TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Since it was announced that Texas was leaving for the Southeastern Conference in the summer of 2021, the Longhorns have often been mocked during down times on the road with a three-letter chant.

S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!

On Saturday night on the University of Alabama's campus, however, that taunt turned into a cheer. As No. 11 Texas wrapped up a 34-24 win over the third-ranked Crimson Tide, it was Texas fans nestled snugly among a sold-out crowd of 100,077 at Bryant-Denny Stadium who began to yell "S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!"

"I was in there chanting S-E-C too," UT offensive lineman Christian Jones said. "Just going out there and winning a game on the road in a stadium like this with the rich history that Alabama does have, and just being able to win and chant 'S-E-C' and not have to walk into a locker room feeling unhappy and whatnot, it's a step in the right direction."

The 10-point triumph — the biggest of the 15 wins recorded so far in the Steve Sarkisian era — was decided in the fourth quarter, which opened with Texas (2-0) trailing 16-13.

But on the final frame's first snap, Adonai Mitchell drew a pass interference call that moved Texas up 15 yards to the UT 43. Tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders then ripped off a 50-yard catch-and-run through the Alabama defense before Mitchell's 7-yard touchdown catch lifted the Longhorns back to a 20-16 lead.

The Crimson Tide were given a chance to respond, but Texas safety Jerrin Thompson immediately intercepted Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. Thompson's return to the Alabama 5 set up a short touchdown run for Jonathon Brooks.

In the span of 70 seconds, Texas had turned a three-point deficit into a 27-16 lead. Now the Longhorns just had to hold on.

From there, Texas was able to put a bow on its first road win over a top-five team since 2005. The Longhorns forced a punt with 7:14 remaining, and the offense ran out the clock with a 12-play drive.

"It was just real good, complementary football on all phases," Thompson said.

Entering Saturday's game, Texas was 0-6 under Sarkisian when it entered the fourth quarter trailing. It had also led Alabama, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech in 2022 and Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor in 2021 after three quarters, but lost all of those games in heartbreaking fashion.

This time around, Texas closed it out. In the fourth quarter, the Longhorns gained 176 yards and scored three times. Alabama picked up just 67 yards on its 10 fourth-quarter snaps, and both Ethan Burke and Anthony Hill recorded sacks for Texas.

Alabama (1-1) made Texas sweat with a 39-yard touchdown catch and a 2-point conversion with 11:08 remaining. The Longhorns, however, answered with a 39-yard score of their own from Mitchell, his second of the night. "We knew we had to come out and score a touchdown. There was no more to it than that," said quarterback Quinn Ewers of that seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive.

"I know sometimes it sounds like coachspeak, but I believe this: you get what you emphasize in this profession," Sarkisian said. "As coaches, I know sometimes, going back to year one, how ugly some of those fourth quarters were. And then we go last year where we were kind of 50-50, we played decent fourth quarters and we didn't play great in some fourth quarters and we lost some games. As you continue to, as a coach, put forth an emphasis in practicing things, tonight, I think it shined through with our ability to play fourth-quarter football."

In victory, Ewers led the offense with 349 passing yards and three touchdowns. Jalen Catalon had a team-high seven tackles and both Jahdae Barron and Thompson intercepted a Milroe pass.

Sanders topped 100 receiving yards for the first time in his college career. Those 114 yards paced a passing attack that also got big plays from Xavier Worthy (five catches, 75 yards), Jordan Whittington (three catches, 44 yards) and Mitchell (three catches, 78 yards and two touchdowns).

All five of Worthy's catches were recorded in the first half, but he only had one catch over the first 15 minutes. In fact, he dropped a touchdown pass on a drive that ended with the game's first points, a 32-yard field goal by Bert Auburn.

In the second quarter, Worthy heated up. One of his catches came on a third-down play in which Worthy lined up in the backfield, bounced off a tackle that would have stopped him short of the marker and picked up enough yardage to give UT a fresh set of downs. More importantly, though, he hauled in a 44-yard bomb that Ewers threw into the end zone with 13:26 left in the quarter. That touchdown catch was set up by a pass interference that Mitchell drew on a trick-play throw from Worthy.

"That was a dot," Worthy joked when asked about his pass. Texas entered halftime with a 13-6 lead.

After the game, several Longhorns were asked what the win said about Texas. Worthy felt that Texas proved it is a team to be reckoned with. Thompson called the victory a "statement."

Jones, a sixth-year senior, was able to find an even deeper meaning. During his second year on campus in 2019, LSU beat Texas in Austin with some fourth-quarter fireworks. And there was the quadruple-overtime loss to Oklahoma in 2020 and a stumble against the Sooners the following year in which UT blew a 21-point first-half lead. Last year, Alabama rallied past the Longhorns with a late field goal at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

"It's about time that Texas has won this type of game," Jones said. "I remember vividly 2019, Joe Burrow, losing. Last year, losing. Just winning this game, I'm happy. I'm so happy and I know everyone in the locker room is happy."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas beat Alabama 34-24, ending nation's longest home win streak