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‘Unacceptable:’ Kane Wommack laments Alabama’s red zone defense, lack of turnovers vs. USF
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Sure, Alabama only allowed 1 touchdown to South Florida in Saturday night’s 42-16 victory in Tuscaloosa.
But that 1 little touchdown came in the red zone, on a 2-yard run that brought the Bulls within 14-13 with 9:35 left in the 3rd quarter. Suddenly, USF had life, and 4th-ranked Alabama was reeling a bit with its offense struggling mightily and that defense sagging. The final score looks good, but it was anything but for the Tide Saturday night.
Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack wasn’t happy. Wommack was brought onto the Alabama staff by Kalen DeBoer to make the Crimson Tide’s defense better, and Wommack is holding his unit to the highest standard. And Wommack felt that standard wasn’t being met on that South Florida touchdown drive, or in other areas.
"It's not OK to give up touchdowns in the red zone," Alabama DC Kane Wommack said of USF's lone touchdown scored. Wommack also said he is "extremely disappointed" in Alabama's lack of turnovers forced vs. USF and it was "unacceptable."
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) September 9, 2024
“It’s not OK to give up touchdowns in the red zone,” said Wommack.
Wommack also said he is “extremely disappointed” in Alabama’s lack of turnovers forced against the Bulls, and that it was “unacceptable.”
While Alabama committed 3 turnovers of its own, all on fumbles, Wommack’s defense wasn’t able to force a single South Florida turnover. No interceptions. No fumbles recovered.
And no excuses, said Wommack, whose unit shut down the USF passing game but allowed 206 yards rushing to the Bulls.
Wommack’s defense did force 2 turnovers in the season-opening win over Western Kentucky, intercepting TJ Finley twice. But that was ancient history for Wommack, whose unit will try to do better in a hostile environment this Saturday afternoon at Wisconsin.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
