Game Preview: South Florida at Western Kentucky
TAMPA, Fla. (Sep. 1, 2023) – South Florida (0-0) travels to Houchens Industries L. T. Smith Stadium this weekend for its regular season opener against Western Kentucky (0-0). Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports.
First-time head coach Alex Golesh looks to start his tenure in Tampa off on the right note. Golesh will try to become the fifth USF head coach to get a win in their debut game. This is the eighth time these teams have played with USF holding a slim series lead at 4-3. WKU won most recently with a 45-35 win in the 2015 Miami Beach Bowl.
The Hilltoppers are favored by 11.5 points.
*****
FINAL 2023 TEAM RANKINGS: Comprehensive (overall) ranking | High school/JUCO ranking | Transfer portal ranking
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer portal player ranking | Transfer portal team ranking | Transfer Tracker | Message board
*****
USF OFFENSE
Most of the offseason for this unit was focused on two things – getting the players used to how fast this offense will be and who is going to start at quarterback.
While Golesh has yet to officially name a starter for Saturday’s game, the competition has come down to senior Gerry Bohanon and redshirt freshman Byrum Brown. Bohanon started the first seven games of the 2022 season before suffering a shoulder injury that required season ending surgery. His 1,070 yards passing and six touchdown throws led all USF quarterbacks as did his 60 carries for 386 yards. Brown played excellently in two starts (at Tulsa and vs. UCF), finishing with 404 yards passing and 5 touchdowns with just one interception, while completing 72 percent of his passes. Whoever lines up under center Saturday will be relied on heavily to make Golesh’s high tempo offense work.
WKU DEFENSE
The Hilltoppers defense lost 10 of its top 15 tacklers from last season, and need new faces in the program to step up this year.
This unit is led by junior linebacker JaQues Evans, who put together a first team All-CUSA season in 2022 leading the team in tackles with 106, and sacks with nine. Also back are a few ball hawking corners in sophomore Upton Stout who co-led WKU in interceptions last year with four, sophomore Talique Allen, and junior Kendrick Simpkins. These four are the only returning starters from a Hilltoppers defense that led the country in turnovers (32) and defensive touchdowns (6) in 2022.
WKU OFFENSE
Returning at quarterback for WKU is last year’s national leader for passing yards, senior Austin Reed. Reed dominated last year in WKU’s air raid scheme and finished the year with over 4,700 yards through the air and 40 touchdowns. He begins the 2023 campaign as a preseason All-American, as well as on the watch-list for the Maxwell, Manning and Davey O’Brien trophies.
Junior receiver Malachai Corely is back as well after leading the team with almost 1,300 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022. Reed and Corely are a duo to look out for this season, and they are even being talked about as one of the best QB/WR duos in the country.
New offensive coordinator Drew Hollingshead joins Tyson Helton’s staff after learning under Mike Leach for six seasons. Most recently Hollingshead spent three seasons as the offensive quality control and inside receivers coach at Mississippi State.
The offensive line will be a strong point for this team as it returns multiple starters from a unit that gave up just 14 sack last season – tenth best in the country. A key piece for this line is Quantavious Leslie. The junior guard is a dominant force up front for the Hilltoppers and is on the preseason watch-list for the Outland trophy.
USF DEFENSE
New defensive coordinator Todd Orlando leads a group that ranked last in yards allowed per game (516.6) and next to last in points allowed per game (41.2). Senior linebacker DJ Gordon IV. will lead this group and is coming off a season where he totaled 66 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. He and senior linebacker Andrew Mata’afa, a transfer from Utah, will patrol the middle of the defense in 2023.
The defensive front will be anchored by senior tackle Rashad Cheney and senior defensive end Tramel Logan, who will help rebuild a unit that gave up the fourth most rushing yards and posted just 14 sacks a season ago. The Bulls also added five transfers to the defensive line who will look to make an impact this year.
The USF secondary is an experienced group led by senior corner Aamaris Brown, who led the team with two big time interceptions, at No. 24 Cincinnati and at No. 18 Florida. This veteran bunch will look to shut down the Hilltoppers potent passing offense this weekend.
JACK’S TAKE
Opening the season at Western Kentucky will be an early test for all of the changes that Alex Golesh has implemented at USF this offseason. The Hilltoppers are picked to win CUSA. Both offenses will look to play fast and move the ball through the air a ton, and there should be plenty of explosive plays on both sides. As Coach Golesh said Tuesday, this game will be all about winning the turnover battle. The key to this game for the Bulls is to make sure they take care of the football against a defense that led the country in turnovers a year ago, while trying to force turnover themselves. The key on defense this week will be to put pressure on Austin Reed to try and slow down the dynamic Reed-to-Corely connection.