Losing at home to a 30.5-point underdog at home would have been a terrible outcome on a Saturday when Alabama named the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium after the recently retired Nick Saban.
New coach Kalen DeBoer already faced considerable pressure after taking over for Saban and his six national championships for the Tide. But he managed to avoid an upset that would have significantly increased that scrutiny with a 42–16 win over South Florida.
Yet at the 11:50 mark of the fourth quarter, this was a one-point game and Saturday’s second major upset appeared to be very much in play.
The Bulls squandered an opportunity to tie the game at 14-14 in the third quarter. Tavin Ward recovered a fumble by Alabama’s Jam Miller and South Florida went 39 yards in five plays, finished off by a 2-yard touchdown run from Ta’Ron Keith.
However, a false start penalty by Jack Wilty took a two-point conversion attempt out of consideration and the Bulls kicked the extra point for a 14–13 deficit.
Alabama appeared to settle itself and was ready to put the game away with an 11-play drive covering 51 yards. But at the USF 2-yard line, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe fumbled and the Bulls’ Bernard Gooden recovered.
However, South Florida couldn’t capitalize, failing to get a first down on its subsequent possession and deciding to punt on 4th-and-1. From their own 13-yard line, it was probably the right decision by head coach Alex Golesh. Yet with only 1 yard to go, on the road as major underdogs to Alabama, going for the first down would’ve been a bold choice that might have paid off.
The decision to punt looked worse when Alabama turned around and scored in four plays with Kobe Prentice catching a 16-yard TD pass from Milroe for a 21–13 lead.
Yet South Florida bounced back on the next drive, moving down the field on two 19-yard runs by Nay’Quan Wright and a targeting penalty on Alabama linebacker Justin Jefferson. But USF could only gain five more yards, getting to the Tide’s 4-yard line. Once again, Golesh made a conservative choice, opting to kick a field goal to cut Alabama’s lead to 21–16 rather than go for the touchdown on fourth-and-4.
Settling for a field goal looked like an even worse decision once the offensive floodgates opened for the Crimson Tide. Alabama scored touchdowns on its next three possessions, first on a 43-yard pass from Milroe to Ryan Williams, followed by another scoring pass to Prentice, and finally a 29-yard TD run by Justice Haynes.
Fans looking at the final score might have no idea how close this game was in the fourth quarter and how nervous fans inside Bryant-Denny Stadium were getting. But DeBoer’s big-play offense flexed its muscles with 28 points in the final frame, punishing Golesh for not being bolder as a massive road underdog. Ultimately, Notre Dame’s upset loss wasn’t overshadowed.
Alabama (2–0) travels to Wisconsin (2–0) next Saturday for an SEC-Big Ten clash at 12 p.m. ET.
