Alabama won. And it covered a three-TD spread against a top-15 team.
The No. 1. Crimson Tide made easy work of No. 14 Miami on Saturday in Atlanta. Alabama won, 44-13, as Miami was overmatched from the start. New Alabama QB Bryce Young was 27-of-38 passing for 344 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start. Not a bad debut for a guy who had signed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of endorsements before his first career college start.
Alabama scored the first 27 points of the game before Miami had to work exceptionally hard to get a field goal right before halftime to simply not get shut out in the first half.
Converted linebacker Cameron Latu had two TDs on three catches. Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams and returning starter John Metchie III also caught TDs from Young.
Oh, the running game was pretty good too. And no running back had to shoulder a significant workload thanks to Alabama’s big lead. Brian Robinson ran for 60 yards and Trey Sanders scored a TD.
Alabama’s defense also terrorized Miami QB D’Eriq King. The senior finished just 23-of-31 passing for just 178 yards and a TD and two interceptions. Alabama’s pass rush dominated Miami’s offensive line — especially in the first half — and King was never able to get comfortable in the pocket.
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Alabama’s big Week 1 wins
The win continues a trend of huge opening weekend wins for the Crimson Tide. Alabama beat Duke 42-3 to start the 2019 season, Louisville 51-14 to start 2018, Florida State 24-7 to start 2017 and USC 52-6 to start 2016. We could go back further but you get the point. Alabama wins big to start the season.
Miami seemed like it could put up a fight. Or a fight better than the one previous opponents have put up. That simply didn’t happen.
Alabama entered the season as the preseason No. 1 despite the talent it had to replenish with players that went to the NFL. And there was no reason to doubt that ranking on Saturday afternoon. The guys Alabama put on the field on Saturday were very capable replacements for the ones that are about to start their NFL careers. That’s scary for the rest of college football. But that’s nothing new.