College Football

Does Alabama have a QB problem? Tide sluggish in win

Published Sep. 16, 2023 9:59 p.m. ET

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Roydell Williams rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, helping third-string quarterback Ty Simpson and No. 10 Alabama shrug off a slow start and beat South Florida 17-3 on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide (2-1) rebounded from a 10-point loss to Texas, improving to 14-1 in games following a regular-season loss since 2008.

To do it, though, Alabama had to overcome inconsistent quarterback play and several costly mistakes that kept USF (1-2) in the game. The Bulls led 3-0 when lightning delayed play for 55 minutes in the second quarter, and it was 3-3 at halftime.

"The defense did an outstanding job of only giving up three points and that was after a turnover gave them good field position," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. "So our guys played well and pressured the quarterback well ... kept him from making a lot of explosive plays."

Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner started at quarterback for Alabama in place of Jalen Milroe, a duel-threat redshirt sophomore who lost his grip on the No. 1 job after the offense sputtered in the previous week's 34-24 loss.

Buchner wasn't any more effective, completing just five of 14 passes for 34 yards before coach Nick Saban turned to Simpson when linebacker Dallas Turner forced a USF fumble to set up Alabama at the Bulls 25 after the weather delay.

Simpson turned the turnover into Will Reichard's 30-yard field goal that made it 3-3. He finally got the Crimson Tide in the end zone, using a 45-yard completion to C.J. Dippre to fuel a six-play, 84-yard drive that Roydell Williams finished with a 1-yard TD run for a 10-3 lead with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter.

"I know you're going to ask about the quarterbacks, but we're going to evaluate (them) on how they played today and evaluate Jalen Milroe on how he played (in two starts)," Saban said. "We'll decide this week who gives us the best opportunity to be successful as an offensive team, and that's the way we'll go."

Is Ty Simpson or Jalen Milroe the answer to Alabama's QB woes?

Alabama hurt itself early, with Kool-Aid McKinstry's losing a fumble on a first-quarter punt return to set up John Cannon's 44-yard field goal for USF and Jeremiah Alexander's holding penalty that wiped out what would have been Terrion Arnold's 100-yard return for a TD on the ensuing kickoff.

Simpson finished 5 of 9 passing for 73 yards without an interception, capping the victory with a 1-yard TD run in the closing minutes. Alabama amassed 203 yards on the ground, with Jase McClellan gaining 70 of his 74 yards in the first half.

"I know we've got the SEC (conference play) coming up next week and obviously we've got a lot of things to fix and we'll work on it," Saban said. "We've had four touchdowns this season negated by penalties. A kickoff return today, a touchdown run today and two last week. We need to fix all those things."

Byrum Brown completed 14 of 28 passes for 87 yards and one interception for USF. He also ran for a team-leading 97 yards on 23 attempts as the Bulls gained 177 on the ground.

USF's lone scoring drive covered four yards.

"There are no moral victories. Valiant efforts are for losers. Moral victories are for losers," USF coach Alex Golesh said.

"That's what losers say: `Winners win,'" Golesh added. "So, there are no moral victories, there are no valiant efforts, there are no anything, We played winning football on defense, we played well enough (defensively) to win that football game."

The takeaway

It wasn't pretty, but Alabama accomplished the expected in extending its impressive streak of not losing consecutive regular season games since 2008. The only back-to-back defeats over that stretch came when the Crimson Tide lost to Auburn in the 2013 regular-season finale and then fell to Oklahoma in the 2014 Sugar Bowl.

USF, rebuilding under first-year coach Alex Golesh after going 1-11 last season, has lost 15 in a row to ranked opponents.

Poll implications

Alabama dropped seven spots in the Top 25 after losing at home to Texas. Struggling on the road against a team that had dropped 11 in a row before beating FCS foe Florida A&M the previous week likely won't help the Crimson Tide much in the next poll.

Up next

Alabama returns home for its Southeastern Conference opener against No. 17 Ole Miss.

USF hosts Rice in its American Athletic Conference opener.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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South Florida Bulls

College Football

Alabama Crimson Tide

Tyler Buchner

Jalen Milroe

Ty Simpson