Quinn Ewers, Steve Sarkisian's mutual trust fueled Texas' aggression on offense vs. Alabama
Texas pulled off one of the marquee wins of the season on Saturday night, going into Tuscaloosa and knocking off Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium. And after a 34-24 win, head coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Quinn Ewers shared how their trust in each other underpinned an aggressive offensive approach.
Sarkisian knows his quarterback can go out and make high-level throws, even against the Alabama defense. And Ewers is well aware that his coach is going to have things cooking offensively.
“We always trust coach Sark. He’s got it dialed up, and we prepare the way we prepare, we’re hard to stop,” Ewers said to ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe after the win.
Sarkisian knew he had to back up his aggressive talk with an aggressive play calling streak.
“Well I think the biggest thing was — I told the players just to trust me. We were going to be aggressive in everything that we did and I had to back up what I preached if I wanted them to play that way, too,” Sarkisian said.
Texas didn’t hold back on Saturday, scoring the first touchdown on a rainbow deep ball from Ewers to speedster Xavier Worthy. And in a back-and-forth game throughout the second half, the Longhorns didn’t go into an offensive shell. Sarkisian kept calling early-down passes and Ewers kept making challenge throws, attack downfield and placing balls into difficult spots vs. Alabama coverage.
But even with an aggressive mode, Sarkisian knew it wasn’t a sure thing for his squad to pull off a road win.
“Well I didn’t want to tell the guys that they were 52-1 in their last 53 games,” Sarkisian said of Alabama playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “So I guess they’re 52-2 now.”
The win was also a chance for a national audience to see the growth Ewers made in a season. A year ago, viewers of the game saw Ewers start red hot before getting knocked out with an injury. On Saturday, he turned in a masterful overall performance, showing poise, athleticism and some elite arm talent.
Ewers finished 24-for-38 for 349 yards and three touchdowns. He also was not sacked once.
“It’s huge. God is so good. I can’t say that enough, how much God has put me through and made me so strong. I’m just so proud of my team, our defense. We balled out. I’m fired up for the rest of the way. I’m fired up,” Ewers said.
Rowe asked Ewers what national media should be saying about Texas after the message they sent on the field. Ewers knew better than offer any three-word proclamation about the state of the Longhorns.
“That we still got a lot of games to win. We’re still going to roll, though,” Ewers said.