive. He kept it alive with that short grab, but earlier on it he recovered an Adonai Mitchell fumble inside the 15.

1st quarter: Texas is in scoring position

The first big play of the game has gone Texas' way.

Jahdae Barron picked off a Jalen Milroe pass and has returned it to Bama's 30-yard line.

Stay tuned.

1st quarter: An eventful, if not productive, Texas drive

There's about 9 minutes left in the first quarter. It's 0-0.

Texas' first drive was eventful. Ended in a punt, of course, but still.

It was CJ Baxter for the first couple of plays, including an 11-yard quick pass on the very first play of the game, and Quinn Ewers converted a third-and-5 with a scramble. The play of the drive, though, turned out not to be a play at all: Ja'Tavion Sanders caught a short pass but was hit immediately, and the ball popped loose. Jonathon Brooks was able to finally pounce on the recovery 14 yards back, but a video review led to the call being reversed.

The Horns faced a fourth-and-3 at Alabama's 43. Texas lined up as if to go for it, but let the play clock expire. "Wise decision by Sark to punt on fourth-and-3," Kirk Bohls messaged in our private chat. "He ain't playing Rice tonight."

Wise decision, indeed. The punt was downed inside the 5 thanks to a brilliant end zone save by Kitan Crawford, who skied high to flip the ball back into the field of play.

For the record, Lee Corso picked Texas.

Kickoff. Finally.

The national anthem has been sung, the teams have run onto the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium and we're about to get a kickoff.

Alabama won the toss and chose to take the ball to start the second half. Texas will open on offense first.

So you're sayin' there's a chance?

We're about 15 minutes away from kickoff.

Earlier this week, Kirk Bohls (who's picking Texas to win, 27-24) laid out six reasons why the Longhorns can prevail in Tuscaloosa: (1) The Horns didn't exactly look lifeless against Rice, but they also didn't look overwhelmingly strong or crisp, either. "I like a highly motivated team that didn't play it best," Kirk wrote; (2) Bama's 56-7 crushing of Middle Tennessee State should make the Tide a bit complacent, which can only help; (3) Last year's 20-19 game in Austin helps Texas' confidence and also helps Alabama think it still won despite having played off its game; (4) the Longhorns won't be intimidated; (5) Jalen Milroe's making career start No. 3, while Quinn Ewers will be starting No. 12; and (6) Steve Sarkisian probably held back a lot in the opener, including a wrinkle or two for facing his old boss.

A full crew in Tuscaloosa

We sent six American-Statesman staffers to tonight's game: beat writers Danny Davis and Thomas Jones, columnists Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden, digital reporter Caleb Yum and photographer Aaron Martinez. Here's how our writers are picking the game:

Kirk Bohls: Texas, 27-24. The Longhorns haven't won a high-profile nonconference road game since they upset Ohio State in Columbus in the 2005 championship season, but this will be a repeat of that milestone victory as Texas contains QB Jalen Milroe and edges Alabama.

Danny Davis: Alabama. The Longhorns are 3-6 in true road games during the Steve Sarkisian era, and I don't think that breakthrough will come in front of 100,000 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Cedric Golden: Alabama, 33-24. I believe Quinn Ewers will play well, but Alabama's home-field advantage and Nick Saban being, well, Nick Saban, will add up to a Horns loss.

Thomas Jones: Alabama, 26-24. Home-field advantage and All-American K Will Reichard prove just enough for the Tide to escape with a win.

Heading toward kickoff

We're about 40 minutes away from kickoff.

It's sunny and humid in Tuscaloosa, with temperatures in the mid-80s. Anyone back home in Austin would take that.

The Longhorns lead the all-time series, 7-2-1, but those two losses have come in the last two meetings: the 2009 BCS national championship game loss — you remember that one, where Colt McCoy was lost in the first quarter and Texas nearly rallied for a win behind Garrett Gilbert — and last year's 20-19 squeaker in Austin — you remember that one, where Quinn Ewers was lost at the end of the first quarter and Texas nearly rallied for a win behind Hudson Card.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football vs. Alabama: Updates, game analysis