Alabama is getting its first true test of the season from the Texas players and the crowd.
Several mental penalties from the Crimson Tide have helped the Longhorn’s offense get going early in the game, and giving Steve Sarkisian free yards certainly isn’t what Nick Saban intends to do.
Freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers proved why he was amongst the most heralded prospects in his recruiting class as he started the game 9/12 for 134 yards. But Ewers’ day appears to have been cut short at the moment as he left the game with a shoulder injury after being tackled by Dallas Turner in the end zone.
The Crimson Tide has been able to take away Texas’ main threat in running back Bijan Robinson so far as it’s won the battle up front in the trenches.
Offensively for Alabama, it’s been tough sledding as the team has struggled to get anything going in the passing game. Texas has covered well on the backend as it stumped quarterback Bryce Young and halted him from creating any big plays with his arm.
But the story of the first half for Saban’s squad has been the undisciplined nature of its play on both sides of the football.
Alabama had 11 penalties in the first half, the most since 2008, and it’s given Texas several key opportunities to take advantage of.
It wasn’t more apparent than at the end of the first half when defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry was called for back-to-back pass interference penalties which took Texas down inside the 10-yard line with seconds to go before the half.
Alabama was bailed out by a bad snap and kick from Texas which kept the score tied as things went to the half.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
