The Really Big Week 5 Thing Was …
Bryce Young got hurt …
And everything turned out fine for Alabama.
It was one of the biggest questions coming into the season – what happens if one of the top teams has to rely on the No. 2 quarterback? In a transfer portal era, that’s a problem.
Alabama doesn’t have a Tua Tagovailoa or Mac Jones waiting in the wings. but it found out what it does have behind it’s superstar. It has the rest of the team.
Young suffered a sprained shoulder against Arkansas on Saturday, tried to give it a go, and couldn’t. Freshman Jalen Milroe came in and kept it all going until the fourth quarter, and that’s when the season might have changed.
Bama went from up 28-0 in the first half to a 28-23 fight as the Hogs roared back late.
And then Alabama realized it was Alabama.
Jahmyr Gibbs ripped off two huge touchdown runs, and Milroe – to go along with a breathtaking 77-yard run earlier in the game – did his job in an amazing 21-point fourth quarter for the 49-26 win.
Young’s injury apparently isn’t a huge deal and he should be back soon, but he’ll be questionable at best for Texas A&M and the date with Tennessee.
On the plus side, this was a confidence builder. Alabama had become a bit too reliant on 9 to not just save the day, but to run everything. That’s what he’s there for, and the team doesn’t beat Texas without the reigning Heisman winner doing Heisman things.
However, it got the job done without him.
It can keep winning with what it has in place, but if it wants the SEC Championship and the national title, that’s a different story. It will need Young to get healthy fast and be okay – there’s a difference between getting there and winning it.
How Nick Saban and the coaching staff manage this is no big deal. It’s only the 2022 season.
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