Shoes!

Alabama struggles early before routing South Florida

Mike Shula settled down his troops at halftime. AP

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Mike Shula's debut was successful in the end -- thanks to Shaud Williams.

Williams had 177 total yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Alabama to a 40-17 win over South Florida after a shaky start Saturday in the opener for both teams.

"A lot of attention has been focused on me this week, but these guys are the ones who have been working hard and they're the ones who went out there and made the plays," Shula said.

Shula took the helm after an unsettling nine months at Alabama. Last year's coach, Dennis Franchione, unexpectedly left for Texas A&M in December.

Alabama settled on Washington State's Mike Price, but he was fired before ever coaching a game with the Tide for his conduct at a strip club and hotel during a weekend golf tournament in Pensacola, Fla.

Enter Shula. The former Tide quarterback was hired in May despite having never been a head coach or a collegiate coach at any level.

The Shula era appeared to start with a bang. Alabama's first play from scrimmage was an 80-yard touchdown pass from Brodie Croyle to Zach Fletcher, but the play was called back because Croyle stepped over the line of scrimmage.

After that, it was all South Florida for most of the first half.

The Alabama offense looked sluggish, running a system it has practiced for three months. The Tide had three punts, a missed field goal and a fumble in its first five possessions.

The Bulls jumped out to a 17-7 lead on two touchdowns by Brian Fisher -- one rushing and one receiving -- and a 45-yard field goal by Santiago Gramatica.

Alabama was able to stay in the game, thanks to a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Charlie Peprah that tied the game at 7 in the first quarter.

"I think we easily could have folded when it was 17-7 as things were not going our way," Williams said. "But we just kept at it and came out on top."

The Crimson Tide scored 33 unanswered points for the victory.

Down 17-7 with 1:32 to go in the first half, Alabama drove 80 yards, thanks in large part to a 49-yard pass from Brodie Croyle to Zach Fletcher. Croyle capped the drive with a 10-yard scoring pass to Triandos Luke to close the gap to 17-14.

"We kind of came out dead," Croyle said. "The two-minute drill at the end of the half really gave us a spark. After that we started hitting our stride."

J.R. Reed fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Brian Bostick tied the score two plays later with a 40-yard field goal.

Alabama looked much better in the second half, as Croyle settled down and the huge offensive line started to wear down the South Florida defensive front.

The Tide took its first lead after a 25-yard field goal by Bostick to open the second half.

South Florida went three-and-out, and Williams broke the game open with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown that gave Alabama a 27-17 lead.

Williams added touchdown runs of 1 yard in the third quarter and 3 yards in the fourth.

"I was disappointed," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. "I thought we had a real shot. I didn't know we were worn down like we were."

In all, Williams had 28 carries for 98 yards, caught one pass for 5 yards and returned two punts for 74 yards.

Croyle, benefiting from ample time in the pocket, completed 14 of 27 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown.

South Florida quarterback Ronnie Banks, making his first collegiate start, was under pressure all day, primarily from defensive end Antwan Odom. He finished 17-of-33 for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Shula said win No. 1 was everything he thought it would be. His father, NFL coaching legend Don Shula, was in attendance, as was the rest of his family.

"That was special," Mike Shula said.