The dust has settled and the emotions have numbed after the most recent loss by the USF Bulls football team to the Cincinnati Bearcats, 28-7. Before it is relegated to history most would rather forget, it is worth reflecting on to see what lessons can be learned.
The last edition of the Friday Five listed the following keys to victory:
1. Throw the ball
2. Stop Gerrid Doaks
3. Contain Desmond Ridder
4. Create turnovers on defense
5. Limit penalties
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No! No! No!
After a loss is fresh in the mind, it is easy to think of the negatives. For this team in this year of coaching transition and COVID complications, there are plenty of those.
The Bulls did throw the ball, but didn’t have much success until Jordan McCloud came in for the second half, trailing the Bearcats 14-0. The first half featured the first career start of Katravis Marsh and the debut of North Carolina transfer, Cade Fortin. They combined for just 53 yards on 19 attempts.
Gerrid Doaks was a kind of an under-the-radar guy for the Friday Five to pick as a focus because he came into the game fifth on his team in rushing with just 43 yards. The Bulls did not stop him, however, and he led all rushers in the game with 102 yards and a touchdown. He went from fifth on his team in rushing to first in one game.
Go! Go! Go!
Desmond Ridder is the kind of true dual-threat quarterback that can shred good defenses. He didn’t shred USF, though, and that’s one of the biggest positive takeaways from this game. The Bulls’ defense limited Ridder to 143 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. During most weeks, just putting up a marginal offensive performance against those numbers equals a win.
Those three picks were not the limit of turnovers created by the USF defense. Blake Green is credited for forcing Doaks to fumble midway through the first quarter. Thad Mangum recovered that fumble on the Cincinnati 45. The timing of that fumble was extra special, however, because Marsh had just thrown his second consecutive interception. The fumble recovery was a momentum killer. Even though the subsequent USF possession was a three-and-out, it prevented the Bearcats from mounting a successful scoring drive early in the game.
The Bulls did a fantastic job managing penalties, as well. They were whistled just three times for 40 yards. As it turned out, none of those penalties had a major effect on the game. One was for holding on a drive that ended on a failed fourth down conversion attempt, but there were first downs converted after the penalty that negated the effect it had on the drive. There was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that, again, had first downs subsequent to the loss. The final penalty was defensive pass interference, but that drive ended with a missed field goal. So, not only did they limit their penalties with clean and disciplined play, the few that they had had minor impacts in the overall game.
Also…
As shocking as the following words may sound when describing a 28-7 loss, this was still a winnable game. The quarterback approach demonstrates that the coaching staff weren’t putting their best foot forward. They either didn’t expect to win or were not overly concerned about it, demonstrated by who they started at quarterback. When facing a top 25 team, one does not put in a freshman quarterback for his first career start when there are more seasoned options if one expects to possibly win.
The defense, overall, did very well. They only gave up three touchdowns in a game where their own offense was barely on the field. Cincinnati had a whopping 36 – 23 minute possession advantage. The other Bearcats’ touchdown was the result of a kickoff return. The defensive performance was adequate for winning this game.
Despite throwing two interceptions in a desperate comeback attempt, McCloud did fairly well at quarterback. He was 12-21 for 137 yards. Had he been the starter instead of the guy who had to come in down two touchdowns, the result might have been very different.
As bad as things look when you're 1-2 with your only win against an FCS program, there is actually a chance to pull out some wins this season. While they won't be big favorites on Saturday against ECU, that might be the perfect opponent to help the Bulls figure out who they want to be this season.
