Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 52-49 win vs. Alabama

3. Bryce Young and Jahmyr Gibbs kept this game close.

If Bryce Young had not been able to go, Tennessee football would have won this game in a blowout. Young finished the game 35-of-52 for 455 yards and two touchdowns. What really stood out, though, was the fact that he single-handedly avoided multiple sacks on perfectly designed blitz packages from Tim Banks.

There’s a reason Young won the Heisman. Honestly, he did enough to set up an easier game-winning field goal. A drop saved the Vols late, and he dealt with that all game. This isn’t an indictment against how the Vols played either. Young is just that good.

In terms of weapons, Jahmyr Gibbs was all he had. Gibbs had 24 carries for 103 yards and three touchdowns, and he had five catches for 48 yards. Alabama still has some elite receivers, but Gibbs is their best skill player, and it showed up time and time again in this one.

This backfield is the only reason Alabama was competitive, and if Nick Saban is going to get this team to regroup, he needs them to stay healthy. They have no chance otherwise, and the Vols honestly would have had a perfect defensive performance if those two guys didn’t show up. Even if you were rooting for the other team, give them credit for fighting their guts out.