TAMPA, Fla. (Sep. 15, 2023) – South Florida (1-1) aims to defend their home field again Saturday when it plays host to No. 10 ranked Alabama (1-1) at Raymond James Stadium.
The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
The Bulls received a much needed confidence boost last week, beating FAMU 38-24 in Tampa to break an 11-game losing streak, while also giving head coach Alex Golesh his first win.
Meanwhile, Alabama is coming off an excruciating 34-24 home loss to No. 4 Texas, their first regular season non-conference loss since 2007. These two teams square off for just the second time, with the only other meeting being in 2003. Alabama won that game 40-17 in Birmingham.
ALABAMA OFFENSE
On the offensive side of the ball, the Crimson Tide are a team that lacks identity through two games. With question marks at the quarterback position, head coach Nick Saban would like his offense to attack defenses more like the Alabama of old.
“The identity that we'd like to have is to be physical enough to run the ball consistently, effectively, but also be able to have a good play-action game to go with it, be able to drop back when we need to,” said Saban during a press conference Monday.
The Tide have been fairly ordinary on the ground in their first two games, with an overall rushing offense ranked No. 70 nationally and averaging just 4.2 yards per carry. However, with a running back room consisting of senior Jase McClellan and senior Roydell Williams along with the team’s leading rusher, sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe, and a massive offensive line, this group has all of the weapons necessary to catch fire.
The matchup to watch this week will be that Alabama offensive line versus South Florida’s retooled defensive line. After shutting down their opponents’ ground game in the first two weeks of the season, the Bull’s D-Line aim to prove their quality against the best unit they will see all year. The addition of transfers like 320-pound nose tackle Doug Blue-Eli and speedy edge rusher Lloyd Summerall, combined with strong play from team veterans, could play a major role in this game.
ALABAMA DEFENSE
On defense, junior linebacker Dallas Turner and junior corner Kool-Aid McKinstry lead a Crimson Tide unit that boasts high-level talent and experience all over the field. This defense will be looking to bounce back after giving up 454 total yards to Texas last week.
Alabama’s defense has struggled to get to the quarterback so far this year, totaling just three sacks in the first two weeks of the season. However, South Florida has been equally unable to protect the quarterback this season, giving up a whopping 11 sacks through two games, tied for the third-most sacks allowed in the country.
Bulls senior offensive tackle Donovan Jennings commented on the line’s struggles Wednesday saying, “That number has really been too high for us and we're working on getting it down. Just working everyday coming in with the same attitude to get that number down, and that's what we’re doing, what we’re going to keep working on and building.”
Otherwise, it might prove challenging for South Florida to run the football as Alabama’s defense is allowing an average of 91.5 rush yards per game and a minuscule 2.9 yards per carry.
JACK'S TAKE
After getting their season back on track vs. FAMU, the Bulls should be pumped up to play one of the best football teams in the country in front of a sold-out crowd at Raymond James. Seeing improvement from quarterback Byrum Brown last week was amazing, and it will be interesting to see if he can carry that same confidence into this game.
One of the keys to this game will be to limit unnecessary penalties on both sides of the ball, something that has been a problem for the Bulls this season. The 14 accepted penalties from last week cannot be replicated this week if South Florida is going to stand a chance of completing an upset.
I predict that the Bulls will start fast and get big plays from the rushing attack on Saturday, but ultimately won’t be able to keep up with the athletes that the Tide possess, losing this one 45-23.
