USF Bulls Lose a Nailbiter to Alabama, 42-16

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Coming into this game, the USF Bulls were a 33-point to the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Last year, the game was tight and USF played well. Mother Nature got in the way as the Bulls had the momentum and it rained and delayed the game for two and a half hours. They only got three points and were outscored 17-3 after the delay. Both teams have improved from last year. The Tide went to the final four teams and lost to the Michigan Wolverines. The same Wolverines that went on to win the national championship. The Bulls went from a two-win team to winning six games and then won the Boca Raton Bowl and set an NCAA record. That record is for the most points scored in a shutout game. Most of the national media had USF losing in a blowout.

The game kicked off as the Crimson Tide’s stadium was renamed. The stadium is now called Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Nick Saban retired at the end of last year after having won six national championships as the head coach. At halftime, he talked and was thanked by the fans. The USF Bulls got the ball first and got a field goal. Most of the drive was quarterback Byrum Brown running the ball. Many pointed out that the weakness of the USF was on defense. That was not the case as they came out and caused a three-and-out for the Tide on their first possession. The best player for Alabama is their quarterback Jalen Milroe. Milroe was benched for last year’s game. Milroe was responsible for most of the Crimson Tide’s points.

Alabama had four rushing touchdowns and two receiving. Two of them were scored by Milroe. Through three and half quarters the game was kept close. The USF Bulls defense was blitzing, causing mass confusion for Alabama on offense. The Bulls’ offense was the problem and mostly the passing game. Brown made some throws early in the game that he missed and his confidence was shaken. We know that winning a game is hard when an offense becomes one-dimensional. Even after the Bulls got three fumble recoveries points did not come. USF hung in there and like last year the defense ran out of gas in the middle of the fourth quarter. In the last six minutes, the Tide scored 28 points and put the game on ice. The final score was 42-16.

This game for the USF Bulls showed that the program has taken a huge step forward. The defense held one of the best offenses at will until near the end of the fourth quarter. Byrum Brown ran for 100 yards but that was not enough on offense. The same scenario happened last year. The Bulls were down eight points with just under six minutes left in the game. Head coach Alex Golesh decided to kick the field goal instead of going for a touchdown. That was the wrong decision and this is when the Crimson Tide went off and scored 21 points. USF has played two good games to start their 2024 season and they will hit the road to play the Southern Miss Eagles which is a winnable game.

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