Tide slug their way past USF, 17-3
Quarterback’s struggle mightily in Alabama’s narrow victory over the Bulls.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
Well, that was…interesting.
Coming off a tough loss to Texas, the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide preached all week about how correctable mistakes cost Alabama a victory over the Longhorns. Word out of the Bama camp this past week centered on how “pissed” the Tide was and that the ship would be righted against outmatched USF. Optimism flowed strongly on Friday when word came out that Alabama would be turning to Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner under center, replacing Jalen Milroe after he struggled against the Texas defense. The result on the field on Saturday turned out to be much different than expected.
Alabama’s issues were glaringly visible as the Tide slugged its way through an hour-and-a-half lightning delay in the second quarter and slipped past a feisty South Florida squad 17-3. The game was in doubt until the final minute when Alabama scored its second touchdown of the day. The Tide offense struggled mightily against the Bulls as the maligned offensive line was dominated by the smaller USF defensive front seven, giving up a whopping five sacks on the day. Even more surprising was the struggle of QBs 2 and 3 throughout the game, as Buchner and Ty Simpson combined for 107 yards on a 9/23 day. Buchner’s performance was particularly head-scratching. Nick Saban had mentioned several times throughout the week that the Notre Dame transfer had impressed during practice and seemed all set and ready to take over the offense. He ended up completing just 4 passes out of 13 attempts for 34 yards. Numerous passes were terribly off-target, including two that literally hit the turf several yards in front of the receivers resulting in bounce passes. Furthermore, even his completions were off-target, causing receivers to make challenging catches. Buchner was benched for Simpson at halftime, who was slightly better as he led the Tide on two second-half touchdown drives. Simpson also was responsible for the only solid completion of the day, a nicely thrown 45-yard completion to Maryland transfer tight end CJ Dippre that set up Bama’s first touchdown. On the day, the Tide would muster only 310 yards of total offense.
The Tide was spared from earning the most embarrassing loss of the Saban era by a run game that found its legs in the second half. Led by senior Roydell Williams (129 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown), Alabama rushed for 203 yards on the afternoon. On defense, Bama put up a solid performance, limiting the Bull offense to three points and a total of 264 yards. Bulls dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown was effective on the ground, gaining 92 yards on the day. The Tide defense was also stellar in pivotal downs, holding USF to 2/6 on 4th down and also two turnovers on the day. Deontae Lawson continued a strong start to his sophomore campaign by recording 10 tackles, while Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell turned in their best performances of the year, recording seven tackles each and combining for three and a half sacks. Perhaps the hero of the day was Tide punter James Burnip, as he boomed eight punts for an average of 46 yards per kick. He also placed four inside the 20-yard line, forcing USF to drive the length of the field.
This game resembled the Gene Stallings era of the mid-nineties when the Tide relied on a solid running game and a stout defense to win games. Scores of 13-6 against the likes of the Tennessee’s and the Memphis’s of the world were common. The difference between the Stallings era and Saturday's result was that the close contests of the 90s were very much by design, as Stallings was about as conservative of a coach as there was. Saturday put a spotlight on an offense that has yet to find its identity. The quarterback struggles are well documented, and there were a lot of questions as to why Jalen Milroe, a talented athlete and runner, did not see the field at all after starting the first two games of the year.
More concerning is the offensive line, as the group has struggled the last two games. Coming into the season, there was much talk about new offensive coordinator Tommy Reese returning the Tide offense to more of a ground-and-pound attack where the offensive line would lead the way and force opposing teams into wanting to quit. Quite the opposite has happened, as after a solid performance on opening night against Middle Tennessee State, the Bama line has regressed to the degree that they have been bullied the last two contests. Another concern continues to be an issue that has carried over from last season…penalties. After getting flagged 10 times for 90 yards against Texas, the Tide was flagged five times for 35 yards, which looks to be an improvement. Yet, the penalties came at critical times. For the second week in a row, penalties cost the Tide two touchdowns, including a holding call that resembled a WWF take-down on a kickoff return of 99 yards by Terrion Arnold that would have put the Tide up 7-3 in the 1st quarter. The Tide turned the ball over only once, a muffed punt by usually reliable Kool-Aid McKinstry, yet it led to USF’s only points on the day.
The outside chatter last week was loud. This week, it's going to be deafening. Not only has Bama dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2015 (a national championship year, by the way), but a lack of true offensive identity has the critics officially declaring the Tide Dynasty is now in decline. I even read one opinion piece that was particularly harsh and claimed Alabama will be lucky to make it to a bowl game in ‘23. It is very true that so far, the Tide, now ranked 13th, has underperformed. The quarterback situation is not settled in the slightest, and the line appears to be a serious issue.
However, don’t give up on the Tide team just yet. Milroe has shown signs that he can move the team down the field, the receiving corps has yet to shine but has depth and talent, and the backfield has proven that even with minimal blocking, they can make things happen. Kevin Steele’s defense has looked good at times this year, and surely that unit will continue to improve. What is lost in all of this is that inexperience and youth have finally caught up with Alabama. The Crimson Tide is one of the least experienced teams in the country and conference (dead last in the SEC), and Saban has long stated that he likes this team and its grit. Moving forward, the noise outside the program may actually help this squad, as expectations are now extremely low when compared to the Alabama standard.
A lot will be learned this week as a potent Ole Miss team led by the one and only Lane Kiffin visits Tuscaloosa on Saturday.