Alabama looked to bounce back after their defeat at home to the Texas Longhorns last weekend. However, that was barely the case. The starter last week, Jalen Milroe, wouldn't even play in this game and the Crimson Tide offense would struggle all game to get anything going. The Crimson Tide would end up winning despite inconsistent quarterback play and a 55 minute lightning delay in the second quarter.
The only real bright spot on offense was running back Roydell Williams. He rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown which led to the 17-3 victory over the Bulls. The defense is what ended up carrying the Crimson Tide to victory. They only gave up 3 points and held Bulls' quarterback Byrum Brown to 87 yards passing and forced an interception. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said, "Our guys played well and pressured the quarterback well."
After Jalen Milroe struggled last week versus Texas, the Crimson Tide turned to Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner. Buchner wasn't any better and completed just five of fourteen passes for 34 yards. This eventually led to Buchner getting benched for Ty Simpson, the third string quarterback. Simpson would lead the Crimson Tide on two scoring drives but he also was shaky. He would finish five of nine passing for 73 yards but he was also sacked 5 times in his half of play. To get the Crimson Tide in the end zone Simpson did complete a 45 yard pass to C.J. Dipper that lead to a Roydell Williams 1 yard td run. Saban after the game had this to say about his quarterback situation, "We're going to evaluate (them) on how they played today and evaluate Jalen Milroe on how he played." He then said, "We'll decide this week who gives us the best opportunity to be successful as an offensive team, and that's the way we'll go."
After both quarterbacks struggled, I wouldn't be surprised if Saban turned back to Milroe starting next week. Although Alabama didn't look good they extended their streak of not losing consecutive regular season games since 2008. The Crimson Tide will most likely drop some spots in the AP poll after this display as USF is coming off a 1-11 season and were 34.5 point underdogs in the contest. Alabama has a lot of questions to answer on offense with the start of SEC play coming up. They will look to improve versus Ole Miss next week at home.
Although USF kept the game close throughout, Bulls' coach Alex Golesh really wanted the win. "There are no moral victories. Moral victories are for losers," Golesh said. "We played winning football on defense, we played well enough to win that football game." USF has now lost to 15 straight ranked opponents but will look to bounce back next week at home.
Up next for both teams:
Alabama goes back to Tuscaloosa to face No.17 Ole Miss
USF plays Rice at home
Comments