Jeff Howe

Bowen's three right before the buzzer makes it a one-point game. Texas went the last 2:59 of the half without a field goal while the Tide ended the half on an 11-1 run.

Alabama is on an 8-1 run right now.

The full-extension shove is what did it.

The technical foul on Swain and the four subsequent foul shots allow Alabama to make it a five-point game, 45-40, with 1:54 left in the half.

This is the best effort and focus/intensity I've seen from Texas this season.

Approaching the four-minute mark of the first half and Texas leads Alabama by nine, 43-34.

Massive news for Texas! Will Muschamp's first big recruiting win in his second stint with the Longhorns!

Texas (9-6, 0-2 SEC) is looking for its first win in conference play under Sean Miller tonight when the Longhorns visit No. 13 Alabama (11-4, 1-1) in Tuscaloosa. It’s a 7 p.m. start on ESPN.

Call it luck, call it breaks, but you need them along the way to win a national championship.

Texas wanted Edwin Joseph, but I don’t believe the staff was going to engage anyone in a bidding war over him. With Bo Mascoe in the boat and Derek Williams coming back, the front seven is the priority for the defensive staff.

Bijan was also second-team All-Pro as the all-purpose player.

Chris Jackson checked in with Easton Royal today:

Haynes had foot surgery in November. There was hope he would’ve been back for the Ohio State game, but he missed that game and opted out of the bowl game.

Foot

Essentially, yes. This is the case.

He didn’t enter the portal. He declared for the draft.

That's what makes the struggles Texas had in the early portion of the portal frustrating for me. It's not just one thing. It's a case-by-case basis on the misses. The other dynamic is that Florida and Michigan have new coaches. Texas targeted guys that both schools didn't want to lose.

I don't know, Coop, what do you think is more plausible: That nobody on an 85-man person squad attended a party thrown by the captain? Or could it be that when the cops got to the place and realized that Sark's boys had done nothing wrong, decided not to take down any of the players' names because they didn't want to jam up a bunch of good kids for doing nothing? No, wait a minute... Your theory seems right. Arch Manning... Arch Manning hasn't got any friends. Good luck with the portal today!

I don’t know about tackle heavy, but those guys are higher priorities than interior linemen and there was a rush to get in line to get them when the portal opened.

I’ll enforce my no-trade clause.

Offensive line intel has been kept under lock and key. It would be foolish to not have a contingency plan and I believe Texas has one. We just don’t know who, what or when.

We knew what the plan was when the portal opened. What none of us knows is what the backup plan will be. That’s where I’m at right now. After striking out on its top OL targets, I’m willing to wait and see what the counterpunch is before rendering a verdict. Let’s see if the staff can pull the nose up.