TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A date with No. 1 Georgia next month is no longer hypothetical. Bryce Young made sure of that, almost single-handedly leading No. 2 Alabama to a 42-35 victory over No. 21 Arkansas on Saturday to clinch the SEC West title. The way the quarterback is playing, he can go ahead and book a trip to New York as well.
Young set Alabama’s single-game passing record with 559 yards while tossing five touchdowns and completing 31 of 40 passes against Arkansas. Scott Hunter held the previous single-game record with 484 yards against Auburn in 1969.
The Heisman Trophy frontrunner has now completed 74.2 percent of his passes for 1,852 yards and 18 touchdowns without an interception over his last five games. His 38 passing touchdowns and 3,586 passing yards on the year rank No. 3 on the school’s single-season record list.
Stumbling through a mixture of drops and fumbles on offense as well as several mental miscues on defense, Alabama almost fell victim to the upset despite its quarterback’s efforts.
Young’s fourth touchdown pass of the night — a play in which he bought time with his feet before dumping the ball off to Christian Leary for an 11-yard score — gave the Tide a commanding 31-14 lead early in the third quarter.
However, a porous Alabama defense allowed Arkansas to stay in the game until late. The Razorbacks answered with a touchdown on their ensuing possession as quarterback KJ Jefferson hit receiver Treylon Burks for a 66-yard score. With Alabama leading 34-21 early in the fourth quarter, Arkansas pulled within one score on a fake field-goal attempt as holder Reid Bauer popped out of his stance and delivered a jump pass to tight end Blake Kern for a 32-yard touchdown.
Young drove Alabama down the field on the ensuing possession. However, the Tide was unable to capitalize as tight end Cameron Latu fumbled inside the 5-yard line.
Alabama’s defense was able to force a three-and-out from Arkansas after the Razorbacks took over. From there, Young finally delivered the death blow, hitting Williams for a 40-yard touchdown.
Williams finished the game with eight catches for a career-high 190 yards and three touchdowns. John Metchie III had a season-best performance, netting 173 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. ran for 122 yards on 27 carries. Alabama piled up 671 total yards and 29 first downs on the day.
Arkansas tacked on a late touchdown as Jefferson hit Raheim Sanders for a 17-yard score with 1:02 remaining. However, the Razorbacks booted the ensuing onside kick out of bounds, allowing Alabama to run down the clock for the win.
Alabama’s secondary was torched by Jefferson and Burks on several occasions. Jefferson completed 22 of 30 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Burks caught eight of those balls for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
While Alabama’s defense struggled on the night, outside linebacker Will Anderson continued to shine, recording 11 tackles, including 3.5 stops for a loss with a sack and two quarterback hurries. He now has 13.5 sacks and 26.5 tackles for a loss on the year.
Young’s record performance also allowed him to remain in front of the Heisman race. Earlier in the day, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 32 of 35 passing for 432 yards and six touchdowns without an interception during a 56-7 victory over No. 7 Michigan State. Stroud and Young are now by far and away the two biggest frontrunners for the award.
Alabama will wrap up its regular season next Saturday as it travels to Auburn for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff. From there, the Tide will play Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 4 inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
