No. 1 Tide Holds Off Gators 31-29 In Thrilling SEC Opener

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA — The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide staved off a late surge by the No. 13 Florida Gators Saturday as the Tide opened SEC play on the road with a 31-29 win in The Swamp.

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Alabama By The Numbers

Total yards: 331

Turnovers: 0

First downs: 19

Time of possession: 28:10

Florida By The Numbers

Total yards: 439

Turnovers: 1

First downs: 26

Time of possession: 31:50

Here are the stat lines and stories we are following

• Florida scored with a little more than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter and was forced to go for two to tie the game, but came up short on a failed read-option play.
• After jumping out to a 21-3 lead to end the first quarter, the Gators would outscore the Tide 26-10 and out-gain their visitors for the rest of the ballgame.
• Sophomore quarterback Bryce Young went 22-f0r-35, tossing for 240 yards and 3 scores with no interceptions. The early-season Heisman Trophy favorite now has seven passing touchdowns on the season and has not thrown an interception.
• The ball was spread around to the receiving corps, with eight different players snagging passings. Jase McClellan, Jahleel Billingsley and Brian Robinson Jr. each had touchdown receptions.
• Robinson, a product of Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, led the Crimson Tide on the ground, carrying the ball 15 times for 78 yards and a rushing score, in addition to his 7-yard receiving touchdown.
• Receiver John Metchie III led the Crimson Tide offense in catches, with 6 for 49 yards.
• Jameson Williams came away with the most receiving yards on the night, grabbing 4 catches for 61 yards.
• Jalyn Armour-Davis, a junior defensive back from Mobile, made his first career interception for the Crimson Tide on Saturday.
• Kicker Will Reichard was perfect on extra point attempts and made his lone field goal attempt of the afternoon from 24 yards.

No. 1 Alabama (3-0) will host Southern Miss (1-1) next Saturday, Sept. 25 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Kickoff for that game is set for 6:30 p.m. Southern Miss is set to kick off against Troy at 6 p.m. Saturday.

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