A Commentary on USF football
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Football season hasn’t gone as planned for the University of South Florida Bulls or the University of Connecticut Huskies. Both teams will bring 1-3 records into a matchup where one of them has to win. UConn is facing a an uncertain football future with their move to the new Big East. USF is facing uncertainty of their own, after losing nine of their past ten games, going back to last season. Here’s some things the Bulls need to do to add one to the win column.
1. Protect the quarterback. In last week’s game against #24 SMU, Bulls’ quarterbacks were sacked ten times, resulting in both quarterbacks returning to Tampa with injuries. Starting quarterback, Jordan McCloud, sprained his wrist in the first half, prompting the return of former starter, Blake Barnett, in the second half. Barnett led the team to an offensive turnaround, but ended the game with a high ankle sprain. McCloud will start on Saturday and will be backed up by Kirk Rygol, whom offensive coordinator, Kerwin Bell, praised in an interview on Wednesday. If the line doesn’t hold, it won’t matter who calls the plays. UConn defensive lineman, Lwal Uguak, is tied for 31st, nationally, with 3.5 sacks.
2. Air it out. The Huskies rank 77th in passing defense, allowing 235 passing yards per game. That middle-of-the-pack rank is deceptive, though. While McCloud struggled in his start against SMU, throwing two picks with no touchdowns, UConn has just one interception all season. Also, they have given up 11 passing touchdowns, tied for 111th, nationally.
3. Play to win, no matter when. No self-respecting writer would ever call for reckless play calling, but when coaches make ultra-conservative calls, it tells the players that they have no confidence in them. Last week, the team was down 34-0 and the Bulls had the ball in Mustang territory for just the second time in the game. They were on the SMU 42 with five seconds remaining in the first half. Too far to attempt a field goal and with only time for one play, the obvious call is a Hail Mary or similar gimmick play to attempt to end the shutout before heading to the locker room. They had the momentum of the Devin Studstill interception return and adding a touchdown would have been huge. Instead, the pass is quick and to the sideline for just over ten yards. Score there and the second half might have been a game. Try to score there and maybe not lose the team and fans, who left shortly after.
4. Take it away. Only 13 teams in the country have turned the ball over more than UConn. That’s a good sign for the Bulls, who are tied for #2 in the country for turnovers gained with 13. Of those, six have been interceptions, which is the 8th best total, nationally.
5. Stop the slop. USF head coach, Charlie Strong, complained this week about the way the officiating went in the SMU game, despite having the same number of penalties as SMU (12). If he wasn’t defending his team and his staff and instead took a step back, he’d realize that the Bulls are one of the most penalized teams in the country and one game’s officiating wasn’t enough to put them there. They rank 107th with 36 penalties and 325 penalty yards through four games. To further drive home how bad that is, 18 of those teams below them have played at least five games. They’re 124th in average penalties per game (9) and penalty yards per game (81). All other team problems aside, the Bulls are literally beating themselves with penalties, this season, and four games is too many to put the blame solely on bad officiating.
