Discussing Texas DL T’Vondre Sweat’s role as an X-Factor against ‘Bama

We got third-down T’Vondre Sweat on every down against Rice. Texas could need another performance like that against Alabama.

There’s a world in which Texas Longhorns can beat the Alabama Crimson Tide. Albeit, it might not be the way in which we thought it would occur.

Through one game it’s evident that the defense, not the offense, is the strength of this Texas team. Particularly, the defensive line might be the best position group. It could need to wreck the Tide’s vaunted offense and muddy the game for the Longhorns to win.

Texas enters Saturday with a 1-0 record, although its first game wasn’t the strongest performance. In many ways, the Longhorns looked to have righted a poor first half with a strong second half. The team secured three consecutive touchdown drives following halftime changes. Even so, the 16-point first half output left plenty to be desired.

The Texas defense, however, shut down the Rice offense. Rice ran just over 50 plays of offense on the game. 14 plays and a touchdown came on the final drive with several backups in the game.

Much of Texas’ defensive success against the Owls revolved around defensive tackles. T’Vondre Sweat in particular moved faster than you would expect a 362-pounder to move. He’s primed for a big game this Saturday.

We have seen Sweat give Alabama fits before. Last season, he made the Crimson Tide offensive line look like a turnstile before causing what many believe should have been a safety on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. He’s ready to do it again this season.

We have noted that Sweat has shown up in big ways on money downs in past seasons. On Saturday, we got third down T’Vondre Sweat on every down. If that continues, Texas should put up a strong defensive performance on Saturday night.

Texas takes on Alabama at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN on Sept. 9.