Alabama football rankings: Texas Stuns Alabama in Tuscaloosa

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban addressed the Crimson Tide's 34-24 loss to the Texas Longhorns in a Saturday night press conference.

"You know this was a test, you know, for us," said Coach Saban. "I told the players early in the week that this was going to be a test, that we were going to play a really good team and we would actually find out where we were as a team and, um, this 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."

Quarterback Jalen Milroe was quickly brought down to earth, completing 14 of 27 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns to two interceptions. The defense gave up numerous big plays to Texas counterpart Quinn Ewers, including touchdown passes of 44 and 39 yards, respectively.

Beating Alabama as an underdog over the past 15 years has proven nearly impossible. Beating the Crimson Tide as an underdog in Tuscaloosa, however, might be even more difficult than that.

No. 11 Texas, however, did just that Saturday evening. The Longhorns dominated Alabama in every phase of the game and rode a strong performance from quarterback Quinn Ewers to a 34-24 upset.

It was the kind of win that had largely eluded the biggest brand in the sport since its unbeaten 2009 regular season, and college football fans and observers across the country had a lot to say about it.

Despite the loss, Saban had a vote of confidence for his players and the program for the rest of the season.

"I believe in these players, these players have worked hard," said Saban. "It was a great atmosphere in the stadium tonight and I appreciate the fans. They did their part for sure; we didn't do our part well enough. It all starts with me as I said before, but we're going to do everything we can to get it right and get it fixed.

Indeed, the next lowest-ranked team to lose in Week 2 at the time of Alabama's defeat was No. 22 Tulane. It's highly unlikely the Crimson Tide fall that low: Alabama's drop in the rankings likely will be mitigated by unimpressive wins by No. 9 Tennessee and No. 12 Utah against Austin Peay and Baylor, respectively.

Either way, there's plenty of room for growth for Alabama moving forward — both in the college football rankings, and as a team.

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Sarah H 

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