TAMPA — He’s not about to be sucked in by the gravitational pull of the houndstooth-bedecked hoopla.
First-year USF coach Alex Golesh can’t afford to make his team’s clash Saturday with No. 10 Alabama — the Bulls’ only game of the year staged before an ABC audience — something surreal or folkloric. Not when he’s trying to create a process borne of consistency and excellence week after week, no matter the foe’s cachet.
“I know I seem short with my answer on all these analogies or mythical (comparisons),” Golesh said Tuesday. “Man, we’ve got to go strap up and line up against another man and go at it for 3½ hours, one on one, and whack heads. That’s what it is. You’ve got to scheme the right way, you’ve got to execute the right way, we’ve got to protect the quarterback, we’ve got to tackle in space.
“It’s no different no matter who you’re playing, and that’s why I’m not, like, a giant fan of all the David-Goliath (analogies). It’s another squad that you get to go in, and it’s another test for us as we lay the foundation for what we’re doing.”
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Yet even as Golesh tries to emphasize process, he can’t ignore the pertinent story line — the one matchup critical to deciding whether this contest will be a pushover for the Tide or program-changer for the Bulls.
The line of scrimmage.
“That’s the difference in the game, is what we can do up front on both sides of the ball, in my opinion,” he said.
Through two games, USF (1-1) has struggled mightily to protect redshirt freshman quarterback Byrum Brown, who already has been sacked 11 times. On the other side, the Bulls generated no pass rush in their season-opening loss to Western Kentucky but responded with four sacks of Florida A&M quarterback Jeremy Moussa in Saturday’s 38-24 triumph.
“I definitely take (the sack total) real personal, no matter if it’s on us or not on us,” sixth-year left tackle Donovan Jennings said. “We take pride in that, so that number’s really too high for us, and we want to get that down.”
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Now come the Crimson Tide, who will present more physicality, fleetness and collective girth up front than the Bulls are likely to see all year. Alabama’s projected starting offensive front — featuring three new starters — averages 339.4 pounds. Florida A&M had no starting lineman that weighed more than 315.
Alabama linebackers Deontae Lawson (32) and Dallas Turner (15) stop Texas running back Jonathon Brooks (24) during the first half of the teams’ meeting in Tuscaloosa last Saturday. The Longhorns prevailed, 34-24, but averaged fewer than 3 yards per rushing attempt. [ VASHA HUNT | AP ]
On the flip side, Alabama’s projected starting three-man defensive front — sophomores Jaheim Oatis and Tim Keenan III and senior Justin Eboigbe — averages 309 pounds. Florida A&M’s averaged 282.
And while Alabama failed to sack Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who benefited from stout protection and unleashed his throws quickly in the Longhorns’ 34-24 triumph Saturday, it held Texas to 2.84 yards per carry on 37 rushing attempts.
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“I think from just simply a size standpoint, defensively up front, at linebacker, the front six is where it’s uniquely different,” Golesh said. “There’s just pure mass on the (defensive) line. At linebacker, there’s bigger bodies there, which you’re used to seeing.”
The key, Golesh said, is to mask the size deficiency with scheme (i.e. quicker throws for Brown) and stress the collaborative effort essential in protecting Brown. In Saturday’s victory, Golesh blamed only three of the Rattlers’ six sacks on the offensive line.
“Three of them were on me and everybody else,” he added, “meaning either we’re not putting them in the right situation, or we’re not getting open, or at running back or at tight end, we’re not quite holding up enough, or we’re just not putting the ball out on time. And all of that is a huge combination.”
Saturday, it segues from huge to monumental, regardless of how much the Bulls try to remain focused on foundation and process.
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I mean, we’ve given up (11) sacks in two weeks — that’s a lot,” Golesh said.
“So, certainly a huge point of emphasis, and a lot of scrambles where Byrum has created some positives, which is encouraging. But absolutely, especially as you’re getting a young quarterback confident, a young quarterback, getting him ready to go and you’re selling confidence to him, for him to be able to set his feet and deliver a football is really, really important.
“So yeah, a concern? A huge point of emphasis for sure, especially as you go up against a good defensive line and certainly a good scheme, you’re going to have to hold up.”
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls
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Ole Miss Rebels (14-2, 3-0 SEC) at Alabama Crimson Tide (14-2, 3-0 SEC)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Crimson Tide -11; over/under is 164
BOTTOM LINE: No. 4 Alabama hosts No. 21 Ole Miss after Mark Sears scored 27 points in Alabama’s 94-88 win against the Texas A&M Aggies.
The Crimson Tide are 7-0 in home games. Alabama ranks fourth in the SEC with 39.1 points per game in the paint led by Labaron Philon averaging 7.3.
The Rebels are 3-0 against SEC opponents. Ole Miss ranks sixth in the SEC with 16.0 assists per game led by Jaylen Murray averaging 4.1.
Alabama averages 10.3 made 3-pointers per game, 3.1 more made shots than the 7.2 per game Ole Miss gives up. Ole Miss has shot at a 45.4% clip from the field this season, 4.6 percentage points above the 40.8% shooting opponents of Alabama have averaged.
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The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sears is averaging 19.1 points and 4.5 assists for the Crimson Tide.
Sean Pedulla is scoring 14.1 points per game with 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Rebels.
LAST 10 GAMES: Crimson Tide: 9-1, averaging 92.5 points, 41.1 rebounds, 17.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.8 points per game.
Rebels: 8-2, averaging 76.4 points, 30.9 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 9.7 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.4 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday ordered all flags at the Alabama capitol and state buildings return to full-staff when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated despite President Joe Biden’s order that flags be flown at half-staff to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter.
Ivey’s order came 10 days after Trump lamented on social media that Democrats would be “all ‘giddy’” that he would be sworn-in with flags at half-staff.
Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100.
Biden ordered flags be flown at half-staff for a 30-day period of mourning that ends on Jan. 30
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Ivey said her order, which applies to flags on the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol Complex in Montgomery and at state buildings throughout Alabama, is in accordance with federal law.
“Federal law … enumerates times and occasions for display of the U.S flag, including Inauguration Day, January 20. Accordingly, flags at state buildings in Alabama should be raised to full staff on Monday, January 20, 2025, to honor the inauguration of the new president,” the governor’s order stated.
On Jan. 3, the president-elect said in a Truth Social post that “no American can be happy about it,” referring to the prospect of flags being flown at half-staff for his inauguration.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration. They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves,” Trump posted. Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years – It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast. Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Gov. Greg Abbot of Texas was the first governor in the country to order his state’s flags to be raised for Trump’s inauguration.
Kudos to Mr. Lyman. It takes chutzpah to ask our legislators to consider his 2025 wish list after having called them soul-less barbarians for years. Yet, legislators would agree wholeheartedly with his final wish, under his “DEI” label: for our teachers “to share the true history of the state, without any vague and mealy language intended to scare people from basic principles of truth and respect.”
Amen to that. Mr. Lyman being a woke advocate, let’s take a snapshot of that history as it relates to Blacks, the largest class of victims in woke theology. The 1960s and before was the era of invidious discrimination. Blacks were like the Israelites in Egypt. Merit didn’t count. Black welders, for example, with decades of talent and families to feed, some fresh from two wars welding tanks and airplanes, had to watch less qualified white apprentices walking through factory gates throughout America, taking the jobs the Blacks desperately needed and could perform better.
Then came Dr. Martin Luther King. Their Moses, who led them from bondage. Followed by brave white Alabamians like our legislators in the 1960s who (in several cases had to ignore death threats) changed Birmingham’s form of government to remove its racist Police Commissioner Bull Connor. Since then, white-majority governments have passed all sorts of laws, spent trillions of dollars, and seen millions of white people help blacks all over, even here in Alabama. Merit started counting and Blacks began flourishing in this Promised Land of ours–climbing ladders everywhere, heading Top Ten lists, from actors and athletes to scholars and entrepreneurs. There’s been magic in that rise of Blacks, and in all fairness, those of us Baby Boomers who’ve served in the trenches to end employment discrimination and know what a Bull Connor Billy Club can do to a man’s skull and emotions, can feel that magic far better than younger generations like Mr. Lyman’s.
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But, then came wokeism, which has become the established faith in the legal and regulatory framework of the American political system, elite corporate culture and academia. Central to its creed is CRT, which tells precious black children they’ll be fighting an uphill battle against a society controlled by white people who hate them. CRT pollinated DEI, which tells those children that merit doesn’t count: without DEI’s brand of preferential treatment, they’ll be denied opportunities. As a result, children become poisoned with hate and fear. Thinking, don’t fight the system. Forget studying hard to follow your dreams. Many opt for rebellion and crime.
So yes, we need true history. To demonstrate that while our society has certainly not reached the ideal of being color-blind, we are light years better than yesteryear. We’d have never elected a black president and vice president if we were white supremacists. Our children need the confidence that came over with the Mayflower that, with hard work and ambition, the American dream is theirs. So long as they don’t drink the poisoned Kool-aide of CRT and DEI.
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