Alabama football will aim to stay hot on Saturday when it faces South Florida at Bryant-Denny Stadium, one week after defeating Western Kentucky 63-0 to begin the 2024 season. Last year, the Bulls spooked the Crimson Tide in Tampa, and Kalen DeBoer’s team will aim to prevent another game as competitive.
The game is slated to start at 6 p.m. CT. It will telecast on ESPN.
Before the game, here are Alabama’s three keys to success.
Shut down the quarterback
Byrum Brown is one of the best quarterbacks in the Group of Five. He might possibly be one of the top quarterbacks the Crimson Tide faces in 2024.
Alabama has more talent overall than the Bulls, which is quite evident on paper. Still, Saturday provides an opportunity for repetitions against a man who can and will destroy the Tide if they overlook his talent.
“I think this quarterback is dynamic with his feet, you saw that a year ago,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday. “He has the ability to prolong plays, especially in passing downs with his feet. So we’ve got to do an excellent job of containing him this week, which will be a terrific task for our players and one that we’re all looking forward to preparing for.”
Brown performed well against Bethune-Cookman to begin the season. In the game, he completed 13 of 20 passes for 152 yards while also rushing for 74 yards and a touchdown.
Obviously, Alabama’s defense can play. Brown, however, may be more difficult to stop than Western Kentucky’s TJ Finley.
Keep the offense moving.
Alabama’s offense did not sustain many drives during last week’s victory. The reason: The Crimson Tide didn’t have to.
UA had short drives due to the abundance of explosive plays. One fascinating thing to watch versus South Florida is whether the Tide takes longer to score touchdowns when they get the ball.
Alabama struggled on offense against the Bulls last season, with sloppy play throughout the game. That game, Jalen Milroe was benched, Tyler Buchner started at quarterback, and Ty Simpson relieved him.
With the first Power 5 opponent set for next week, Saturday’s game will be about fine-tuning the machine. If the Tide wants to keep supporters excited in DeBoer’s first season, it can’t afford to repeat last year’s performance.
‘Protect our fields.’
Before Saturday’s game, there is a very remarkable ritual outside the stadium. Nick Saban will be present as the gridiron inside the stadium gets christened Saban Field.
The event will take place at 2:30 p.m. CT on the Walk of Champions. Alabama’s players will be unable to attend owing to typical gameday preparations, but DeBoer expressed hope that they will play an important role in the day’s events.
“It’s something that I know we have a lot of respect for and gonna make sure that we continue to do everything we can to make it our house and protect our field from here on out just like it’s been in the 17 years that he was here,” DeBoer commented on Monday’s announcement.
For the Crimson Tide players, the best way to celebrate Saban’s legacy on the field that will be named after him is to keep winning. If that provides Alabama a little extra motivation for the game against South Florida, that’s great.
