The final score was 42-16. Rarely has the final score of a football game in Alabama been so meaningful.
The Crimson Tide fought a tight battle with South Florida until the end, and only had a two-point lead at the end of the fourth quarter. The cause of many of the problems lay in the Tide’s offensive line.
“I think a lot of it is the amount of reps they’ve done together,” DeBoer said. “It was pretty much just this week at two practices and it showed. It showed that we weren’t on the same page on different things and different decisions.”
The group was not at its best from the start on Saturday. Left tackle Kadyn Proctor missed the game with a shoulder injury, which sidelined regular left guard Tyler Booker.
Geno VanDeMark occupied the guard position.
“I think we’ll be in better offensive position next week,” DeBoer said. “It was a little dicey throughout the week with a few different players.”
The most obvious and noticeable problem was the penalties. The Crimson Tide had five holds on Saturday, preventing several touchdowns.
Alabama was also charged with an illegal block in the back and two false starts. In total, Alabama’s offensive line cost the Crimson Tide seventy yards in penalties.
“We just have to be more disciplined,” said Alabama center Parker Brailsford.
Brailsford and Jalen Milroe mishandled a snap early in the fourth quarter, costing the Crimson Tide a scoring opportunity deep in the red zone when USF recovered the fumble. On the right side, Jaeden Roberts played fairly well at guard, but Wilkin Formby struggled at tackle.
Much of the pressure Milroe faced came from Formby’s position. The Tuscaloosa native was also responsible for three of Alabama’s holding penalties.
When Pritchett came on for Formby on the right, the Tide started to look up and scored more points in the last minute to extend their lead over the Bulls, before Brailsford defended his teammate.
“I think if Wilkin had been in there, we would have done the same thing regardless,” the center said. “I think it was about all of us together, more than just one person.”
Alabama faces its first Power Four opponent on Saturday when it travels to Wisconsin. It is also UA’s first road game.
According to Brailsford, it will be crucial for the Tide to create clarity before the trip, especially in terms of communication.
The Tide could also continue to benefit from the lessons learned from a mindset change late in Saturday’s game.
“Just do your job,” Brailsford said. “Stop trying to be a hero. Stop trying to do everyone else’s job. Stop thinking about what everyone else is doing. Just do your job. And that’s what we did, and then of course you saw the result.”
Kickoff between Alabama and Wisconsin is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT Saturday in Madison. The game will be televised on FOX.
