Alabama

Kane Wommack’s Game Plan Provides Another Stout Evening for Alabama Defense

Published

11 hours ago

September 8, 2024

Kane Wommack’s Game Plan Provides Another Stout Evening for Alabama Defense

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban showed love to both sides of the ball throughout his 17-year tenure with the Crimson Tide, but it often seemed that defense was slightly closer to his heart. This is mainly due to his experience playing defensive back many many years ago, while also serving as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator for several collegiate and NFL teams over the course of 20 years.

The legendary head coach, who won six National Championships at Alabama, earned perhaps the greatest honor in the sports world on Saturday evening as the Crimson Tide’s mecca of a gridiron received a new name: Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

In an entire day honoring Saban, his somewhat preferred phase of the sport also gave him flowers that night, as Alabama’s defense was stout against South Florida’s offense from practically start to finish as the Crimson Tide won 42-16.

Wommack’s Swarm D, which shut out Western Kentucky last Saturday, proved its worth once again, and the players seem to enjoy it. Wommack refers to his 4-2-5 defensive scheme as the “Swarm D.” It’s a physical, fast, aggressive style he wants his defenses to be marked by.

Wommack spent the past three seasons as the head coach at South Alabama and said earlier in the week that one of the things he had missed most and was most looking forward to was calling the defense for Alabama this season. He’s gotten off to a strong start in the first two Saturdays of the season.

South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown gave Alabama’s run defense hell for most of the first half as logged 88 rushing yards on 12 attempts. But some Wommack adjustments and motivation lowered Brown’s pace rapidly declined in the second half as he ran for just 20 yards on 11 carries.

Unlike the run game for Brown, it was all quiet on the passing front in both halves on Saturday night, as the Crimson Tide allowed Brown to complete 15-of-35 attempts (43 percent) for just 103 yards (6.9 yards per completion).

Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III had one of the best games of his Crimson Tide career as he recorded nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks (the latter two numbers were team-highs). Keenan who hit Brown more than anyone else opened up about the quarterback’s difference between halves.

“We [had to] get hands on that guy,” Keenan said of Brown, one of the better athletes outside the Power Four and one of the best running quarterbacks in college football period. “Kudos to him. He’s a great player, a great athlete… We did what we had to do. We got the best of him.”

Alabama led South Florida 14-13 entering the fourth quarter. Truly eye-popping. While the Tide defense was stout all night, Keenan and his unit wanted to take it to another level.

“[We had] just the mindset of, don’t get stopped, I gotta get home,” Keenan said. “Pressure makes diamonds… I love moments like that, because everybody looking for somebody to be the play, and it’s like, why not me? So, just being able to have that mindset, I’m gonna make something happen, I’m gonna make a play.”

Linebacker Que Robinson was one of those players making diamonds as he flew around the middle of the field and also USF’s backfield on plenty of occasions, despite his stat sheet not being other-worldly: seven tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Robinson attributed the game plan and coaching to his performance as well as the rest of the team’s.

“Credit goes to the staff and defensive coordinator coach Wommack,” Robinson said after the game. “He just calls plays to give us an opportunity. He puts me and my teammates in a situation where we can just go out there and play. We don’t have to think too much and we were able to execute.”

Nevertheless, although Robinson was pleased with his team’s performance in Wommack’s system on Saturday, he explained that it was far from perfect.

“We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Robinson said. We’ve got to create more turnovers. Effort is a huge part of the game and we’ve got to give more effort. Doing our assignments, being fundamentally sound, getting to those gaps and getting the quarterback off his spot.”

Perhaps the word Robinson used most in the interview, in both a good and bad connotation was “effort.” Robinson said multiple times that he needs to do better and mentioned that “multiple guys were out there were screaming, yelling, telling guys to stay focused and locked in.”

But the main positive that he associated with effort was the defense’s performance on third down. Alabama held Western Kentucky to 3-of-18 on third-down attempts and a somehow even more impressive 2-of-18 against South Florida. Truly remarkable and something to keep in mind for the Crimson Tide defense for the next few weeks.

Many of these third-down stops involved Keenan’s efforts trenches. Robinson detailed that Keenan’s personal-top-tier performance from Saturday was a reflection of the entire team, and it’s been that way for quite some time.

“If Tim’s hype, everybody’s hype,” Robinson said. “He’s that person we feed off of. When he’s out there creating plays it makes everyone else hungry.”

Good coaching, leadership, accountability, effort, high standards, in-game improvement…what else could Saban enjoy in a Wommack-led defense on the day the field is named after him?

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Alabama

Where Alabama Football Ranks After Week 2

Published

4 hours ago

September 8, 2024

Press Room

Where Alabama Football Ranks After Week 2

Alabama pulled away in the fourth quarter, but Saturday night’s 42-16 win over South Florida was anything but pretty. But head coach Kalen DeBoer is all about the “1-0 mindset,” and on a week where there were multiple upsets around the country, the Crimson Tide did indeed go 1-0 to stay unbeaten early in the 2024 season.

The Crimson Tide stayed at No. 4 in both polls. The SEC has six of the top seven teams in the AP Poll.

Four ranked teams lost over the weekend with the biggest shocker coming in South Bend, Indiana where Northern Illinois knocked off No. 5 Notre Dame. Here’s how things shook out in the polls after two full weeks of college football.

(Ranking, team, first-place votes, points received, record)

1. Georgia (54), 1566, 2-0
2. Texas (4), 1492, 2-0
3. Ohio State (5), 1476, 2-0
4. Alabama, 1331, 2-0
5. Ole Miss, 1323, 2-0
6. Missouri, 1125, 2-0
7. Tennessee, 1107, 2-0
8. Penn State, 1090, 2-0
9. Oregon, 1077, 2-0
10. Miami, 1073, 2-0
11. USC, 1022, 2-0
12. Utah, 1010, 2-0
13. Oklahoma State, 734, 2-0
14. Kansas State, 702, 2-0
15. Oklahoma, 672, 2-0
16. LSU, 521, 1-1
17. Michigan, 503, 1-1
18. Notre Dame, 427, 1-1
19. Louisville, 383, 2-0
20. Arizona, 381, 2-0
21. Iowa State, 309, 2-0
22. Clemson, 292, 1-1
23. Nebraska, 142, 2-0
24. Boston COllege, 116, 2-0
25. Northern Illinois, 114, 2-0

Others receiving votes: Illinois 101, Boise St. 77, Texas A&M 68, Syracuse 63, Memphis 38, Washington 27, Iowa 24, Kansas 22, Vanderbilt 18, South Carolina 10, Liberty 9, Wisconsin 9, UNLV 7, North Carolina 7, California 3, BYU 2, UCF 1, TCU 1.

(Ranking, team, first-place votes, points received, record)

1. Georgia (48), 1296, 2-0
2. Ohio State (3), 1233, 2-0
3. Texas (1), 1213, 2-0
4. Alabama, 1113, 2-0
5. Ole Miss, 1094, 2-0
6. Oregon, 947, 2-0
7. Missouri, 920, 2-0
8. Penn State, 918, 2-0
9. Tennessee, 900, 2-0
10. Utah, 840, 2-0
11. USC, 772, 2-0
12. Miami, 767, 2-0
13. Oklahoma, 677, 2-0
14. Oklahoma State, 567, 2-0
15. Kansas State, 556, 2-0
16. Michigan, 485, 1-1
17. LSU, 392, 1-1
18. Arizona, 386, 2-0
19. Notre Dame, 370, 1-1
20. Clemson, 313, 1-1
21. Louisville, 281, 2-0
22. Washington, 170, 2-0
23. Iowa State, 145, 2-0
24. Nebraska, 91, 2-0
25. Memphis, 85, 2-0

Schools Dropped Out: No. 20 Kansas;No. 21 Iowa;No. 23 North Carolina State

Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M 68;Boston College 36;Syracuse 33;Illinois 33;Northern Illinois 30;Wisconsin 28;South Carolina 25;UNLV 19;Boise State 18;Iowa 17;Kansas 10;North Carolina State 9;UCF 7;Texas State 7;TCU 6;North Carolina 5;California 5;Liberty 4;Pittsburgh 2;Michigan State 2;BYU 2;Tulane 1;James Madison 1;Indiana 1;

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Alabama

Kalen DeBoer talks offensive line, penalties and more after USF win

Published

18 hours ago

September 8, 2024

Press Room

Kalen DeBoer talks offensive line, penalties and more after USF win

Alabama football pulled off the closest 42-16 victory in football history on Saturday, beating South Florida in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide played poorly for most of the way, only pulling away late in the fourth quarter, on the night the field was named for Nick Saban.

Many of the problems stemmed from penalties and poor offensive line play for Alabama. The Crimson Tide will be back in action next week at Wisconsin.

After the game, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is set to chat with local reporters in Tuscaloosa. Follow along here for live updates once DeBoer takes to the microphone.

— DeBoer starts out by tipping his cap to USF. Says there’s a list of things the Crimson Tide has to clean up going forward. Says he told the team in the locker room that it should learn the lessons from what went right late in the game.

— Says Alabama players need to do better job preventing fumbles. Says he’s excited for the challenge going forward and teams “need games like this.”

— Asked what the Tide does in practice to eliminate turnovers. DeBoer says UA works on that heavily on Tuesdays. Says its a point of emphasis every week, and players need to learn to tuck the ball away better while making big plays.

— Asked about not playing Elijah Pritchett until late. DeBoer says Tide was trying to rest him due to minor injury. Says Alabama should be in better shape offensive-line wise for next week’s game in Madison.

— Question is what he saw late when game turned in Tide’s favor. Says Alabama has to learn lessons about avoiding penalties. Credits Alabama being less sloppy for the turnaround. Says Tide didn’t have to sustain drives last week against Western Kentucky, and that will be key going forward.

— Asked how often he gets heated with the officials. Said he understands game getting called tight, and he was just trying to make sure everybody was held accountable. Acknowledges that most of the calls were right.

— DeBoer is asked about Jam Miller’s passion at running back. Says Miller is usually quiet, but gets amped up in big moments for games. Praises Miller’s running ability, particularly on his late touchdown.

— Asked about young players like Ryan Williams and Jaylen Mbakwe making big plays late. Says Alabama’s foundation is older players who have been in the program. Says he loved Jalen Milroe’s confidence to make big throw to Williams on a hitch that led to a touchdown. Praises Mbakwe’s confidence as well.

— Questioned about Tyler Booker’s play at left tackle and if not having him at guard limited Alabama in run game. Says Alabama wasn’t on same page with certain things, but Booker provides impact wherever he’s playing, and he was confident in Booker’s ability at tackle.

— Says Cole Adams had an arm injury and Alabama will need to evaluate going forward.

— Asked what solid finish said about Crimson Tide. Says he’ll never question Alabama’s want-to. Says there were players straining to make plays, sometimes too much. Says Alabama should have less of that, more just “staying in the fight.” Says he’s proud of late effort.

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Alabama

Alabama football vs South Florida score today: Live updates, highlights from Week 2 game

Published

1 day ago

September 7, 2024

Press Room

Alabama football vs South Florida score today: Live updates, highlights from Week 2 game

No. 4 Alabama football hosts South Florida in Week 2 of college football action at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide is coming off of a 63-0 season-opening win in Kalen DeBoer’s first game as Alabama’s head coach. Now, it looks to start 2-0 in its final home game before opening SEC play at home vs. No. 1 Georgia on Sept. 28.

Alabama has plans to honor former coach Nick Saban prior to kickoff Saturday with pregame and halftime celebrations.

Watch Alabama football vs South Florida on ESPN+ (subscribe today)

Alabama football vs South Florida time today

Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Time: 6:05 p.m. CT
Location: Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium

What channel is Alabama football vs South Florida game on today?

TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network on Sirius/XM 111 or 192

Alabama vs. South Florida will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Joe Tessitore will call the play-by-play, and Jesse Palmer will serve as the analyst with Katie George reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

JALEN MILROE: Alabama football’s Jalen Milroe found his voice as a leader, and he’ll get loud as needed

ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Alabama football beat USF last year, but still has score to settle | Goodbread

Alabama football vs South Florida history

Series record: Alabama leads 2-0
Alabama’s last win: Alabama 17, South Florida 3 (Sept. 16, 2023)

Alabama football vs South Florida predictions

Alabama has made it clear it looks to leave last year’s game against the Bulls 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.

Final score prediction: Alabama 42, South Florida 10

Alabama football vs South Florida injury updates

Left tackle Kadyn Proctor seems to be a game-time decision for Alabama. Defensive back Da’Shawn Jones should be good to go after being banged up a bit following the win over Western Kentucky.

Alabama football vs South Florida weather update

Weather in Tuscaloosa includes a high of 84 and a low of 58 on Saturday with a 15% chance of rain. Around kick off, temperatures are expected to be 85 degrees.

Alabama football 2024 schedule

All times Central.

Saturday, Aug. 31: Alabama 63, Western Kentucky 0
Saturday, Sept. 7: Alabama vs. South Florida | 6 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Saturday, Sept. 14: Alabama at Wisconsin | 11 a.m. | Fox (Fubo)
Saturday, Sept. 21: Off
Saturday, Sept. 28: Alabama vs. No. 1 Georgia | 6:30 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)*
Saturday, Oct. 5: Alabama at Vanderbilt*
Saturday, Oct. 12: Alabama vs. South Carolina | 11 a.m. | ABC or ESPN (Fubo)*
Saturday, Oct. 19: Alabama at No. 15 Tennessee*
Saturday, Oct. 26: Alabama vs. No. 11 Missouri*
Saturday, Nov. 2: Off
Saturday, Nov. 9: Alabama at No. 12 LSU*
Saturday, Nov. 16: Alabama vs. Mercer | 1 p.m. | ESPN+, SEC Network+
Saturday, Nov. 23: Alabama at No. 16 Oklahoma*
Saturday, Nov. 30: Alabama vs. Auburn*