No. 10 Alabama hits road against South Florida, eager to rebound from first loss of season
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe warms up before an NCAA college football game against Texas, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama looks to rebound after faltering late in a 34-24 loss at home to Texas last week.
The Crimson Tide are 13-1 following a regular-season loss since 2008. Although they haven’t dropped consecutive regular season games during that stretch, the Crimson Tide did follow a defeat to rival Auburn with a loss to Oklahoma in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. The Crimson Tide has outscored opponents 460 to 160 in those 14 games following a regular season loss.
South Florida is two games into a rebuild under first-year coach Alex Golesh, who was offensive coordinator at Tennessee when the Volunteers beat Alabama 52-49 last season.
KEY MATCHUP
Porous USF defense that’s shown signs of improvement vs. Jalen Milroe-led Alabama offense eager to rebound from last week’s home loss to Texas. The Bulls forced five turnovers en route to giving Golesh his first win as a head coach. Replicating that success against the bigger, stronger, faster Crimson Tide will be difficult.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Alabama: Milroe has thrown for 449 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions while also rushing for 92 yards and a pair of TDs through two games. WR Jermaine Burton has five receptions for 120 yards and two TDs.
FACTS & FIGURES
Alabama won the only previous meeting between the teams 40-17 in 2003. South Florida led 17-7 late in the second quarter before the Crimson Tide scored the final 33 points. The Bulls visit Tuscaloosa in 2024 and 2026, completing a three-game contract. … USF stopped an 11-game losing streak with a 38-24 victory over FCS foe Florida A&M last week. The Bulls have lost 14 straight vs. ranked opponents. … Alabama has only lost three regular-season games against nonconference teams in coach Nick Saban’s 16-plus seasons. Two of those — Florida State and Louisiana-Monroe — came in 2007. The third was last week’s loss to Texas.
No. 10 Alabama (1-1) at South Florida (1-1), 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Series record: Alabama leads 1-0.
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