Monday Morning Quarterback: Houston Week

It was a closer game than many expected, thanks in part to Brian Battie’s two kickoff returns for touchdowns, setting a USF record and tying the NCAA record. There were other bright spots in the game for the University of South Florida Bulls, but they did not come out with upset. The Friday Five generously offers keys to victory for the team. Here’s how the results compared to that advice:

1. Contain the pass. Clayton Tune passed for 385 yards with three touchdowns. He had a completion rate of 81% and a rating of 243.2. The Bulls didn’t manage a single interception, but they did manage a pair of sacks. That’s a significantly better performance than his average in all categories noted. Grade: F

2. Take the points. There were not a lot of opportunities where the Bulls had the option to kick a field goal or try for more. The Bulls were in the red zone just three times all game and they scored touchdowns on two of those drives. There was one possession that resulted in a 4th and one at the Houston 16. This would have been an opportunity to take the points or try for more. The game clock had over three minutes to go in the first half. Both teams called timeouts, so there was plenty of time to get the field goal unit out. Instead, USF’s staff made the decision to try and convert, something that would have been recommended in other Friday Five columns in other weeks. The result this time was an interception in the end zone, which was returned 100 yards for a Houston touchdown. There was a penalty called against the Cougars that reversed the touchdown, but the interception stood. Three plays later, Nathaniel Dell catches a pass for a 55 yard touchdown to give the Cougars their first lead of the game, 26-21. Maybe those three points wouldn’t have been a factor in the final score, but that loss of possession gave Houston seven. Grade: F

3. Run the ball. The Bulls rushed for a team total of 110 yards and two touchdowns. After the game, USF head football coach, Jeff Scott, said the run wasn’t there all game. Yet, McClain had his best running game of the season with 46 yards and his first rushing touchdown. And, Battie, who had just 3 running attempts, averaged 9 yards per carry. On the other hand, Jaren Mangham, who has been somewhat of a breakout star in the running game for the Bulls, had a total of just 24 yards on eight attempts. So, to differ slightly with the coach, it was more likely that run wasn’t always there. Creative play calling could have opened up lanes, but they only tried to run the ball 16 times with running backs. Grade: D

4. Protect the quarterback. The Cougars came into the game #4 in the nation in sacks and left the game #8. The Bulls’ offense and coaching staff did a good job keeping Timmy McClain safe. But, some credit, a lot actually, goes to McClain himself, who on multiple occasions, scrambled out of what looked like a sure sack. Not to make too much of it, but there were several occasions that shiny gold #9 looked like Quentin Flowers. McClain had the best game of his short career at USF and protection was a big part of it, even if a lot of that was him protecting himself. Grade: A+

5. Get off the field on defense. Houston possessed the ball 33 minutes and 34 seconds, leaving USF with the ball 26 minutes and 26 seconds. There are not a lot teams playing conventional football who win a lot of games when the time of possession is so lopsided. However, the Bulls only allowed three third down conversions. The bad news is that, most of the time, Houston didn’t need to. They gained 301 yards on passing plays over 15 yards and 177 yards on running plays over ten yards. That means 477 of their 646 yard total came from big plays, something the Bulls’ defense has struggled with all season. Those big plays extended drives and kept the USF defense on the field for longer than they were off by about seven minutes. That matters and it showed big in the second half, when Houston’s offense could do just about whatever they wanted. So, while allowing just three third down conversions sounds like improvement, the Cougars only had ten third downs all game. The point of this key was to get the defense off the field, and they didn’t do enough. Grade: F

Extra Points

1. Timmy McClain passed for over 280 yards in the game, a career best. He also ran for 46 yards. He had a very good game, but some of the statistics suggest otherwise, at least on the surface. Tune completed 81% of his passes, but McClain completed just 48%. That looks really bad for McClain, until you realize that USF had 24 drops in the game. McClain completed 24 of 46 attempts, but the receivers are credited with dropping 24 passes. That means that just two of his passes were either bad throws or throwaways. For comparison sake, the Cougars dropped just five passes and Tune was 21 of 26.

2. USF’s special teams performance really changed the complexion of this game. In many games this season, Houston played with a lead, which allowed them more flexibility in dictating the way the game was played. USF held the lead for a long time and kept the game close in the first half in large part due to Battie’s two kickoff return touchdowns. This could be a factor in future games as other opponents will try to avoid Battie the way USF avoided Marcus Jones, which resulted in Houston getting favorable field position to start many drives.