Despite the noise surrounding the highly anticipated matchup between Texas and No. 1 Alabama, redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers looked comfortable against the Crimson Tide on Saturday.

After Alabama pieced together an 11-play drive ending in a field goal to open the first quarter, Ewers put together a scoring drive of his own, moving 67 yards down the field in a 14-play drive that also ended in a field goal.

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Ewers responded well to Alabama running back Jase McClellon’s 81-yard rushing touchdown on the subsequent drive. In contrast to last week’s Louisiana-Monroe game where he primarily relied on sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders as a security blanket, Ewers took some flashy shots. On a 1st-and-10 with time in the pocket, Ewers rolled back and launched a 46-yard dime to sophomore Xavier Worthy along the Texas sideline.

However, all 105,213 fans packed into DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium fell silent one play later, when Ewers went down with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

Lined up on Alabama’s one-yard line, the Crimson Tide linebacker Will Anderson Jr. blew through freshman lineman Cole Hutson and redshirt senior lineman Christian Jones. After evading Anderson, Ewers was brought down on his left shoulder by linebacker Dallas Turner, who earned a roughing the passer penalty for the move.

Slow to get up, Ewers ventured into the medical tent and later the locker room, handing the reins over to sophomore quarterback Hudson Card. After the conclusion of the drive, the Longhorns couldn’t muster any more touchdowns and ultimately fell to No. 1 Alabama 20-19, nearly completing a major upset.

Through spring training and fall camp, Ewers and Card were engaged in a tight quarterback battle, with Ewers taking the job two weeks before the Louisiana-Monroe game. But in the wake of Ewers’ clavicle sprain, Card could be Texas’ starting quarterback for the foreseeable future—and he looked comfortable in that role facing the top-ranked team in the country.

Before Card entered the game, junior running back Bijan Robinson pulled Card over to the side and prayed.

“As soon as (Ewers) went down, Hudson was ready to go,” Robinson said. “I just told him ‘Bro, you’ve been practicing for this moment. I know that he got injured, and now it’s your turn to step up and be the guy.’”

Card finished off Ewers’ 75-yard drive with a handoff to Robinson for a game-tying touchdown, only to put together a long, incremental drive of his own as time expired in the first half. At the tail end of the second quarter, Card used Robinson’s versatility to his disposal, connecting with the running back for a 42-yard catch-and-run to advance into Alabama’s territory.

With the help of some pass interference penalties on Alabama, Texas marched down to the 2-yard line just before the end of the half, when sophomore kicker Bert Auburn’s field goal attempt hooked to the right after a poor snap.

Missed opportunities and bad luck presented themselves in the second half. Card had pesky pain in his left ankle which prevented him from using his legs to extend plays and improvise after making his reads. Furthermore, senior defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat’s safety was called back after redshirt senior DeMarvion Overshown was penalized for targeting.

Although the call was eventually overturned, a safety could not be awarded after the fact, which was a game changer for Texas. Regardless, Overshown said that the defense couldn’t dwell on what could have been and had to move on.

“That’s part of the adversity that we had to go through throughout that game,” Overshown said. “We responded well and (got) them off the field anyways.”

The final four minutes of the game featured two lead changes. Despite Card’s injury, he drove his offense 44 yards down the field, setting the stage for Auburn to make a go-ahead 49-yard field goal with 1:29 remaining. However, Texas’ lead was short lived. After a near sack by junior cornerback Ryan Watts, Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young rolled over towards his sideline and ran 20 yards for a first down, setting Alabama up for a game-winning field goal.

Even though Texas lost in the final seconds of the game, head coach Steve Sarkisian was proud of the way the Longhorns played against the best team in the country. Sarkisian said he wasn’t surprised, though. He knew that if his team played its brand and style of football, they would have a puncher’s chance against the Crimson Tide.

“Let’s call it like it is: Nobody gave us a chance in this game,” Sarkisian said. “But we believed in our locker room (that) we could go win this game.”