Alabama vs. South Florida suspended due to weather delay

The game between Alabama and South Florida has been suspended due to weather, it was announced midway through the second quarter. Lightning was spotted within a mile of the stadium as rain poured down in Tampa.

The Bulls were clinging to a 3-0 lead with 12:44 remaining in the half at the time of the weather delay. The delay began at 4:35 p.m. CT and per NCAA rules will last until 30 minutes has passed since the last time lightning was spotted.

It was later announced that the game would resume play at 5:30 p.m. ET. The teams retook the field at 5:22 p.m. ET and the contest is now back in action, with the entire delay lasting less than one hour.

Alabama has struggled to get things going so far offensively against South Florida as it has just 53 total yards of offense. The Crimson Tide have managed only three first downs and are 1-of-5 on their third down conversions thus far.

Coach Nick Saban opted to go with Tyler Buchner as the team’s starting quarterback after Jalen Milroe started the first two games. He struggled early on to go just 4-of-9 passing for 25 yards in the first quarter. The offense went three-and-out on three of their first four drives of the game and committed a turnover on the other.

The lone score of the game so far came after a muffed punt from Kool-Aid McKinstry in the first quarter. South Florida’s DJ Harris recovered the ball at the Alabama 30-yard line to set them up in scoring position for a 44-yard field goal.

Defensively, things looked much better for Alabama as it held the Bulls to just 66 yards at the time of the weather delay. The Crimson Tide had a pair of sacks to go with five tackles for loss. Still, it’s clear they’ll need some help from their offense is they are to turn things around following the weather delay.

Alabama is coming off of a 34-24 loss to Texas this past week that knocked it down to No. 10 in the AP poll. Milroe through two interceptions and was sacked five times in that game, hence the change at quarterback. The Crimson Tide need this win going forward not only to bounce back, but also to keep any hope they have of making the College Football Playoff alive.

We’ll see whether the offense can regroup to bounce back from some of its early mistakes with the extra time to talk things over during the weather delay.