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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 3 Alabama coach Nick Saban said his defense played “too soft” late in the game when it allowed No. 6 Tennessee to drive the ball 45 yards in 13 seconds and set up a walk-off field goal to win 52-49.

Tennessee fans rushed the field and tore down both goalposts Saturday after Chase McGrath‘s 40-yard field goal, and Saban had to be escorted into the visitor’s locker room by multiple police officers.

Alabama allowed the most points and committed the most penalties (17) in a game during Saban’s tenure, which dates to 2007.

“Very disappointed in the loss,” Saban said. “We didn’t answer the bell today. Obviously, there’s a lot of work to be done. Way too many penalties. Gave up explosive plays. Had a major error on special teams that was totally unnecessary and led to a score on their part.

“You have to give them a lot of credit. They did a nice job with their offense. … But we didn’t execute well enough.”

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who missed last week’s game against Texas A&M with shoulder soreness, started and threw for 455 yards and two touchdowns. He said his arm felt “fine.”

“It was great to be out there with my teammates,” he said. “I love the game and I love them, so that was great. But at the end of the day, we lost.”

Alabama came back from down 28-10 early and held a seven-point lead with 7:49 left in the game. Tennessee then scored 10 unanswered points.

Saban said Young played “really well,” but “we didn’t get it done on defense when we had the chance.”

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker completed 21 of 30 passes for 385 yards and five touchdowns — all to Jalin Hyatt, who set a school record for touchdown receptions in a game.

But no completions were bigger than Hooker’s 18- and 27-yard passes that set up the game-winning kick.

“The guy is playing at an unbelievable level,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said of Hooker. “Smart. Tough. Competitive. Decisive. Accurate with the football — short, medium, deep. He controlled the game for us and used his feet when he had to. He’s the key to the ignition that makes us go.”

Heupel said, “It wasn’t pretty in the second half” but “our kids continued to reset and go play and believe.”

Saban said he wished Alabama could have certain decisions back, including its defensive tactics during the final drive.

“We played way too soft at the end to let them go down the field and get in field goal range,” he said. “So I think that the big thing that our players need to do is learn from this experience, have more respect for playing with discipline so you don’t help the other team.”

Saban recalled his message to the team in the locker room.

“We can accomplish every goal that we had at the start of the season,” he said. “There’s no room for error in the West. We have to win out in the West … and we still have a chance to go to the SEC championship.

“But the key to the drill is you have to learn from these experiences. You have to learn from the mistakes you make.”

Saban said it was “obvious” the team has a lot of work to do.

“This is a tough lesson to learn,” Young said. “… But we’re going to watch the tape and we’re going to figure out what we can do better.”

By beating Alabama, Tennessee snapped a 15-game losing streak in the rivalry known as The Third Saturday in October. The 101 combined points were the most ever in the series and tied for the most in a top-10 matchup in SEC history.

Heupel acknowledged that he downplayed the Alabama game during the week but said he understands the enormity of the rivalry and the win.

“So excited we were able to come out with the win for everyone involved,” Heupel said. “It was a great night, and I think it just speaks to the mentality, the growth and the progress of the individuals inside our locker room and collectively as a team. It speaks to our coaching staff.”

But he warned that there is a lot of time left in the regular season. After hosting UT Martin next Saturday, Tennessee plays No. 22 Kentucky and No. 1 Georgia.

“This journey is just beginning,” Heupel said. “Good teams get better throughout the course of the season.”

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Sources: Sooners DT Stone hits transfer portal

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Sources: Sooners DT Stone hits transfer portal

Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone entered the NCAA transfer portal Friday, sources told ESPN.

Stone, a former five-star recruit and the No. 6 overall player in the ESPN 300 for the 2024 class, made the surprising decision to enter the portal after playing in all 13 games as a true freshman with the Sooners. The 6-foot-3 313-pounder saw limited playing time, playing 88 snaps and recording 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack.

Stone was expected to compete for a more significant role as a sophomore, and Oklahoma coach Brent Venables recently praised him as the Sooners’ most improved defensive tackle this offseason.

The Oklahoma native finished his high school career at IMG Academy in Florida and was a significant recruiting victory for Venables and his coaching staff in August 2023. Stone chose the Sooners over Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida, Miami and Michigan State.

The SEC does not grant immediate eligibility to players who transfer within the conference during the spring transfer window, so Stone would need to sit out the 2025 season if he moves on to another SEC program.

Oklahoma returns its top three defensive tackles from 2024 in Damonic Williams, Gracen Halton and Jayden Jackson. It also added Trent Wilson, the No. 164 recruit in the ESPN 300 for 2025, as an early enrollee this spring.

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QB Browne returns to Purdue after brief UNC stint

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QB Browne returns to Purdue after brief UNC stint

Quarterback Ryan Browne has decided to transfer back to Purdue after joining North Carolina earlier this offseason.

Browne committed to rejoining the Boilermakers on Friday after entering his name in the NCAA transfer portal Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound redshirt sophomore started two games for Purdue in 2024 but moved on amid the program’s head coaching change and went through spring practice under new Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick.

North Carolina landed a commitment from South Alabama transfer quarterback Gio Lopez on Thursday.

Browne and freshman Bryce Baker were North Carolina’s lone scholarship quarterbacks available for spring practice and were competing with three walk-ons while sixth-year senior Max Johnson recovers from a broken leg.

Browne threw for 636 yards, rushed for 240 yards and scored four touchdowns while appearing in nine games as Hudson Card’s backup over the past two seasons at Purdue, earning starts in losses to Illinois and Oregon.

By returning to West Lafayette, Browne will get an opportunity to compete for a starting job with Arkansas transfer Malachi Singleton, Washington State transfer Evans Chuba and Bennett Meredith, a former Arizona State transfer.

The Boilermakers lost one quarterback, EJ Colson, to the transfer portal earlier this week.

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U-M’s Underwood has up-and-down spring game

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U-M's Underwood has up-and-down spring game

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood showed glimpses of the growing pains he will experience as a freshman and flashes of the promise that made him the nation’s top-rated high school football recruit in the Wolverines’ spring game Saturday.

Underwood was 12 of 26 for 187 yards with a scrimmage-ending, 88-yard pass to tight end Jalen Hoffman on a reverse flea-flicker in a 17-0 win for the Blue over the Maize.

He also recovered his fumble, had a pair of delay-of-game penalties, several errant throws – high and wide – and some dropped. Underwood lost 12 yards on two sacks and gained 17 yards on three runs.

“He did well,” coach Sherrone Moore said. “Made some really, good throws and had some things we need to clean up and get better at.”

As the Wolverines wrapped up spring football in front of about 40,000 fans at the Big House, all eyes were on Underwood and he has become comfortable with that.

“It’s just the pressure that came with my arm,” Underwood told The Detroit News earlier this spring. “I can’t stop that.”

Underwood was sacked on his first snap and his first completion went for a loss. He did throw some darts, usually in the flat, and was quick enough to escape collapsed pockets to pick up yardage with his feet.

Underwood is expected to compete with sophomore Jadyn Davis and Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene for playing time ahead of the season-opening game on Aug. 30 at home against Fresno State.

“It’s a battle,” Moore said. “It’s going to go all the way to fall camp.”

Underwood is motivated to start and kick off a legacy-building career with lofty goals.

“A couple of Heismans and at least one natty,” Underwood said last month in an interview on the Rich Eisen Show.

Underwood knows there will be people doubting he can live up to the hype.

‘He’s just a freshman. He won’t be good enough,'” Underwood said. “I might keep that chip my whole three years.”

He attended at Belleville High School, which is about 15 miles east of Ann Arbor, and flipped his commitment to Michigan after telling LSU coaches last year he intended to play there.

Tom Brady, a former Wolverine and seven-time Super Bowl winner, talked with Underwood during the school’s recruitment via FaceTime and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people, also connected with him.

Jay Underwood told the Wall Street Journal that his son is expected to make more than $15 million at Michigan, but that doesn’t guarantee he will take the first snap next fall.

“He wants to earn everything,” Moore has said. “He doesn’t want to be given anything.”

Hoffman said Underwood has simply blended in with his teammates.

“He’s really humble, like not a big head, ego, nothing like that,” he said. “Comes into work and every day, he wants to get better every day. He’s not riding off his success in high school. He’s really trying to be one of those top players in college football.”

Underwood participated in practices with the team before it beat Alabama in a bowl game, enrolled in classes in January and gained a lot experience in 14 private practices before a public scrimmage.

“Football is football,” he told MLive.com. “School is a little bit more overwhelming now.”

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