#10 Alabama football won an ugly game against South Florida
The last time Alabama football played this poorly, Nick Saban found out Drew Brees failed his physical, Dave Shula was head coach of the Tide, and pundits from Sports Illustrated to the Sporting News were pontificating as to whether or not a coach could win in Tuscaloosa.
This afternoon’s struggles against South Florida makes one wonder if a confluence of factors (transfer portal, NIL, and coaching staff turnover) has finally caught up with head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. This is not a rant on the fall of the Alabama program.
However, you start to wonder about certain aspects of the program that you never wondered about. Talent is not an issue. The cupboard is full in Tuscaloosa. Even the quarterbacks on the roster are highly touted.
That said, you see an offensive line that can’t move the line of scrimmage and a defensive line getting pushed off the line of scrimmage. We aren’t talking about this happening against Georgia. This happened this afternoon against South Florida.
It wasn’t lovely, but it was a win for the Crimson Tide. Here are offensive and defensive takeaways and what’s next for each team.
Alabama football’s offense looked terrible at times.
Before the game, Nick Saban, Tommy Rees, and the offensive staff decided to go with Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner to start the game. After lightning caused a 55-minute weather delay, play resumed. However, the first quarter was played under mostly sunny skies. The weather or the delay had little bearing on how poor the Crimson Tide offense was this afternoon.
Tyler Buchner was abysmal, completing five passes for 34 yards. Buchner looked uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and unprepared to play today. The rain delay was no excuse for how bad he looked against one of the worst defenses in FBS last year. Ironically, Buchner was so bad since Rees was his offensive coordinator at Notre Dame.
Rees and Saban decided to put in quarterback Ty Simpson. The freshman fared a tad bit better than Buchner. Simpson completed five passes but for 73 yards. Simpson’s ability to throw opened running lanes for the Alabama running backs. It took too long for the running game to get going.
There were too many situations where Alabama could not move South Florida’s defensive front. The offensive line is supposed to be elite; they should have been able to run and force an eight or nine-man box on talent alone.
Alabama football dominated on defense.
At face value, Alabama did what they were supposed to do defensively. The Crimson Tide allowed 264 total yards and a paltry 87 yards rushing. South Florida averaged 3.5 yards per play. The Bulls were 5-17 on third down and 2-6 on fourth down. However, there were some little things schematically that could be of some concern if they continue.
It was surprising how often defensive coordinator Kevin Steele brought pressure without a spy, playing man coverage after realizing that South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown was not a passing threat. As a result, Brown had several open running lanes, which he took advantage of, running for 92 yards.
Alabama took full advantage of the talent disparity between them and South Florida. Alabama’s defensive line established itself along the line of scrimmage, not letting the Bulls establish anything on offense. The South Florida wide receivers could not get any separation against Alabama’s secondary.
When the Alabama defense got locked in, South Florida couldn’t do anything offensively. The defense began to anticipate the quarterback run, and they rushed four and dropped seven in coverage to ensure Brown had no running lanes and got the ball back for their offense.
What’s next for Alabama football?
The Crimson Tide are still trying to find themselves offensively. It was surprising they didn’t put Jalen Milroe in the game this afternoon, especially if they are going to run the football with the stable of running backs they have. Maybe they were looking for a solid number-two quarterback.
What’s concerning about today is how long it took for the offensive line to establish itself. The Crimson Tide had a clear size and athletic advantage against the Bulls, which took too long for them to use. If the Tide are going to be a run-heavy team, then Milroe is the guy. He’s the best offensive playmaker they have. Tailor the scheme to his strengths.
What’s next for South Florida?
Despite the lack of offensive output, first-year head coach Alex Golesh might have a quarterback to build an offense around. South Florida won’t see a defense anything near what Alabama was this afternoon, and Byrum Brown can make plays with his legs.
He’ll need to make some improvement as a passer, but Golesh and his staff have to like what they saw out of him today. Also, South Florida has to feel good about how they played this afternoon. They showed grit and hung with a top-10 SEC team.