Jumbo Package: Progress is the goal vs USF (2024)

Happy Friday, everyone. The NFL season kicked off last night, and the first touchdown of the season was fittingly scored by The King.

Alas, winning in Arrowhead is nigh impossible these days, and the Ravens became the latest victim.

As you well know, Alabama plays South Florida tomorrow. Once again, this isn’t a game that draws much national attention, but here are a few previews.

Alabama 42, South Florida 10: Alabama has made it clear it looks to leave last year’s game in the past and it should have no issue handling South Florida on Saturday. It will be the Crimson Tide’s final home game before it opens SEC play on Sept. 28 vs. No. 1 Georgia.

If South Florida’s offense finds success early, then Golesh’s team has a chance to make this one more interesting than the oddsmakers project. However, the Bulls will have trouble slowing down Milroe, and Alabama’s defense eventually contains USF’s offense to pull away for an easy win.

See Also

Program: Marketing B.S., with Sport and Entertainment Management Concentration - 4 Year Plan of Study - University of South FloridaVictory Rewind: Notables From The Bulls Win over B-CU - USF AthleticsFederal judge rejects Donald Trump's request to intervene in hush money caseElection Day is about 2 months away and ready or not, the first ballots could go out within days

Prediction: Alabama 45, South Florida 17

Alabama is a 30.5 point favorite against South Florida, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook, which set the total at 64.5 points for the game.

FanDuel lists the moneyline odds for Alabama at -8000 and for USF at +2400.

If you’re using this projection to bet on the game, you should take...

Alabama -30.5

Bama to win -8000

Bet under 64.5 points

South Florida ranked second in seconds per play last season, and the expectation is that Golesh’s team plays at a similar tempo this season as well. This will give Alabama plenty more opportunities to integrate DeBoer’s new vertical passing scheme that can take the top off a South Florida team that ranked 130th in explosive pass rate last season.

Meanwhile, South Florida’s offense should continue to grow in the second year of Brown, a dual-threat quarterback who can be used as a rusher and is hoping to take the next step as a passer.

Even with a road trip on deck for the Crimson Tide, this game should feature plenty of plays from both sides and scoring opportunities as I bank on this game going over the total.

The coach of South Florida is no stranger to the Crimson Tide.

Of course, he had the chance to coach against Alabama last year and played it closer than many expected. But that wasn’t Golesh’s first matchup vs. the Crimson Tide.

He beat Alabama two seasons ago as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator. Yes, the Vols 2022 win over the Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Golesh also coached on the Tennessee staff that lost to Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2021.

As was the case before Western Kentucky, I have no interest in predicting whether Alabama wins by 25 or 35. I want to see progress from the team. They should be able to run the ball more consistently than they did last week. We need to see a better pass rush, and more cohesive offensive line play. Next week wiil be car more compelling.

RB coach Robert Gillespie and OL coach Chris Kapilovic spoke yesterday.

There is not expected to be a “bell cow” or workhorse to this Alabama backfield. The story since the spring has been Haynes and Miller as 1A and 1B, and even though Haynes started against Western Kentucky, that might not mean much going forward.

“He was the first one out,” Gillespie explained. “That’s what we tell our guys all the time: it doesn’t matter who starts. All those guys are gonna play. He was the first one out last week, and every week it’s week-by-week who goes out there first.

“But he went out and made the most of his opportunity. He went out there and played well. He blocked. When he had an opportunity to, he ran the ball hard. It was good to see him get out there and play.”

Kapilovic didn’t shut down the possibility when asked whether Booker could move over in an emergency.

“We have all kinds of thoughts,” Kapilovic said. “And Booker’s played every position since I’ve been here. He’s had center reps in the summer, he had tackle reps in the spring. Anything is possible, right? You just look and evaluate, who are your best guys? Who are the guys that can do it? And then you have them ready to go.”

Pritchett battled for the starting job at right tackle throughout camp, before Formby earned the first-team role. He had been on the left side in the past, competing with Proctor to start there before the 2023 season.

Last, this is a nice feature from GQ on Jalen Milroe. This snippet about Nick Saban closing the deal with him is classic.

He also had offers from major programs like Oregon, Florida, and Ole Miss, but staying close to home—UT is about two hours from his hometown of Katy—was hugely appealing. But even as a teenager, he kept a mindful eye on the future. As he puts it, the whole point of the college years is to set yourself up the next 40. And the prospect of playing under Saban at Alabama, he explains, was too hard to resist.

Around the time of the 2020 NFL draft, he took a COVID-era Zoom call with Saban, who made Milroe a promise. “‘Next week when Tua [Tagovailoa] gets selected, I’m going to call you.’ I’m thinking, I don’t know if this man’s going to call me. Fast-forward to the day of the draft, the Miami Dolphins select [Tua], I get a call from Coach Saban, and he says, ‘If you come here, in the next five to six years, this’ll be you.’ I said, How do you turn this down?”

He’s the best to ever do it, and Kalen DeBoer still has his closing ability as a resource.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.