GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Bryce Young had heard all about the Swamp. The Alabama sophomore knew it would be deafening at times and difficult, if not impossible, for a visiting quarterback to communicate on Steve Spurrier Field.
He also understood the key to handling such a raucous environment: a fast start.
Young's first collegiate road trip as a starter was a rousing success, a three-touchdown performance that helped the top-ranked Crimson Tide beat No. 11 Florida 31-29 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday.
"Crazy atmosphere," said Young, who completed 22 of 35 passes for 233 yards in front of a crowd of 90,887. "Those fans were really loud. We knew it was going to be a hostile environment coming in, and they lived up to it for sure."
The reigning national champions led 21-3 after the first quarter but failed to sustain their momentum and had to stop a botched 2-point conversion with 3:10 left to extend their winning streak to 17 games. Alabama has now won 32 in a row against teams from the SEC's East Division.
"I think the offense did a great job of answering the bell in the game," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "But our team needs to learn to maintain intensity throughout the game. ... We've got a lot of good players. We've just got to get them to play a little better."
AP photo by John Raoux / Alabama quarterback Bryce Young looks for a receiver during the first half of Saturday's game at Florida.Alabama (3-0) has won eight straight in the series, including a wild 52-46 victory in last year's conference title game. The Gators (2-1) fell to 0-5 against No. 1-ranked teams at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
This one was closer than oddsmakers listed and just about everyone outside of Gainesville expected, with 14 1/2-point underdog Florida having a chance to tie in the closing minutes despite playing without dynamic backup quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Coach Dan Mullen held Richardson out as a precaution because of a strained right hamstring and said he would be available only in an emergency. Mullen said doctors told him Richardson "could definitely make it worse" by playing.
So Mullen went exclusively with starter Emory Jones instead of the two-man rotation behind center the Gators had been using.
"I thought Emory really kind of stepped up his game," Mullen said.
Jones was 17-of-27 for 181 yards with an interception. He was booed at times, partly because of the slow start and surely because of the home crowd's disappointment in not seeing Richardson. Jones was at his best late, directing a 99-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter and a 75-yard touchdown drive that brought the score to its final margin.
"I still made too many mistakes," said Jones, who acknowledged one of those occuring on the botched 2-point conversion.
Young, meanwhile, avoided errors that typically plague young quarterbacks on the road. He gave Alabama an early advantage with touchdown passes to Jase McClellan, Jahleel Billingsley and Brian Robinson.
But Florida, which totaled 258 rushing yards, had all the momentum late and was in position for the upset when Dameon Pierce went around the left end from 17 yards out, making it 31-29 with a little more than six minutes to play. Fellow running back Malik Davis was stopped short on the 2-point try, though, after lining up on the wrong side of Jones.
After Alabama punted on the ensuing series, the Gators had one final play deep in their territory and were sacked.
Mullen believes some teams hurt themselves against Alabama with a lack of confidence even before they take the field. He didn't see that limiting his players.
"Our guys certainly expected to win the game and played that way," said Mullen, whose team hosts Tennessee (1-2, 0-0) next Saturday. "We did last year. We did this year. I think that's maybe a big part of it."
Florida came up short again, though, and many will point to a missed PAT in the second quarter as the difference. Had Chris Howard made that kick, the Gators seemingly would have needed only another PAT to tie the game down the stretch.