Despite final scoring barrage, Alabama’s holes became glaring

The old cliche of ‘it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish” was the tone Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer had following the game.

“The energy in the locker room before the game was strong. They wanted to go out there, and I felt like there were a lot of guys straining out there. It’s a word we use a lot to make plays, to finish. Sometimes we’re straining too much. We’ve got to understand that you can’t make that push in the back or tug the jersey in that split second of a hold,” DeBoer said, “Remember this time when it was 14-13? You just kept swinging, kept playing. I’m proud of that. That’s what it’s going to take to win some close games, Even if they’re not pretty because all wins aren’t going to be that way.”

DeBoer is right, not all wins have to be a Michelangelo, but ugly performances can give opponents the blueprint to beat you.

It feels DeBoer is facing the same issues that Nick Saban couldn’t figure out with this group, when they can’t effectively run the ball the offense stalls and when they get undisciplined it can spiral.

While the Crimson Tide was able to rush for 137 of their 194 yards in the fourth quarter, the offense found no rhythm throughout the contest. The offensive line wasn’t getting any push, the South Florida defense was able to get three sacks and six tackles for loss. The play in question early in the third quarter when South Florida linebacker Mac Harris led a bullrush that made quarterback Jalen Milroe retreat and sack him for an 18 yard loss.

Discipline issues have crept up for the Crimson Tide in recent years. Against Texas in 2022 and 2023 the Crimson Tide had consecutive games with 10 or more penalties.

Last night, Alabama committed 13 penalties for 120 yards. One of the costlier penalties came late in the first half, when Milroe had a 74-yard rushing yard negated by a holding call on offensive lineman Wilkin Formby.

The cameras caught former Alabama coach Nick Saban looking disappointed. If one thing that was a giant pet peeve of Saban it was repeated infractions. Saban knows what DeBoer is going through, South Florida didn’t have the firepower to make Alabama pay but the holes that doomed Saban a season ago are ever so present for DeBoer.