USF (1-1; 0-0 American) vs. #10/10 Alabama (1-1; 0-0 SEC)
Saturday, Sept. 16 • 3:30 P.M. • Raymond James Stadium (65,000) • Tampa, Fla.
SURFACE: Bermuda Natural Grass
TV: ABC: Bob Wischusen (PXP), Robert Griffin III (Analyst) & Kris Budden (sideline)
AUDIO: 102.5 FM & HD 2/TuneIn - Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Alabama leads, 1-0
IN TAMPA: First Meeting
IN TUSCALOOSA: Alabama leads, 1-0
LAST TIME: ALA won, 40-17, 1st game of 2003 season
VS SEC TEAMS: 1
VS.RANKED: 11-36; Lost last 14;
Last win: 52-45 vs. 22 Navy 10/28/2016
Home: 7-19, last win, vs. 22 Navy 10/28/2016
USF GAME NOTES
Size matters.
What Sir Isaac Newton discovered — and what every football coach from Amos Alonzo Stagg to Alex Golesh has either favorably utilized or unexpectedly overcome — will be on full display Saturday afternoon when the USF Bulls (1-1) face the No. 10-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (1-1) at Raymond James Stadium.
Can the Bulls create pressure on the Alabama quarterback — whoever that may be — or slow down the run against a Tide offensive line that averages nearly 340 pounds?
Meanwhile, can the USF offensive line rebound after surrendering 11 sacks in two games and seeing the average yards per rush slip to 2.5 against Florida A&M (after opening with 6.1 at Western Kentucky)?
In both cases, the Bulls must contend with SEC-level athletes. And along the offensive and defensive lines, that means seeing the largest (literally) competition you'll face all season.
"I think from just simply a size standpoint, the (Alabama) defensive front six is uniquely different,'' Golesh said. "There's just pure mass on their D-line and linebacker. There are bigger bodies than what you're used to seeing up front.
"On the other side of the ball, the offensive line is bigger than what you're used to seeing. Other than that, I think skill for skill, you feel like you can match up. You feel like schematically you'll match up. So, the biggest thing is winning up front on both sides of the ball, protecting the quarterback, being able to stop the run, those types of things.''
So how does USF do it when the size difference is obvious?
"This is not just coach-talk here because when I played, I wasn't always the biggest and that was a factor but it was never the biggest factor to me,'' said USF offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick, a former UCF offense lineman. "It comes down to a battle of wills. It's mental. We have enough talent in my room. We did it last year at a different place (Tennessee) and we'll do it again.''
Center Mike Lofton said the offensive-line play was "lackluster'' and "poor'' after quarterback Byrum Brown was sacked five times in the opener at Western Kentucky. There was no improvement against Florida A&M (six sacks).
"The offensive line gets a lot of heat on that,'' Golesh said. "We gave up six and three of them were on the offensive line. Three of them were on me and everybody else, meaning either we're not putting them in the right situation, we're not getting open, we're not quite holding up enough (blocking at receiver, running back or tight end) or we're not putting the ball out on time.
"We've talked about it the last two weeks and, man, one of our points of emphasis to winning was protecting the quarterback. It's everybody's job. The wideouts have to get open. The running backs have to protect. We've got to scheme it the right way. But we've given up (11 sacks) in two weeks. That's a lot.''
Sixth-year offensive tackle Donovan Jennings had a more pointed word for the offensive-line performance.
Unacceptable.
"We definitely take it real personal, no matter if it's on us or not on us,'' Jennings said. "We take pride in playing well. The sack numbers have been too high. We're going to keep working and keep building. But there's no doubt that (Alabama's defensive front) is physical, fast and they get hands on you pretty quick. For us, it's about winning the line of scrimmage and being very physical as well.''
As far as putting pressure on the Alabama quarterback and bottling up the Crimson Tide running game, USF defensive coordinator Todd Orlando sounded a familiar refrain.
"Oh, they're massive on the offensive line,'' Orlando said. "You know what I'm saying? Massive. And they're light on their feet. They do such a good job of just engulfing you. They'll run their backs, one-cut guys, and they'll go downhill. It's going to be a big, big part of this game — our ability to hold up in the run game.
"We've all gone against bigger guys. You can beat (bigger) guys with pad level and hand placement. So, the technique and the mentality — even more than the sheer mass — will give you the ability to move guys off the football. That's going to be the biggest battle, right there off the snap.''
Linebacker Jhalyn Shuler knows the game's bottom line — and he's looking forward to it.
"The SEC has big, physical dudes, but we've got big physical dudes on our side, too,'' Shuler said. "No question, it starts up front. It's the main factor in the game. But we're very excited for it. We can't wait. These are the kind of games you dream about when you're a little kid.''
It's a two-for-one contract that will send USF to Tuscaloosa for games in 2024 and 2026. Saturday afternoon, though, USF welcomes one of the nation's most iconic programs into Ray-Jay. And that has made for a memorable week of buildup.
"This game is definitely a big stage for us to show off where we are, just as much for us internally in the building as much as everybody else,'' Golesh said. "I want to see us play really, really hard. I want to see us execute at a high clip.
"Every week is important. This week just happens to be on a national stage against a really good opponent. We're not going to minimize it or make it bigger than what it is. It's the next step for our program. Every time you go out there, it's a chance to show what your program is doing. This is the next step for us.''
– #GoBulls –
