After Being on the Ropes, Alabama Lands Knockout Punches in Fourth Quarter to Beat South Florida

Crimson Tide scores 28 points in fourth quarter to put Bulls away.

Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Kobe Prentice (6) celebrates with tight end Josh Cuevas (80) and wide receiver Ryan Williams (2) after a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama won 42-16. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The inability to run the ball effectively—perplexing. 

The turnovers and excessive number of penalties—uncanny. 

The overall lack of emotion and focus—concerning. 

If last week’s rout of Western Kentucky was the coming out party for Kalen DeBoer and a new era of Alabama, Saturday’s effort against South Florida was the hangover. 

Alabama overcame sloppy play and got the job done with a 42-16 win thanks to a fourth-quarter burst of three scores in the final six minutes. That’s what you expect from the No. 4 team in the country. What you don’t expect from the No. 4 team is 13 penalties, being held to under 200 rushing yards and both the offensive and defensive lines getting pushed around.  

So what was the difference from Week 1 to Week 2? 

“It was a fight,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. 

Alabama landed the final blows in the fourth quarter, but for 55 minutes, the Crimson Tide was on the ropes. 

Saturday’s disastrous night started with the opening possession. South Florida smashed Alabama (2-0) in the mouth, driving 60 yards on 13 plays that ended with a field goal. USF had 43 rushing yards on the drive, more than Alabama had the entire first half (34). 

The Crimson Tide defense was tripped up by the Bulls’ quick-tempo offense but eventually settled in to limit the damage. Alabama held South Florida 2 of 18 on third down and 103 passing yards. 

“It’s like coach (DeBoer) says, winning is hard,” Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “And you just have to keep punching and keep fighting.” 

Overall, South Florida outgained Alabama on the ground 206-194. Alabama had 56 yards after three quarters. The Alabama run game was bottled up by an aggressive Bulls defensive line through three quarters. 

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of Murphy’s Law, but everything that could have gone wrong went wrong,” said receiver Kobe Prentice. 

The switch flipped for the run game in the fourth quarter. Alabama rushed for 137 yards in the final quarter and scored two touchdowns. 

“It looked ugly, but the fact we were able to fight through the adversity and keep playing our brand of football means a lot,” said Prentice, who caught a 16-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

Then there were the penalties. Thirteen flags for 120 yards, including six offensive holding calls. Alabama had a tough enough time dealing with South Florida, but also got in its own way. 

Turnovers hurt, too. Milroe fumbled near the goal line that killed a 53-yard drive, while Kendrick Law fumbled the second-half kickoff and Jam Miller fumbled on Alabama’s next possession. 

“In the fourth quarter we stayed away from penalties and not making turnovers,” DeBoer said. “It’s amazing what can happen when you do that.”