The defending national champions, the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, opened up Week 1 with a massive win against the No. 14 ranked Miami Hurricanes. With Alabama’s win, their winning streak is extended to 15 straight games, the longest in the FBS.
Bryce Young
One of the key components to Alabama’s success Saturday was former Mater Dei (CA) QB, Bryce Young. As a redshirt freshman, there were questions about whether Young could step into Mac Jones’ shoes. Those questions would be answered quickly, as Young would open up with a 37-yard touchdown pass on the first drive to John Metchie III. Metchie III would finish Saturday’s game with six receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. Young’s defining moment of the game came at 9:29 in the third quarter. On a 3rd and 5, Young passed and completed a long bomb to Ohio State transfer WR Jameson Williams, who sped by Miami defenders for a 96-yard TD pass. The Ohio State transfer also had an incredible debut, finishing with four catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.
Bryce Young would finish with a huge day overall, going 27-of-38 passing with 344 yards and four touchdowns. Young’s four-touchdown performance steals the record from Joe Namath and Mac Jones for the most touchdown passes in a debut as an Alabama starting quarterback.
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes came into Saturday’s game with hopes they could compete or pull off an upset. Those hopes were knocked out of the window quickly, as Alabama torched Miami’s defense by scoring on their first five drives. Miami would not score until an Andres Borregales field goal with 0:02 seconds left in the first half. An upside to the loss was Andres Borregales. He went a perfect 2-of-2 on field goals and 1-of-1 on extra points. D’Eriq King also had a decent game, completing 23-of-33 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown (and two interceptions). Miami’s only touchdown of the game came from a D’Eriq King to Xavier Restrepo diving catch in the end zone.
Manny Diaz on Saturday’s game: “They’re disappointed, they came here to compete. They worked really hard. When you go into film session tomorrow, you remove the result from the film and look at exactly individual performances and what got us to that final result.”
Next Up
Miami will look to record its first win of the season against Appalachian State next week. Meanwhile, Alabama will look to continue their winning streak when they face Mercer next week.