KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Bryce Young was back, but the Crimson TIde’s defense never really showed up. No. 6 Tennessee snapped its 15-game losing streak to No. 3 Alabama, racing to a fast start before holding on for a 52-49 victory.
After sitting out with a sprained shoulder last week, Young put up one of his best performances in an Alabama uniform, torching Tennessee for 455 yards and two touchdowns. However, his heroics came up one drive short in the final minute of the fourth quarter
With the game tied at 49, Alabama kicker Will Reichard missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt, giving Tennessee the ball at its own 32-yard line with 15 seconds remaining. From there, the Volunteers drove the ball 45 yards on three plays, setting up a 40-yard game-winning field goal from Tennessee kicker Chase McGrath.
Here’s a look at how Alabama performed on the evening.
GOOD
A Heisman-worthy performance from Bryce Young
Alabama's Heisman winner did everything he could to pull out the win. Young was spectacular on the day, keeping the Crimson Tide alive with several dazzling plays in the pocket.
The junior never appeared to be limited by his sore shoulder despite taking a few big hits by Tennessee’s defense. After Alabama fell down 28-10 with 11:41 left in the half, he rallied the offense to four straight scoring drives to take a 35-34 lead with 4:27 to play in the third quarter, completing 11 of 15 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown over that span.
After Tennessee tied the game at 49 with 3:26 to play, Young appeared poised to put together his second game-winning drive of the season. However, Reichard's kick sailed right of the uprights. During Alabama's final drive, Young completed 4 of 9 passes for 48 yards, picking up two third downs through the air in the process.
“I thought Bryce played really well in the game, made a lot of plays offensively," Nick Saban said following the game. "Just didn’t get going on defense when we had the chance. On the last drive when they tied the game, got a third-down penalty, got a fourth-down penalty that led to their score to tie the game. And had an opportunity, needed to get a little closer for the field goal kick, and we didn’t get that done.”
