Alabama opens up offense against outmatched Vanderbilt in SEC opener

AP photo by Vasha Hunt / Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton runs away from Vanderbilt defensive back BJ Anderson during the first half of Saturday night's game in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
AP photo by Vasha Hunt / Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton runs away from Vanderbilt defensive back BJ Anderson during the first half of Saturday night's game in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Bryce Young was flinging the football around as his receivers delivered big plays, a throwback to his Heisman Trophy run that wasn't all that long ago.

Young passed for a season-high 385 yards and four touchdowns as No. 2 Alabama beat Vanderbilt 55-3 Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

It was the first 300-yard game of the season for the Crimson Tide quarterback, who didn't play in the fourth quarter but still finished 25-of-36. It also was a different cast of characters for an offense that lost its top three receivers from last season, with two more injured, and had felt their absence in the first few games.

"It definitely felt good to get some big plays, get some chunk plays," said Young, who opened the season by rushing for 100 yards against Utah State. "We pride ourselves in being an explosive offense."

The Tide (4-0) opted to air it out against the Commodores (3-2) and finally got big games and big plays from multiple receivers. It was the most passing yards for Young since he tallied 421 against Georgia in the SEC championship game in December.

"I think it was kind of our plan going into this game that we would spread these guys out more and try to attack them in the secondary," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "We thought we had some pretty good matchups."

Alabama outgained Vanderbilt 628-129 in total yards. Ja'Corey Brooks had a career night, all in the first half when he had six catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

"He was getting open and making my job easy," said Young, whose passing yardage has increased each game this season.

Until Saturday, Brooks was mostly known at Alabama for his tying touchdown in the final seconds against Auburn to force overtime in last November's Iron Bowl. This was by far his biggest outing with the Tide — the sophomore had four catches for 62 yards through the first three games this season — and he caught passes on four consecutive plays for 68 yards and a touchdown on one drive.

Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton had his biggest game for the Tide with 94 yards on four catches, including a 48-yarder.

Georgia Tech transfer Jahmyr Gibbs, who started the first three games at tailback, mostly lined up at receiver while Jase McClellan took over in the backfield. McClellan ran for 78 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Gibbs, a former Dalton High School standout, caught three passes for 43 yards and a score.

On defense, linebacker Will Anderson Jr. had 2.5 sacks.

Vanderbilt freshman AJ Swann was 13-of-26 for 115 yards in his second start after throwing for 255 yards and four touchdowns against Northern Illinois.

"I felt like they came out and played to their potential, and did a nice job in the execution of their plan and were able to put distance between us and them early," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said of the Tide. "We weren't able to ever really apply pressure."

The Commodores went for it on fourth-and-1 from their 34-yard line early in the second quarter and didn't get the first down. Alabama scored on the next play to make it 21-3.

"I'm going to bet on my team," Lea said. "That's a part of our identity. We're playing to win the game."

Vanderbilt avoided a third straight shutout in the series after being outscored 93-0 in the previous two meetings, but it couldn't dodge a 23rd consecutive loss to the Tide and 22nd straight defeat against SEC teams.

Alabama visits Arkansas next weekend to start a three-game stretch of facing teams that were in the AP Top 25 as of Saturday night.

Upcoming Events