All Things CW: 5 Reasons Why Bryce Young's First Start was Better Than Statistics Indicated
It was an impressive debut as a starter.
Bryce Young went 27-of-38 for 344 yards and four touchdowns, setting Alabama records for four touchdowns thrown and passing yards by quarterback making his starting debut.
His 94-yard touchdown pass tied for the second-longest Crimson Tide history as well.
Young subsequently was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week, and one of the Manning Award’s Stars of the Week.
Actually, his performance against No. 14 was even better than his regular numbers indicated. Here are five reasons why:
1) His misses
Young threw four balls away, including the one that could have resulted in a sack. He also had a ball dropped by an open receiver. His completion percentage should have been closer to 82 percent.
2) Third Downs
Young was 8-for-10 for 157 yards, 80 percent, 2 TDs, 0 Int., 0 sacks. He had a passer rating of 277.9.
The incompletions came on the deep ball he threw into the end zone for Slade Bolden, and on third-and-11 on his final pass attempt of the first half, when he couldn't connect with tight end Cameron Latu.
Seven of those completions were for a first down, which means Young always had a good sense for how many yards were needed.
While his rating on third downs is a bit askew because it includes the 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams in the third quarter, Young's rating for the whole game was 181.9 -- which is still outstanding.
3) Ability to sidestep
How many times did we see Young take a step or two to buy a little more time, or give his receiver a better chance to get open. What he did on his first touchdown pass to Metchie was textbook, stepping out of the pocket and then throwing to the wide open receiver 20 yards downfield.
He also showed a lot of poise, like on the shovel-right pass to running back Jase McClellen for a 6-yard gain on third-and-4.
It was similar to what Alabama fans saw all last season with Mac Jones, who kept his eyes downfield when moving around. It's a skill that shouldn't be underestimated.
4) Miami blitzed and blitzed and blitzed
And why not? It got the Hurricanes their only turnover and they had nothing to lose by going after Young. They notched 10 tackles for a loss, mostly in the second half when Alabama was trying to shorten the game, but only got to Young that one time. He more than handled the barrage of extra attackers.
5) Alabama's team turnover
The Crimson Tide offense had just three players lined up in the same spot as a year ago, guard Emil Ekiyor Jr., Bolden in the slot and wide receiver John Metchie III (although one could make the argument for blocking tight end/lineman Kendall Randolph), plus Even Neal switch positions.
Alabama also had a new offensive coordinator.
Put it all together and Young was more than impressive. He was spectacular under the circumstances, and the offense should only get better.
A little more QB talk
To put Young's third-down numbers into better perspective, here's how they compared to the season numbers by Alabama's recent starting quarterbacks who are now all starting in the NFL:
2020 Mac Jones: 53-for-74, 708 yards, 71.6 percent, 8 TDs, 2 Int., 5 sacks, Rating 182.3
2019 Tua Tagovailoa: 37-for-52, 563 yards, 71.2 percent, 7 TDs, 1 Int., 2 sacks, Rating 202.8
2018 Tua Tagovailoa: 40-for-63, 693 yards, 63.5 percent, 10 TDs, 4 Int., 4 sacks, Rating 201.9
2017 Jalen Hurts: 37-for-72, 560 yards, 51.4 percent, 1 TD, 7 sacks, Rating 121.3
As for their debuts, Hurts didn't start against USC in 2016 (Blake Barnett did and completed 5 of his first 6 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown), but he came into the game and efficiently moved the offense to lead a 52-6 victory. He had 186.5 passer rating.
Tagovailoa's first start was against Louisville. He went 12-for-16 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. His rating was 235.4.
Jones topped that with a ridiculously-high 358.3 rating against Western Carolina, and then he had his first SEC start at Auburn, where he had four touchdown passes and two passes picked off and returned for touchdowns. He still had a 162.4 rating.
He bounced back against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, going 16-for-25 for 327 yards and three touchdowns, for a 213.5 rating.
Another Key Statistic vs. Miami
Even though D'Eriq King was very efficient in completing 23 of 30 passes (76.7 percent), it was primarily due to short gains under the coverage.
The Hurricanes managed very few explosive plays, which was a big reason why the defense met its team scoring goal of 13 or fewer points.
Nick Saban defines an explosive play as a run of 13 or more yards, or a pass of 17 or more yards.
The defense gave up just two on the ground (although one was on the last play by the backup quarterback), and three in the air, including the 29-yard touchdown pass when down 41-3.
Alabama's offensive goal is nine explosive plays per game. It only had three in the running game, and four in the passing game, but four of the seven were for touchdowns.
Odds Continue to be in Alabama's favor
By thumping Miami in Atlanta, the Crimson Tide drew more love from oddsmakers this week.
Per BetOnline (www.BetOnline.ag), Alabama has seen its odds of winning the national championship go from 7/2 in January after last season's title game, to preseason 13/5 and now 9/4.
Georgia is second at 4/1, ahead of Ohio State (11/2), Oklahoma (15/2) and Clemson (8/1).
As for the Heisman Trophy, Young is listed as the favorite at 13/4, ahead of Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral at 6/1. Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler and Ohio State's CJ Stroud are at 12/1, with Georgia quarterback J.T Daniels at 14/1.
That gives the SEC three of the top-five favorites, and leads to this next point.
How bad is the ACC?
One week into the season and it's already pretty obvious that it's a down year in the ACC, which could have a tough time securing a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Here's a breakdown of this week's AP Top 25 by conference:
- SEC — 6 (Nos. 1, 2, 5, 13, 20, 25).
- Pac-12 — 5 (Nos. 12, 14, 16, 21, 23).
- ACC — 4 (Nos. 6, 19, 22, 24).
- Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 3, 10, 11, 18).
- Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 4, 9 , 15).
- American — 1 (No. 7).
- Sun Belt — 1 (No. 17).
- Independent — 1 (No. 8).
Now look at that list ahead with the top 12, which is the proposed number of teams for playoff expansion:
- SEC — 3 (Nos. 1, 2, 5).
- Big Ten — 3 (Nos. 3, 10, 11).
- Big 12 — 2 (Nos. 4, 9).
- ACC — 1 (No. 6).
- American — 1 (No. 7)
- Independent — 1 (No. 8).
- Pac-12 — 1 (Nos. 12).
Clemson doesn't have an opponent on the schedule that's currently ranked as it avoids all three of the top 25 teams in the other division, Virginia Tech, Miami and North Carolina. Instead, its toughest opponent might be Florida State, which lost in overtime to Notre Dame.
Regardless, the Tigers not only have to win out to have a chance at the national title, but win big.
Did that offense look capable of that against the Bulldogs?
There's already four teams with the inside track to the semifinals: Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma. The four teams directly in their way, but can directly play their way into the playoff, are Texas A&M, Florida, Penn State and Texas.
Clemson needs some help, especially if the Pac-12 plays itself into the mix.
Tide-bits
• Here's how ridiculous the official statistic pressures, or quarterback hurries, is in college football: During the broadcast, ESPN noted that PFF credited Will Anderson Jr. with the most pressures last season with 60. At the same time he was credited by game statisticians with only eight. So how many pressures did the crew working the game in Atlanta give to either team on Saturday? Zero.
• According to BreakingT, which prides itself on real-time fan apparel and other licensed products including with college athletes, Young was No. 1 and Metchie No.8 on its Week 1 NIL top 25 list last week. That was also before it was announced that Young will host a regular podcast for Colin Cowherd’s The Volume. Meanwhile, safety Jordan Battle signed a deal with the same outlet to make weekly appearances on the college football show The JBoy Show hosted by Jake Crain.
• Tagovailoa's brother Taulia had a big game last week while picking apart the rebuilt West Virginia secondary. With veteran receivers Dontay Demus and Rakim Jarrett both making six receptions, he went 26-of-36 for 332 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30-24 victory.
• Did you notice that Miami wasn't able to return a kickoff during the entire game? In addition to make all three field goals and five extra-points, Will Reichard had touchbacks on all seven of his kickoffs. Jack Martin had two kickoffs, one for a touchback and the other went out-of-bounds.
Did You Notice?
• Sports Illustrated's John Garcia Jr. looked back at college football's opening week, with a big de-commitment at quarterback and an ode to McKenzie Milton, during his latest Next Up Podcast.
• College Football Expert Picks: Iowa–Iowa State, Ohio State–Oregon Lead Week 2
• Forde-Yard Dash: Rivals or Nearby Opponents?
• AAC Commissioner: We Will Expand, Remain 'Power 6' in Light of Big 12 Realignment
Christopher Walsh's notes column All Things CW regularly appears on BamaCentral.
