The look of disgust washed over the face of an Alabama student manager Saturday night. Looking down before shaking her head and closing her eyes, the moment was setting in.

A few moments later, the final indignity.

The 10th and final penalty of the Crimson Tide’s ugly night ensured the ultimate insult. The offside flag on a fourth-down with 2:09 left meant Texas could drive the stake deep.

For Nick Saban, kneeling out the final snaps of a game is a statement — an emphatic punctuation that signifies not just winning a game but truly beating the opposition. So, the fact Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was able to end the night with three straight kneel-downs wasn’t insignificant.

That it ended a 12-play, 34-yard death march made it even worse.

Texas didn’t just win, 34-24 on Saturday night, it beat Alabama. And that’s more significant than the fact this was the first double-digit home loss for the Crimson Tide since 2004.

It was the way Texas wore them down and hit another gear right when it felt like they were about to settle into their familiar roles. The 49-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe to Jermaine Burton at the end of the third quarter would have typically been the turning point, maybe even the climax.

Texas has, for the past decade-plus, wilted in big moments. A year ago, the Longhorns outplayed Alabama for long stretches before falling from ahead, 20-19 in Austin.

Only this time, Texas rolled off three fourth-quarter touchdowns when it outscored the hosts 21-8.

And for all the talk of Alabama finding a new identity, it again looked a lot like the Crimson Tide of 2022.

This comes down to the basics: Discipline, the line of scrimmage, possession.

The penalties, nearly non-existent last week, were back to last year’s level and they were brutal. Twice touchdowns were called back on drives that ended in field goals instead.

Alabama, the home team, was called for three false starts. Texas, the road team playing in a hostile environment, had none.

In terms of the line of scrimmage, Milroe was sacked five times and hurried on four other occasions. Ewers was hurried thrice and never sacked.

Milroe threw two interceptions that turned into 10 Texas points. Twice he stared down receivers and Texas made him pay on a night money was left all over the field.

There was a third-down play where running back Jase McClellan sprinted untouched out of the backfield only to see what was likely to be a touchdown toss from Milroe sail a few inches too far.

Even the good plays were abstract in their beauty. Milroe’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Amari Niblack early in the fourth quarter came after one of at least a half dozen errant shotgun snaps.

It was just sloppy and, unlike last year in Austin, Alabama ran out of magic.

Add the 5-for-14 third-down success rate to the turnovers, penalties and line-of-scrimmage management and the math wasn’t there.

Even so, Alabama had a puncher’s chance until Texas went beyond the KO punch and reached for the Crimson Tide’s pride.

The symbolism of the final 12-play, 34-yard slog can’t be undersold.

Jabbed with a butter knife for runs of 3, 5, 3, 2, 1, 14, 3, 0 and 4 yards before the offside was an assault on Alabama’s legacy. The sixth run, that 3-yarder, came from former Alabama running back Keilan Robinson who transferred to Texas after Steve Sarkisian was hired. It was only his third carry of the night, but the point was made.

With that 10th penalty and the three knees that followed, Texas turned the knife.

And the wild celebration had the feel of LSU’s 2019 exorcism of Alabama demons in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Texas fans chanted “SEC, SEC, SEC” as its marching band — banished to the upper corner of the end zone — played the Eyes of Texas from the heavens.

It capped a day bathed in everything special about college football in this part of the country. A gorgeous afternoon saw Tuscaloosa overflowing with first-time visitors as it hosted a Power-5 non-conference opponent for the first time since Penn State came in 2010.

It was a day of horns up and horns down in what was a playful preview of what’ll be an SEC rivalry come next year.

Vince Young was there.

So were a few United States senators, the Texas governor, Matthew McConaughey and his hat.

All came for the spectacle of two old powers put on a show at the center of the college football universe.

What they got was a sloppy game.

It was borderline bizarre for long stretches before taking shape in a fourth quarter that assaulted the very identity of this Crimson Tide program.

This was a fourth quarter that heard a smattering of boos from the home crowd unaccustomed to this fate.

But mostly the locals sat in stunned silence as Texas slowly grinded Alabama into submission on a night that felt unlike any other in the Saban era.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.