Alabama 55, Utah State 0
(AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
By JOHN ZENOR
AP Sports Writer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young passed for five first-half touchdowns and even ran for 100 yards and a score in No. 1 Alabama's 55-0 opening victory over Utah State.
The Crimson Tide began their quest for national title redemption with a not unexpected start-to-finish domination of the six-touchdown underdog Aggies (1-1). Less anticipated: Young's runs.
Known primarily as a passer with a penchant for scrambling and buying time, Young flashed his running ability more than he ever did last season, including a 63-yarder down the left sideline. He also spread the ball around to Alabama's new set of playmakers, with two touchdown passes to both Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden and some handoffs to Jahmyr Gibbs.
Young ran five times for 100 yards after netting zero yards thanks to sacks last season with a previous long run of 16 yards. He also completed 18 of 28 passes for 195 yards before exiting one drive into the second half following his TD run.
Gibbs, a much talked about transfer from Georgia Tech, flashed his speed with a 58-yard run on the first play after the half. He finished with 93 yards on nine rushes.
His backup, Jase McClellan, caught a pair of TD passes.
Alabama outgained the Aggies 559-136 in total yards.
THE TAKEAWAY
Utah State, which finished last season ranked, had won two straight games against Power 5 teams and started off strong with a 23-yard gain. Then the offense stalled and the defense was overwhelmed by Young & Co. The Aggies couldn't turn a late blocked punt into points.
Alabama: Spent the offseason stewing over a loss to Georgia in the national championship game and came in as the favorite to win the national title, according to FanDuel sportsbook. Then Alabama did pretty much what it wanted to against a mismatched opponent. The Tide put some new playmakers on display after losing receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie III and tailback Brian Robinson Jr.
SIDELINED
Louisville transfer wide receiver Tyler Harrell had a walking boot on his right foot and didn't dress for the game. Tight end Cameron Latu also missed the game with a knee injury.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
UtahSt | Ala |
| Ala |
FG |
9:56 |
Will Reichard 45 yard field goal |
0 |
3 |
| Ala |
TD |
5:55 |
Jermaine Burton 5 yard TD pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
10 |
| Ala |
TD |
3:06 |
Traeshon Holden 9 yard TD pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
17 |
| Second Quarter |
UtahSt | Ala |
| Ala |
TD |
12:19 |
Jermaine Burton 2 yard TD pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
24 |
| Ala |
TD |
10:14 |
Traeshon Holden 14 yard TD pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
31 |
| Ala |
FG |
2:56 |
Will Reichard 33 yard field goal |
0 |
34 |
| Ala |
TD |
0:15 |
Jase McClellan 8 yard TD pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
41 |
| Third Quarter |
UtahSt | Ala |
| Ala |
TD |
13:37 |
Bryce Young 4 yard TD run (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
48 |
| Ala |
TD |
10:18 |
Jase McClellan 17 yard TD pass from Jalen Milroe (Will Reichard Extra Point) |
0 |
55 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Utah State |
Alabama |
| First downs |
7 |
30 |
| Rushing |
4 |
12 |
| Passing |
3 |
14 |
| Penalty |
0 |
4 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
3-17, 18% |
6-10, 60% |
| 4th down efficiency |
2-4, 50% |
0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards |
37-78 |
32-296 |
| Passing Yards |
57 |
281 |
| Return Yards |
23 |
38 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
8-22-0 |
27-40-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
0-0 |
1-7 |
| Punts |
10 |
2 |
| Fumbles Lost |
2-0 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
11-110 |
6-40 |
| Utah State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| I. Larsen |
1 |
23 |
| Alabama Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Utah State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| S. Kotsanlee |
10 |
380 |
38.0 |
| Alabama Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| J. Burnip |
1 |
51 |
51.0 |
| Utah State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Alabama Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| K. McKinstry |
3 |
20 |
6.7 |
| Utah State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Alabama Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Brooks |
1 |
18 |
18.0 |
| Utah State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Alabama Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
