Paul Finebaum gives eye-opening take on performances of Bryce Young, Hendon Hooker

Millions of eyes were on Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee when the Volunteers knocked off Alabama in a wild, 52-49 win. It was important on one hand because of the SEC and College Football Playoff implications involved within the matchup. With that said, it was also a toe-to-toe battle between two Heisman candidates in Bryce Young and Hendon Hooker. In Paul Finebaum’s eyes, it was one of the most impressive QB contests he had ever seen.

Finebaum chose who had the better performance between the two during an appearance on ESPN’s ‘KJM’ on Tuesday. He said the argument could be made for Young considering the circumstances. At the end of the day, though, Hooker was the quarterback who got the win.

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“In some ways it was Bryce Young because of what he was dealing with. He was coming back from a sprain that we weren’t sure he could come back from. He played brilliantly and that was really lost in the afternoon in Knoxville. His defense did not help him, his offensive line was abysmal at times. He was running for his life. But, in the end, Hendon Hooker delivered in the moment,” said Finebaum. “There were so many records that were shattered by the Tennessee offense against the Alabama defense that you lose sight of the game within the game. The two quarterbacks were spectacular.”

Hooker helped Tennessee remain undefeated with a 70% completion rate for 385 yards and five touchdowns. Still, the reigning Heisman had one of his best games in a losing effort. Young completed 67.3% of his passes for 455 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

The matchup between those two quarterbacks was as great as the game itself. They’re at the root of how the game got so competitive to begin with. When he looks back on it, Finebaum says Young vs. Hooker reminded him a lot of another exciting QB matchup we all still remember from just a few seasons ago.

“It reminded me a little bit of three years ago when we had that battle between Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow in Tuscaloosa. It was that type of atmosphere and that type of quarterback battle,” Finebaum said.

The best part about this game is now the fact that we could see a potential rematch in Atlanta on December 3rd. If that were to take place, the rematch between Young and Hooker could get even testier with so much more on the line in the postseason.