TAMPA, Fla. – De’Shawn Rucker made his first career start against Alabama in 2022 and played against the Crimson Tide three times in as many seasons (2021-23) when he was at Tennessee. Last year’s encounter was particularly tough as the Volunteers saw a 20-7 halftime lead turn into a 34-20 defeat.
The redshirt junior corner out of Tallahassee gets a fourth shot on Saturday (7 p.m./ESPN) as a first-year member of the Bulls.
“Playing them for three years, I know we are going to get their best,” said Rucker, who has a nice relationship with his current coach, Alex Golesh, from when the latter served as Josh Heupel’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee in 2021 and 2022. “I know it will be a battle and they’re just going to keep fighting and keep fighting. That’s what I have been preaching to the guys because they have been asking me how I feel about this game. I just say that we have to go execute and play at a high level. That’s really it.”
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This will be Golesh’s fourth time on the sideline opposite Alabama, including last season’s 17-3 loss at Raymond James Stadium that included a one-hour weather delay. The game was tied at three at the half and the Bulls trailed only 10-3 in the game’s final minute. Alas, there are no moral victories. That is something Golesh made clear in the aftermath of the defeat. What is also clear is where Alabama, in its first season under Kalen DeBoer following Nick Saban’s 17-year run that included six national titles, ranks in the world of college football.
“It is another measuring stick in where we are,” said Golesh. “Alabama has been the standard (for many years). It’s been the standard of what elite looks like, what elite recruiting looks like, what elite facilities look like, what an elite fanbase looks like.”
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In addition to a packed Bryant-Denny Stadium, which has a capacity of 100,077, there will be much pregame pomp and circumstance as the venue is renamed Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. For the Bulls, it will be about doing their best to drown out the noise, of which Golesh attempted to replicate at practice this week, while making sure they are playing at their best.
“In life, you only have a certain amount of opportunities, and if your preparation can meet those opportunities you will have a chance to do something really, really great,” said Golesh. “If your preparation does not meet the opportunity, you will let an opportunity (get away) and you have no idea how many (remain).”
The Matchup: The Bulls rushed for 231 yards in opening the 2024 season with a 48-3 win over Bethune-Cookman at RJS last week. Dating to last season, the Bulls have outscored the opposition – B-C, Syracuse and Charlotte — 141-17 in the last three games. With the Crimson Tide checking in at No. 5, this will mark USF’s fifth game against a team ranked in the top five. They are 1-3 with the victory versus No. 5 West Virgina (21-13) in 2007.
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Alabama opened with a 63-0 win over visiting Western Kentucky last week. Heisman candidate Jalen Milroe, who was glued to the visiting sideline at RJS last season as Tyler Buchner started at quarterback before being replaced by Ty Simpson, completed 7 of 9 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 79 yards and two scores. The Crimson Tide has an all-time mark of 298-55-3 (.841) at Bryant-Denny, which opened in 1929.
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