The Good, Bad & Ugly from South Florida’s loss to No. 10 Alabama
TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2023) – The South Florida defense posted four sacks, forced eight punts and redshirt freshman quarterback Byrum Brown rushed for 92-yards but it wasn’t enough against a No. 10 ranked Alabama team that found a way to get a 17-3 over the Bulls Saturday in front of 65,138 fans at Raymond James Stadium.
Lightning near the stadium caused officials to clear the field and delay the game for 54-minutes with USF leading 3-0 with 12:44 remaining in the first half on a field goal set up by an Alabama fumble.
The Bulls gained 264-total yards, running the ball effectively for 177 yards against a deep and talented SEC defense. Most of that production came from Brown and graduate running back Nay’Quan Wright, who racked up 114 and 62 yards on the ground respectively.
The USF aerial attack had yet another shaky performance as Brown completed 14-28 passes, totaling just 87-yards and a late interception. No Bulls wideout went over 45-yards receiving on the day.
With 4:19 left in the second quarter, Alabama sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner was benched in favor of third-string freshman Ty Simpson, who up to that point, had only taken a few garbage time snaps against Middle Tennessee in week one. Sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe did not play, despite starting in the Tides first two games.
THE GOOD: DEFENSE
The South Florida defense looked incredible Saturday night and this unit continues to show its quality and potential. The defense gave up 310 total yards, their lowest yardage allowed so far this season, and held Alabama to 10 points, until Simpson scored on a one yard touchdown run to bring the score to 17-3 with 33-seconds left in the game.
Running the ball proved difficult for the Tide early, with USF holding them to just 79 yards on the ground in the first half and 203 yards on the game, with the bulk of that yardage coming in the fourth quarter and highlighted by a 48-yard Roydell Williams dash. Williams finished with 131 yards rushing and a touchdown, with senior running back Jase McClellen adding another 77 yards.
The pass rush was getting home too and the Bulls tallied five sacks, its most since 2019, after managing just four in their first two games of the year. The star of the night was nickelback Daquan Evans, who had a career day with three of those sacks, as well as eight tackles, another tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. With such uncertainty for Alabama at quarterback, the Bulls also held them to 107-yards through the air. Linebacker Jhalyn Shuler (11), safety Jaelen Stokes (8) and safety Logan Berryhill (7) also posted career-best totals in tackles.
THE BAD: FOURTH DOWN CONVERSIONS
Bulls head coach Alex Golesh made the decision to go for it on fourth down six times on Saturday (2-of-6), including an unsuccessful fake punt from the Bulls 47-yard line.
“Yea I gotta go back and evaluate, man was that right,” Golesh said after the game. “The fake punt, I’d do it again. Going for it on fourth and to there, I’d do that again. Zero blitzing when we have to go zero blitz, I’d do that again. I don’t regret anything. These guys appreciate being aggressive. We have to be smart, but we have to be aggressive.”
When playing a team as good as Alabama it pays to be aggressive, although the execution just wasn’t there for USF Saturday. Had the offense been able to convert one or two more of those fourth downs, it might have swung the outcome of the game.
THE UGLY: THE PASSING GAME
The USF passing offense looked ugly on Saturday with Brown failing to pass for 100-yards on 28 attempts. Inaccuracy and poor timing were once again issues and the Bulls just couldn’t get anything going vertically.
The blame doesn’t solely lie with Brown however, as the pass protection could not hold up versus the Alabama rush. The Bulls surrendered another five sacks and bringing the number of sacks allowed to 16 through three games. Brown was constantly having to escape from a collapsing pocket and was forced to try and make more plays with his legs.
The Bull’s new receiving additions from the transfer portal also struggled mightily to get open and is seemed like they were regularly not on the same page as the quarterback. A miscommunication between Brown and his intended receiver on South Florida’s last drive led to the late interception and sealed the door on a potential overtime game.
With Rice (2-1) coming to Tampa next Saturday, Golesh and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon have their work cut out for them in the days ahead to try to get the offense straightened out.