South Florida nearly set the stage for a tense final few minutes. The Bulls were driving downfield, at home, against an Alabama defense that had dominated it for most of Saturday with a chance to take a lead or tie.

The offense had just produced a string of four positive plays, including a fourth-down conversion and 15-yard gain to get into Tide territory. But, as USF head coach Alex Golesh would say after his team’s 17-3 loss, he would regret the ensuing play call.

On first down with nearly seven minutes remaining, quarterback Byrum Brown dropped back, chucked a deep route into double coverage and threw it to UA defensive back Malachi Moore. Moore was a handful of yards from Michael Brown-Stephens, the intended reciever, and it looked as if Moore was Brown’s intended target. He wasn’t, and a top-10 upset was narrowly avoided in Raymond James Stadium.

“That one I wish I could have back, to be honest with you,” Golesh said, “… and I don’t know that I got impatient as much as I saw an opportunity to go attack a guy, and I thought (USF wide receiver) Michael Brown-Stephens on their safety was a good matchup to just let Byrum set his feet and put the ball vertical. Safety played out of it, safety played high. Michael bent it a little bit to get away from the safety. Byrum didn’t see him bend it. He let it go before he did, hence the turnover. To be honest with you, in every imaginable way, that’s my fault, and I told Byrum that, told Michael that, told the offense that. My fault.”

South Florida outgained Alabama through halftime (133 yards to 113) and for a majority of the contest, its defense played as good as the Tide’s mauling front seven — UA was favored by 30 points. The Bulls forced five sacks, tying a high mark it set in 2019 against UConn. Nick Saban called USF’s blitz packages some of the most “exotic” he’s seen and it confused two quarterbacks who struggled to buy time in the pocket and an offensive line down one starter.

“I’ll start defensively, certainly played well enough to win. The sacks, the ability to get off the field, really phenomenal in a lot of ways,” Gosesh continued. “The storyline can be whatever you want it to be. You can write whatever you want, man, quarterback shuffle, whatever, I don’t care…Moral victories are for losers. That’s what losers say. Winners win. There are no moral victories, there are (sic) no anything.

“I think (creative pass rush is) our DNA. That’s what we are. We’re going to get after the quarterback. We’re going to affect him. We’re going to force them to beat us deep. That’s what we are. I think when you flip the film on, and I’m excited to flip the film on, but when you flip it on and our opponents moving forward. They’re going to see three weeks of aggressive, get-after-your-butt stuff on defense. That’s intimidating on offense as an offensive guy.”

Golesh’s aggressive playcalling wasn’t just seen on the Moore interception. Tennessee’s former offensive coordinator, Golesh tried similar hurry-up tendencies that burned UA in Knoxville a year ago. The Bulls attempted six fourth-down conversions, including a fake punt, and converted a pair. Two of the failed attempts were in Alabama territory, the other two were near midfield. USF also collected a fumble off a botched punt by Kool-Aid McKinstry.

“The fake punt, I’d do it again,” Golesh said. “Going it for it on fourth-and-2 there, I’d do that again. Zero blitzing when you’ve got to go zero blitz, I’d do that again. I don’t regret anything. I’m going to go back and make sure was our fourth down plan right? How did we execute that fake punt?”

The Tide offense managed more success with Ty Simpson in the game for Tyler Buchner, the day’s starter. Jalen Milroe, who started Alabama’s opening two games, didn’t record a snap. Golesh was asked about how USF prepped for Alabama’s uncertainty under center. He alluded to the multiple reports published Friday that stated Milroe wouldn’t start, but even if the third-year thrower checked in, Golesh said the Bulls would remain aggressive.

Arguably, the best quarterback on either sideline was USF’s Brown. He threw for 87 yards on 28 attempts but ran for 92 yards on 23 carries, too. Neither offensive line could provide ample protection, but at least Brown showed an ability to create off-schedule.

“We’ve got to continue to present pictures to (Brown) and continue to allow him to gain confidence in the system and certainly the pieces around him,” said Golesh. “The kid is 18 years old, and that was his fourth college start or fifth college start, so absolutely, but I don’t know if they are growing pains. It’s part of growing up.”

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Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].