Alabama Football: 3 Takeaways from dominant Sugar Bowl win
By Dante Pryor
Alabama Football dominated the Sugar Bowl and here are three takeaways from the 45-20 win for the Crimson Tide.
Reporters asked both Bryce Young and Will Anderson why they decided to play in today’s game. Young said that he wanted to finish what he had started. Will Anderson said that he did not want to be a hypocrite. Both players had great final performances in the Sugar Bowl this afternoon as the Crimson Tide handily defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 45-20.
Young finished with 321 yards and five touchdowns. Anderson was much quieter but had a couple of quarterback pressures.
The Tide trailed 10-0 early in the game and scored 35 consecutive points. Both the offense and defense woke up after being down early. Young began the game by completing one of his first four passes; he completed 14 of 17 passes the rest of the game.
Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s dominant Sugar Bowl victory.
3. Alabama’s superior talent took over.
The Crimson Tide had a clear talent advantage. Kansas State gave its best early in the game. However, it became clear that Alabama had better players as the game continued. The Crimson Tide’s talent depth was apparent throughout the game. Bryce Young completed passes to seven different receivers, and four other running backs carried the football.
Young missed wide receiver Jermaine Burton on a couple of deep throws. Those were the only two misses. Burton and Young would connect on three other deep passes, where Burton would take the top off of the defense with his speed.
Defensively, the Crimson Tide rotated linemen all game. Kansas State did a good job of scheming players open early. However, when the Wildcats did not threaten deep, Alabama’s defensive backs pressed Kansas State’s wide receivers and tightened the throwing windows for quarterback Will Howard.
Brian Branch’s interception was a perfect example of the superior athleticism of the Crimson Tide. Branch anticipated the throw and had the speed to leave his man and undercut the route for the interception. Scheme gets you so far in the college game. You need the players as well.