Alabama’s Sugar Bowl on Saturday was a microcosm of his season as a whole: a little sour, a lot of sweet and not much clarity on what’s next.
The slow-starting Tide trailed 10-0 but scored all 35 points to edge past Kansas State, 45-20, and finish its season 11-2.
The likely last game of Bryce Young’s three seasons as Alabama’s starting quarterback was among his most effective. He threw five touchdowns on 15 assists in the first three quarters before Nick Saban gave his two-time captain and Heisman Trophy winner a curtain-raiser midway through the fourth quarter.
It might not have been a storybook, national title winning ending for Young, but it was the next best-case scenario for Alabama. After a pair of midseason losses derailed Tide’s season, Saban rallied his players to win his final two SEC games – then the team rallied behind Young to put their best foot forward in the Sugar Bowl.
Alabama gained 496 total yards and averaged nine yards per offensive play, its second highest in a bowl game after averaging 10.6 yards per play in the 1935 Rose Bowl.
Now begins the preparation for the 2023 season and the changes it will bring.
Last chapter written for Young, Anderson and others
Alabama entered Saturday’s game with nine seniors having accepted Senior Bowl invites and four juniors as virtual locks to enter the 2023 NFL Draft.
Even though the underclassmen had yet to declare, there was a sense of finality for Young, outside linebacker Will Anderson, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and safety Brian Branch at New Orleans.
Anderson didn’t record any stats as he rotated with junior Chris Braswell in his position, but the other three made their impact on the stat sheet.
It started with Young taking an early 11-yard sack and missing Jermaine Burton on a through pass in the first quarter, but was essentially flawless thereafter. Alabama threw its first two drives, gaining just 26 total yards, but then scored touchdowns on its next five offensive possessions led by Young.
With Alabama facing a third-and-10 and trailing 10-0 late in the first quarter, Young connected with Gibbs on a 60-yard catch-and-run that led to a 6-yard touchdown. by freshman catcher Isaiah Bond three. play later.
Young tore through the Wildcats defense in the second quarter, finding Burton for 47 yards and later tight end Cameron Latu for a 1-yard touchdown. The first-half masterpiece came when Alabama received the ball on its own 2-yard line with 1:01 remaining. Big runs from Gibbs and junior Jase McClellan pushed the Tide past midfield, where Young hit Burton (28 yards), Latu (22 yards) and Burton (12 yards) to give Alabama a lead 21-10 at halftime.
Young’s fourth touchdown came just over a minute into the second period when he dropped a 32-yard touchdown into the hands of wide receiver Ja’ Corey Brooks. K-State turned the ball over three plays later, and McClellan responded immediately with a 17-yard run that put the game out of reach for Kansas State at 35-10.
Gibbs, thrown late as a second-round pick in April, averaged 5.1 yards on 15 carries in addition to his 66 receiving yards. The touchdown for Latu, a starting fifth-year senior, was his fourth of the season. He caught his five targets from 54 yards.
Branch, an expected first-round pick, intercepted K-State quarterback Will Howard in the third quarter, fired him in the fourth quarter and finished with four tackles for a loss. Safety Jordan Battle, a four-year-old starter headed to the Senior Bowl, knocked out Howard on the game’s first possession and fellow starter safety De’Marcco Hellams, also a Senior Bowler, hit a team-high of 13 tackles.
K-State scares early in Alabama, then falls flat
The 60,437 Superdome fans were leaning in favor of Kansas State, which was making its first trip to a New Year’s Six Bowl game since the 2012 season.
KSU’s chants were heard loud and clear in the Wildcats’ 10-0 start, which included an 88-yard touchdown by Deuce Vaughn in the first quarter.
When Alabama responded with 35 straight points, SEC chants instead echoed through the Superdome and the purple half of the room fell silent.
Besides Young’s mastery, the pivotal moment came in the second quarter when Kansas State, trailing by four points, led a 17-game streak with a chance to take the lead. It included a pair of fourth conversions by the Wildcats and a third incompleteness cleared by a clinch penalty against defensive lineman DJ Dale. But at fourth and base from the 2-yard line, Howard missed his shot to the end zone and Kansas State never threatened again while the game was in question.
Besides his 88 yards, Vaughn finished with 45 yards on 21 carries.
What’s next for the Alabama coaching staff?
The majority of Alabama’s offseason roster movement has already happened, in the case of its 11 scholarship players entering the transfer portal, or is expected to happen soon, in the case of the juniors declaring for the draft. of the NFL.
But there are personal questions. Junior cornerback Eli Ricks and fifth-year wide receiver Tyler Harrell, both added to the trade last offseason, have yet to reveal their future plans. Alabama has added an inbound transfer to Maryland tight end CJ Dipper, but will he dive back into the transfer portal and fill roster holes with outside players like he did a while ago? a year?
And will other Alabama players enter the transfer portal after the bowling game? The window for subclasses closes on January 1st. 18, but another will open April 15-30, after spring practices begin to answer questions about the 2023 depth chart.
The most immediate issues relate to the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s contract expires after this season, and NFL jobs could open after the league’s regular season ends next weekend. Safety coach Charles Kelly has already joined the Colorado team as a defensive coordinator, but will other assistants leave the team or find jobs elsewhere?
The days and weeks to come will provide answers to all these questions.
What might not be answered so quickly: Who is Alabama’s starting quarterback in 2023? While Young opted to play in the bowl game, the Tide’s two top options for next season, Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson, were again mostly spectators of Young’s greatness.
Milroe’s playing time against Arkansas and Texas A&M makes him a better-known quantity than Simpson, the five-star rookie who attempted five assists in the regular season – playing less than Young as Mac Jones’ 2020 backup .
The new quarterback will have to rebuild a connection with his receivers that Young mastered in his last supposed game on Saturday. Burton, Brooks, Bond and fellow freshman Kobe Prentice — who rattled off a defenseman for a 47-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter — all caught touchdown passes from Young. All are also expected to return next season.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama Beat reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
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