Alabama vs south florida.
Simpson was pressured all night, being sacked five times, but led Alabama’s first touchdown drive in the 3rd quarter that started with a 45-yard pass to tight end CJ Dippre. Simpson capped off the game with Alabama’s second touchdown late in the fourth with a quarterback sneak to finally put the game out of reach.
On a sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny day in Florida, No. 10 Alabama beat Group of Five opponent USF by a final score of 17-3 in a sluggish game that featured weather delays, quarterback changes and plenty of other surprises.
The Crimson Tide started Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner under center for the first time this season, replacing Jalen Milroe who started the first two games. Buchner completed just five of his 14 pass attempts for 34 yards, before being pulled in favor of redshirt freshman Ty Simpson just before halftime.
The No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide and the South Florida Bulls meet in a non-conference tilt on Saturday. Alabama won the only previous matchup between the programs in 2003, and Raymond James Stadium will host the game in Tampa. Alabama is 1-1 this season after a 34-24 loss to Texas a week ago, and the Crimson Tide were 11-2 in 2022. USF is also 1-1 to begin the 2023 season under new head coach Alex Golesh, with a comfortable win over Florida A&M last week. Alabama will reportedly turn to Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner at quarterback after Jalen Milroe started the first two games of the season.
SportsLine consensus lists the Crimson Tide as 34-point favorites for this 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 61 in the latest Alabama vs. South Florida odds. Before making any USF vs. Alabama picks, you need to see the college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed the model has seen huge returns.
Alabama is long-established as an upper-tier program in the college football world, and the Crimson Tide are facing a South Florida program that has wobbled in the recent past. The Bulls picked up a win last week against Florida A&M, but South Florida is on a 17-game losing streak against FBS opponents.
USF is just 1-34 in the last 35 games against FBS schools, and the Bulls had arguably the worst defense in the country in 2022. The Bulls gave up more total yards (516.6 per game) than any FBS program last season, and USF allowed 41.2 points per game.
Opponents completed 73% of passes, averaging 9.0 yards per attempt in 2022, and USF also yielded 6.1 yards per rush attempt. So far in 2023, the Bulls have given up 355.0 passing yards per game, including 8.6 yards per pass attempt, opening up a path for success as Buchner makes his first start.
On the other side, Alabama consistently brings elite-tier talent to the table, and the Crimson Tide have an intriguing X-factor on special teams. Not only are the Crimson Tide athletic and deep up and down the roster, but Alabama is also leading FBS with 50.3 net yards per punt this season. See which team to pick here.
In 2022, the Bulls’ only victory of the season was against Howard. In 2021, South Florida went 2-11 with victories against Florida A&M and Temple. In 2020, South Florida was 1-8 with a win against The Citadel.
South Florida opened this season with a 41-24 loss to Western Kentucky and then struggled last week in a victory against Florida A&M.
That’s five total victories since the pandemic and three of them were against teams in a lower division. In ancient days, when the Greeks sacrificed oxen to the gods, South Florida’s football program might have been described as a hecatomb of the horrendous.
Alabama was tied with that team 3-3 at halftime.
If you came here looking for answers to explain exactly what’s wrong with Alabama football these days, then I got nothing for you. There is no way to explain this mess in rational words. Someone please find the thief who stole Alabama’s soul this offseason. Alabama is supposed to have more blue chip NFL prospects than any team in the country. This team’s offense looks helpless and confused like someone who took the bus to work and then forgot where they parked at the end of the day.
South Florida’s defense has been active to start the 2023 season. The Bulls generated five takeaways in last week’s win, the most for the program since 2019, and opposing offenses are averaging only 74.0 rushing yards per game and 2.8 yards per rush attempt in 2023. On the other side, Alabama has struggled by traditional standards on the ground, with only 4.2 yards per carry this season and 3.1 yards per carry against Texas.
On offense, quarterback Byrum Brown leads the approach with eight total touchdowns, a figure that also leads the AAC through two games. Brown is No. 2 in the AAC with 183 rushing yards this season, and he keys a group that is averaging 31.0 points per game in 2023. South Florida leads the AAC with 241.0 rushing yards per game, leading to well over 400 total yards per game, and Alabama yielded 454 yards to Texas a week ago. The Crimson Tide also committed 10 costly penalties and gave up 9.2 yards per pass attempt to the Longhorns in that loss.
The game between Alabama football and South Florida entered into a lightning delay early in the second quarter Saturday in Tampa, Florida.
South Florida led 3-0 with 14:07 left in the first half. The delay started at 3:35 p.m. central time, with an automatic 30-minute break. The rule is that the clock must restart every time lightning is spotted in the area. Heavy rain started a few minutes before the lightning delay.
Weather updates will be provided as they become available.
ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann told the Crimson Tide Sports Network the storm was made up of isolated showers. Said Spann: “It is moving and it looks like the storm should be out of the stadium area (by 4:15 p.m.) central.
