Steve Sarkisian had asked his University of Texas players to have faith.
In return, Sarkisian uncorked a game plan Saturday night at No. 3 Alabama that gave his 11th-ranked Longhorns chance after chance to land staggering blows on the Crimson Tide.
The result? Texas outpaced host Alabama, 34-24, in a game in which the Longhorns trailed for less than 70 seconds.
"Well, I think the biggest thing was, I told the players just to trust me," Sarkisian told ESPN's Holly Rowe. "We were going to be aggressive in everything that we did.
"And I had to back up what I preached if I wanted them to play that way, too."
Texas chewed through Alabama for 454 yards' offense, commanded a five-minute edge in time of possession and played a far more disciplined game -- just four penalties for 40 yards compared to the Tide's nine flags for 90 yards.
The Longhorns' win was the first by a visiting team at Alabama since Joe Burrow led LSU to an 46-41 win in 2019 en route to Burrow and the Tigers winning the College Football Playoff.
Sark had, naturally, not informed his team of the Tide's home dominance.
"Well, I didn't want to tell the guys that they were 52-1 in their last 53 games here," he said. "I guess they're 52-2 now."
The Horns nearly had upended Alabama in Austin, Texas, last year; they had command until Quinn Ewers was injured and Bryce Young led the Crimson Tide to a 20-19 win.
This year, without Young, Alabama's offense was disjointed -- it finished with just 362 yards and two turnovers -- and Texas never relented.