Bama is a big favorite but USF football sees a chance "to do something really great"

Coaches will tell you that every game is an opportunity to do something special, and, of course, that’s true.

But not every game carries the opportunity to change the trajectory of your program in a way that could not have been fathomed a year ago. For USF’s football team, Saturday’s game at 5th-ranked Alabama is such a game.

Logic says Alabama will win, and maybe by a lot. The spread has been bouncing around 30 points in ‘Bama’s favor. Obviously, the enthusiasm generated locally by the Bulls’ rapid improvement under Alex Golesh hasn’t yet spread from sea to shining sea.

But if USF doubted the stakes in this game, Golesh spelled it out.

“I just told our guys at the end (of practice), you know, in life, you’ve got a certain amount of opportunities, and if your preparation can meet those opportunities, you'll have a chance to do something really, really great,” he said.

“If your preparation doesn't meet the opportunity, you will let an opportunity go, and you have no idea how many of those you've got.”

Saturday’s game will likely be the largest crowd the Bulls have ever played in front of. The 2005 opener at Penn State drew 99,235 to watch the Nittany Lions beat USF 23-13.

Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa holds 100,077, and every seat is expected to be filled. If that wasn’t enough, Alabama will hold a special ceremony at this game to name the field after legendary retired coach Nick Saban.

And Alabama is coming off a 63-0 win over Western Kentucky in the first game of the Kalen DeBoer coaching era.

Not only is DeBoer new, but he brought in new coordinators and installed a scheme different from the one USF was competitive against last year in Tampa before falling 17-3.

“There's a bunch of different things you're getting ready for. You have a small sample size with one game, Western Kentucky. So it'll be challenging in that regard, obviously, a really good football team.”

The Bulls are making special preparations to deal with the deafening noise generated by the Alabama faithful.

“So you got crowd noise practice behind the offense, and every play you're running is with that crowd noise,” Golesh said. “Communication is certainly a huge part of it. Those mechanics are built in through the spring and built in through fall camp.

“Now you're getting a chance to work the mechanics. And based on where you are on the field, based on where you are in the game, the best way to keep the crowd noise down is to be winning.”

Golesh knows what it’s like to beat Alabama. In 2022, he was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee when the Vols pulled off a 52-49 win in Knoxville. This, of course, will be a Richter Scale win compared to that.

And I don't want to imply that Alabama isn't taking this game seriously but noted football commentator Paul Finebaum said on the Morning Joe show that "(Alabama) will go to Wisconsin in two weeks. That will be their first test before (playing) Georgia (on September 28).

Oh, and Alabama just offered 3-star athlete Antavious Richardson a scholarship. He is currently committed to USF,

For a game like this, every little bit of incentive helps.