USF football welcomes the Cougars of BYU to Raymond James Stadium on Saturday.
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The University of South Florida Bulls celebrate Homecoming by hosting the Brigham Young University Cougars on Saturday. This is the first of a home-and-home series with the Cougars and the first-ever matchup between these two programs.
This week’s game features a matchup of 2-3 teams, each of which having played ranked opponents early in the season. BYU, who have faced three ranked teams, has a win over then-ranked #24 USC and an unranked Tennessee team. Their last game was a 28-21 loss to Toledo. The Bulls have wins over UConn and South Carolina State University, but blowout losses to #21 SMU and #8 Wisconsin. The winner of this one will get to .500 on the season at the midway mark.
USF Offense
USF has really struggled on offense throughout most of this season. They had big games against SCSU and UConn, but had a hard time scoring points in their three losses to FBS competition. They currently rank 111th in total offense, averaging 344 yards per game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback, Jordan McCloud, continues his trial by fire in this third consecutive start. He’ll be playing with a sprained wrist, the result of one of the six times he was sacked in the SMU game. Despite the injury, he threw a season-high (against FBS teams) 157 yards against the Huskies, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He is also a capable runner, with two games this season over 50 yards rushing. The Bulls rank 95th in passing offense, averaging 204 yards per game.
Senior tight end, Mitchell Wilcox, did not catch a single pass in their last game, but still remains the leader in receiving for the team with 178 yards and three touchdowns. Hybrid running back and slot receiver, Johnny Ford, takes up the number two spot with 149 yards and two scores. Ford has been dealing with some injuries of his own, sitting out the UConn game. In his place has been walk-on receiver, Bryce Miller, who scored two touchdowns on 36 yards receiving in his first career start.
The woes of the offensive line have shown themselves in the high number of sacks taken by USF quarterbacks, but also in the running game, which has really had a tough time getting traction. The Bulls rank 88th in rushing with an average of just 141 rushing yards per game. That number is inflated greatly due to the 531 yards ran against UConn and SCSU. Jordan Cronkrite is the leader in rushing with 224 yards, 148 of which came in their last game. McCloud is second on the team in rushing yards, averaging just 29 yards per game.
BYU Defense
The Cougars have not been a strong defensive team, this season. They rank 101st in total defense and scoring defense, giving up 433 yards and 31 points per game. They rank in the bottom 15 in the nation for sacks (5), and tackles for loss (22).
One area of strength for the BYU defense has been collecting turnovers via interceptions. With six picks through five games, they tie the Bulls, nationally, at #19. Also worth noting, 12 of the teams ahead of them have played six games. Five different Cougars have interceptions, while freshman linebacker, Payton Wilgar, has two.
Fellow linebacker, Kaviak Fonua, leads the team in total tackles with 44, which ranks hi 57th in the nation, individually. Defensive backs, Dayan Ghanwoloku and Austin Lee round out the top three, with 34 and 29 tackles, respectively. Chaz Ah You, sophomore linebacker, leads the team in tackles for loss with 3.5.
BYU ranks 120th in rushing defense, allowing 221 yards per game. They’re much better against the pass, as their interception numbers suggest. They rank 56th in passing defense, limiting opponents to 212 yards per game and just eight passing touchdowns. They are susceptible to big plays, however, with more than a quarter of the completions they’ve allowed (95) to go for gains of 15 yards or more (27).
BYU Offense
The Cougars rank 89th in total offense, averaging 376 yards per game, and 104th in scoring offense, with an average of 22 points scored per game. They’re a better passing team (38th) than a running team (122nd), averaging 274 and 102 yards per game, respectively.
All of that goes out the window for Saturday’s game, however, as they will be starting a freshman quarterback, Jaren Hall, in replacement of Zach Wilson, had passed for 262 yards per game, with five touchdowns and four interceptions on the season. Hall’s start has historical significance for BYU, who has never had a black quarterback start in their program history. The university didn’t integrate their football team to include black players until the 1970s.
Information on Hall is limited. He played a total of seven plays this season, completing four of his seven passes for a completion rate of 57%. All indications from the coaching staff have been that things will continue as they had been going with Wilson. That means a lot of passing offense.
Three Cougars’ receivers have gotten very similar targets and very similar production as a result. Edging out the other two has been Aleva Hifo, who has averaged 57 yards per game for a total of 283 yards with two touchdowns. Receiver, Micah Simon, and tight end, Matt Bushman, round out the top three with 267 and 253 yards, respectively.
The BYU running game has had mixed results, thus far. They’ve had three games with over 100 yards rushing, with a high of 131 against USC. Senior running back, Ty’Son Williams, is the top rusher, with 264 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Emmanuel Esukpa has gotten carries in four games, with 141 yards in total.
USF Defense
The Bulls’ defense has underperformed their talent level, this season. Their defense has performed well against the lower level talent they have faced, but has been exposed in a big way against the ranked opponents they’ve lost to, Wisconsin and SMU, both of whom scored at least 48 points against the Bulls.
They’re currently ranked 55th in total defense and 93rd in scoring defense, allowing 372 yards and 30 points per game.
Graduate transfer linebacker, Patrick Macon, leads the team with 35 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Macon has played a major role in stabilizing the defense from the middle linebacker position, which is without former starter, Nico Sawtelle, who has been plagued with injuries.
Macon is tied for 39th in the nation, individually, for tackles for loss, and shares the team lead in sacks with Greg Reaves (2). Boyles and Kirk Livingstone each have six tackles for loss. As a team, the Bulls are tied for 8th in the country for tackles for loss, with a total of 49.
Defensive back, Nick Roberts, and linebacker, Dwayne Boyles, are tied in total tackles, with 28 apiece.
The Bulls have excelled in managing and creating turnovers. They’re currently tied for 10th, nationally, for turnover margin (1.0). Six different Bulls have one interception. Junior defensive back, K.J. Sails has two fumble recoveries, while four other players have one each.
Expectations
BYU’s freshman quarterback will take some time to adjust to playing full time. He’ll probably be a bit rusty early on, but getting things moving in the second half, as the USF defense loses steam. The Bulls’ defense will find some opportunities to take the ball away, but they have their own young quarterback growing pains to contend with on offense. This is probably a close game with an edge to the home team in the first half and a rally by the visitor in the second half.
Summary
The Cougars are five point favorites on the road. ESPN’s Football Power Index computers give them a 67.6% chance of victory. Kickoff is at 3:30 EDT, with television coverage on CBS Sports Network.
