Over the past two seasons, South Florida head coach Alex Golesh has made things difficult for Alabama football. In 2022, Golesh was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee when the Volunteers broke a long losing streak against the Crimson Tide, before taking the helm of USF for last year’s matchup with UA.

That game was nearly a disaster for Alabama. Playing in Tampa, the Bulls battled Saban’s Tide to a 3-3 halftime tie before UA finally put them away late.

Now, Golesh and his USF team are making the return trip to Tuscaloosa on Saturday. It’s a new era in Alabama, with Kalen DeBoer taking over the Tide, but UA is going to get a dose of Golesh’s fast-paced offense.

“I think he does a tremendous job,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday. “Those guys are very detailed in what they do in the run game. They have a lot of volume in the run game, they do a number of things in terms of finding space in their passing game. They create space with lateral alignments.

“You’re going to see those big, wide splits that we’ve seen over the last couple of years from this style of offense, and then find different windows in the passing game be it through the drop back, play action or through the RPOs. We’ve got our work cut out.”

USF ran roughshod over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday to open its 2024 season. The Bulls won 48-3, putting up 403 total yards in the process.

Crimson Tide cornerback Domani Jackson said the Tide has been going fast in practice in an attempt to replicate the South Florida attack.

“They’re a great team,” Jackson said. “They’re tempo, and we’ve just got to match them.”

Quarterback Byrum Brown is the centerpiece of the USF offense. The junior was one of just two players with over 3,000 passing and 800 rushing yards last season, joining Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.

He completed 13 of his 20 passes for 152 yards against Bethune-Cookman, rushing for 74 more yards and a touchdown.

“I think this quarterback is dynamic with his feet, you saw that a year ago,” Wommack said. “He can extend plays, particularly in passing downs with his feet. So we’ve got to do a tremendous job of containing him this week.”

Alabama and USF are scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPN.