Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young threw three first-half TD passes against Florida. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

CFB world reacts to Alabama destroying Florida's morale in dominant first half

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Matt Fitzgerald | Last updated 9/18/21

Theoretically, the 11th-ranked team in the country, playing at home, should be able to at least give the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide at least a soft challenge.

Well, that theory was put to the test Saturday at The Swamp in Gainesville, but the Florida Gators were nowhere near the same stratosphere as the reigning national champions.

Despite immense roster turnover and the loss of numerous stars to the NFL, coach Nick Saban’s dynasty in Tuscaloosa kept rolling on in Week 3 of the 2021 college football season.

Before the Gators even knew what hit them, Alabama had jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter. With Florida forced into obvious passing situations, and scattershot quarterback Emory Jones at the controls, it wasn’t going to be a pretty combination.

Who’s closest to challenging Alabama for No. 1? Read our college football top 25 rankings now

Meanwhile, new Crimson Tide field general Bryce Young, following the likes of current AFC East starting QBs Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones, is looking like the legitimate favorite for the Heisman Trophy.

Young threw three touchdown passes early on, as the Tide applied the pressure and didn’t let up until the outcome was essentially out of reach 15 minutes into this highly anticipated SEC showdown.

Even when the Gators scored a TD in the second quarter to cut the lead to 21-9, they watched their kicker shank an extra point wide right.

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Is Florida equipped to compete with Alabama this year? pic.twitter.com/cG3KQdd1gz
— Corey Hayes (@CoreyJHayes) September 18, 2021

"First glance, it just appears that the Alabama athletes are just better than Florida's."

Thanks for the ground-breaking analysis, Gary.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 18, 2021

As I said week 1 and all y’all folks argued on here…

With the 1st pick of the 2023 draft the _________ Select Bryce Young, QB, Alabama. Argue with yo mamma.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 18, 2021

Been apparent for a long time, but it appears the game plan and execution of every @AlabamaFTBL game is essentially one long Deez Nuts joke.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 18, 2021

I mean… when it comes to @AlabamaFTBL … what’s the point?
— Scott Hanson (@ScottHanson) September 18, 2021

What Alabama is doing is not normal.. constant change with assistants/coordinators.. mass exodus of 1st round talent.. and every season.. they play without missing a beat..
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) September 18, 2021

People really thought Alabama wasn’t gonna win the SEC this year, and more importantly we’re picking Florida to win the conference against Bama in the title game… pic.twitter.com/zIq7KJlQ65
— ZachThePatsFan(0-1) (@BowmanFann48) September 18, 2021

How is Alabama so much better than everyone else every year lmfao pic.twitter.com/EAuBV2z1HD
— León (@Champ_Lion) September 18, 2021

A miracle has happened in Gainesville. Alabama has to punt!#Gators | #GoGators | #RollTide | #BAMAvsFLA | #ALAvsFLA pic.twitter.com/mgkUBpvxdG
— ‍☠️ Lord JC De La Torre ‍☠️ ✌️ (@jcdelatorre) September 18, 2021