Friday Five: Houston Week
The University of South Florida Bulls will stay on the road to visit the University of Houston Cougars on Saturday. The Cougars hold a 4-2 overall record in the series and are 4-0 against the Bulls since the inception of the American Athletic Conference. Houston has beaten USF by an average of 15.3 points throughout those games and the Bulls have yet to beat an FBS team this season. However, the Cougars have had struggles of their own, this year, with a 2-3 record in the second year under head coach, Dana Holgorsen. They have lost two games in a row, including a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of Cincinnati in their last outing. And, while the Bulls haven’t beaten an FBS team thus far, they controlled all but the final five minutes of their game at Memphis, who held a 13 game home winning streak. That game could have easily gone the other way and that suggests the Cougars are meeting the Bulls at the wrong time. Here’s some things that could help USF get the win.
1. Pick the pass.
Houston quarterback, Clayton Tune, has thrown eight touchdowns this year, but five of his passes have been intercepted. The Cougars have only won one game when Tune has thrown at least one interception. That one win was against Tulane in the season opener. If the Bulls, who rank 12th in the nation with 8 picks, can steal a couple from Tune, they will be in good shape to win their first conference game of the season.
2. Convert on third down.
The Bulls convert on third down just 27% of the time. For perspective, that ranks them 115th out of 123 teams in the country. The inability to extend drives has resulted in a big gap in time of possession, where they are again close to the bottom of the rankings, 102nd, with 27 minutes per game, on average. USF converted just two times on third down in their loss to Memphis.
3. Protect the ball.
In USF’s only win this season, over the Citadel 27-6, they gained 3 turnovers and gave up zero. The only other game they were in positive numbers in turnover margin this season was against Memphis, last week, a game they certainly could have won. They fumbled the football seven times in the prior three games. Good ball control on offense and some turnovers on defense will turn this game into a win.
4. Protect the quarterback.
Houston defensive lineman, Payton Turner, is ranked 29th nationally, with four sacks this season, and 12th in the country in tackles for loss (9.5). While there isn’t a correlation with sacks and Houston winning, the Bulls are tied for 112th in the nation for sacks allowed (21) in their 1-6 season.
5. Make special teams special.
Houston has the #3 ranked punt return specialist based on average returns (15.8) in Marcus Jones. Going the other way, not a single punt off the foot of Laine Wilkins has been returned. Zero. Wilkins has kicked 12 punts downed in opponent red zones and has kicked over 50 yards five times. Also special, the Bulls’ Spencer Shrader went 4-4 kicking field goals last week at Memphis. Every one of those kicks was a distance of 41 yards or more. For perspective, USF hadn’t made a field goal over 40 yards for three years before that game. USF head coach, Jeff Scott, said Shrader is the best kicker he’s ever seen during Bulls’ practices.
