Alabama grabs spot in SEC title game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Bryce Young passed for more yards than any Alabama quarterback ever had in a game.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide needed that kind of performance — and every timely deep ball to Jameson Williams, too.
Young passed for a school-record 559 yards and five touchdowns as No. 2 Alabama clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game with a 42-35 victory Saturday over No. 21 Arkansas.
The Tide (10-1, 7-1) won their 15th consecutive series meeting with the Razorbacks (7-4, 3-4), thanks largely to the Young-to-Williams deep connection that continues to be the ultimate offensive bailout.
Alabama set up a date with Georgia in Atlanta on Dec. 4 after a visit next weekend to rival Auburn.
“We left a lot of points on the board where we could have put the game away,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “And defensively, we gave up a couple of big plays, but the big thing was they were like 10-of-19 on third and fourth down, so when we had opportunities to get off the field, we didn’t get off the field.”
This one wasn’t settled until an Arkansas onside kick went out of bounds with 1:02 left. The Razorbacks had stayed alive with Raheim Sanders’ 17-yard touchdown catch from K.J. Jefferson, but they took nearly five minutes to get there.
Young was 31-of-40 passing to keep himself squarely in the Heisman Trophy conversation, hitting Williams for a perfect strike for a 79-yarder in double coverage and flipping the ball to Christian Leary for another touchdown when he appeared set to run.
It was the second-most passing yards in SEC history, behind Mississippi State’s K.J. Costello, who threw for 623 yards against LSU last season. Young shattered the school mark of 484 passing yards set by Scott Hunter against Auburn in 1969, surpassing it with 11 minutes to play.
Williams made eight catches for 190 yards with touchdowns of 79, 32 and 40 yards.
Said Young: “When you have a dynamic playmaker like that, you just have to put the ball in the air and let him run under it.”
John Metchie added 173 yards on 10 catches, including a touchdown, and Brian Robinson ran for 122 yards on 27 carries.
The clincher was Young’s 40-yarder to Williams in the end zone on third-and-10. It was reviewed to see if Williams had possession as he came down, and replay officials upheld the call to the relief of the Bryant-Denny stadium crowd.
That left Jefferson and Arkansas needing two scores in the final 5:39, but they could deliver only one.
› No. 1 Georgia 56, Charleston Southern 7
ATHENS, Ga. — Standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis scored the first touchdown of his Georgia career, and the Bulldogs (11-0) were dominant on that side of the ball again, hardly a surprise against Charleston Southern (4-6) of the Football Championship Subdivision and the Big South Conference.
The Buccaneers fell to 0-25 all-time against Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Davis, a leader of the nation’s top-ranked defense, scored on a 1-yard plunge out of the Bulldogs’ jumbo package in the first quarter for the game’s first touchdown. He had previously played in the package as a blocker, but fans roared in anticipation when the 6-foot-6, 340-pounder shifted to the backfield. He was stopped on his first run from the 2, but the crowd cheered again when Davis was given a second carry and scored from the 1.
The Bulldogs allowed only 126 yards — 68 rushing on 31 carries and 58 passing.
Tight end Brock Bowers had two touchdown catches and four Georgia players had a touchdown run. Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes, and JT Daniels and third-stringer Carson Beck threw one apiece.
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Missouri 24, Florida 23 (OT)
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Connor Bazelak threw a 2-point conversion pass to Daniel Parker Jr. to lift Missouri to the overtime victory and above the .500 mark overall this season.
The Tigers (6-5, 3-4) drew within a point on Tyler Badie’s 13-yard touchdown run, and coach Eli Drinkwitz elected to go for two points rather than try to send the game to a second OT period with a kick. Parker, a tight end, slipped undetected into the left side of the end zone and caught the lobbed pass.
Florida (5-6, 2-6) got the ball first in overtime, and quarterback Emory Jones caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Trent Whittemore on a trick play to give the Gators a brief lead.
Missouri entered with the nation’s 118th-ranked defense, and Florida had yielded 92 points in its past two games. However, the defenses dominated in a stingy battle of field position and field goals, including three first-half kicks from Harrison Mevis that gave the Tigers a 9-6 edge at the break.
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No. 16 Texas A&M 52, Prairie View 3
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for three touchdowns before halftime, and Texas A&M (8-3) easily bounced back from a league loss at Ole Miss by plowing FCS foe Prairie View (7-3). Texas A&M led 38-0 after a dominant first half by Achane and Spiller, and the Aggies also limited Prairie View to 2 passing yards before the break.
› Mississippi State 55, Tennessee State 10
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Will Rogers passed for 391 yards and five touchdowns as Mississippi State (7-4) flew past Tennessee State (5-6) of the FCS. The sophomore quarterback came off a six-touchdown, no-interception performance last week against Auburn to break Dak Prescott’s single-season program records for touchdowns passes and passing yards in the first quarter. Rogers completed three touchdown passes of 30 yards or more and threw for 300 yards or more for an FBS-best ninth straight game.
› Kentucky 55, New Mexico State 16
LEXINGTON, Ky — Kentucky quarterback Will Levis overcame an early fumble to throw for four touchdowns and 419 yards, and the Wildcats (8-3) earned their 14th consecutive nonconference victory. Levis completed 21 of 31 passes to become the first Kentucky quarterback to surpass 400 yards since Andre Woodson against Tennessee in 2007.
Things didn’t start so well for the junior, who couldn’t corral a high snap on the first series and fumbled, which Trevor Brohard ultimately returned 25 yards to give the Aggies (1-10) the game’s first lead. Kentucky outscored their visitors 56-9 from there.
› South Carolina 21, Auburn 17
COLUMBIA, S.C. — ZaQuandre White was South Carolina’s leading rusher with 99 yards and top receiver with 69 yards as the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5) reached bowl eligibility the traditional way for the first time in three seasons by topping the Tigers (6-5, 3-4), who have lost three in a row. South Carolina made a bowl last season with a 2-8 record, but it was canceled because of COVID-19.