Preview: SC State Bulldogs vs. USF Bulls
USF football returns home to host South Carolina State of the FCS on Saturday.
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The University of South Florida Bulls welcome the South Carolina State Bulldogs to Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, September 14th. It is the first-ever meeting between the Bulls and the Bulldogs of the MEAC.
South Carolina State rolls into Tampa on a two-game winning streak, with victories over Wofford and Division II Lane to open their season at home. The game against the Bulls will be their first road trip and their only matchup against an FBS foe all season. Wofford was ranked #8 in the FCS when they fell to the Bulldogs, who remain unranked.
In the other corner in the green and gold are the somewhat battered Bulls, who enter the game with an 0-2 record, losing their last eight games. After getting soundly beat by a ranked Wisconsin team in week one, the Bulls had many opportunities to end the losing streak at Georgia Tech. Untimely penalties, questionable decision making, and official decisions going the other way kept them from securing the victory. They will look for their first win at home against the Bulldogs before an off week leads them into conference play.
USF Offense
There is much to be said about USF’s offense, but most of that is in the form of a question. They spent their offseason building confidence in their newfound ability to create big points on offense under new offensive coordinator, Kerwin Bell. Bell, who won a Division II National Championship at Valdosta State, last year, has been implementing his offensive schemes since spring camp. The results have been lackluster, at best.
USF ranks dead last, 130th, in the nation for total offense and scoring offense. They are 119th in passing and 127th in rushing. This is with a former five star and #1 ranked quarterback recruit and a former four star running back.
After spending the offseason talking about the big things the offense would do, Bell is now in a very uncomfortable position. Fans are near revolt, with many calling for the replacement of starting quarterback, Blake Barnett, the former five star prospect alluded to, above. Barnett put up solid numbers in 2018, 2,710 yards passing with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and led the team to a 7-0 start. Things turned in the second half of the season, however, which ended in a six-game slide. This season, he has passed for just 188 yards and two interceptions through two games.
Like most struggling football teams, the Bulls’ fan’s favorite quarterback is the backup. Backing up Barnett in the first two games has been freshman quarterback, Jordan McCloud. With just eight attempts this season, he has 112 passing yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. For many USF fans, that’s enough to make a switch. While the team is likely to start Barnett against SC State, do not be surprised to see McCloud in for more than two quarters of play. The Bulldogs offer a fairly safe testing ground for the freshman.
Leading the receiving corps has been tight end, Mitchell Wilcox. Wilcox has four catches for 71 yards. The speedy sophomore, Randall St. Felix, is in second place, with 59 yards on six catches, while walk-on receiver, Bryce Miller and running back turned slot receiver, Johnny Ford, have 35 and 23 receiving yards, respectively. Running back, Jordan Cronkrite, has not been able to get the running game moving, but he has had some key passes thrown his way.
The run game has not been established through two games. Cronkrite is averaging under 15 yards per game and is second on the team in rushing to Barnett, who has just under 20 yards per game. Problems on the offensive line have contributed to the lack of running game.
SC State Defense
The Bulldogs pitched a shutout on defense against Lane last week in a 34-0 win. They are led on defense by senior linebacker, Johnell Brown. Brown has a team-leading 13 tackles on the season, with two tackles for loss, one sack, and one fumble recovery. He also has an interception. Fellow senior linebacker, Cornelius Walker, is second on the team in tackles with ten, despite not playing in the last game. All ten tackles came against Wofford in the first game of the season. Freshman linebacker, B.J. Davis, leads the team in tackles for loss (4) and is third on the team in total tackles (9).
SC State leads their conference in passing defense (129 y.p.g.), rushing defense (115 y.p.g.), and interceptions (2).
SC State Offense
Tyrece Nick is the guy who makes the offense tick. Nick is a quarterback who can run, passing for 201 yards and rushing for 40 more in the Wofford game. He suited up, but did not play against Lane, but there is no indication that he will not be the starter in Tampa. Filling in for him during the Lane game, in which Nick wore a coaches’ headset, was Corey Fields. Fields passed for 172 yards, but had negative rushing yards. Having had each quarterback play a full game suggests the possibility that both may be used against USF.
Shaquan Davis is the leading receiver for the Bulldogs, with eight catches for 158 yards in two games. With two less catches, De’Montre Burroughs, logged 133 yards and one touchdown. At 6-5, Davis presents a possible mismatch in coverage.
In addition to Nick, the running game consists of a rotation of running backs. Datron James is the team leader, with 99 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Labron Morris is second with 77 yards through two games and a pair of touchdowns of his own.
USF Defense
USF’s defense is difficult to evaluate at this time. They set a program record for margin of loss when they gave up 49 points to Wisconsin in week one, but held Georgia Tech to 14 points in week two. So, that begs the question as to whether the defense improved in week two or if Georgia Tech was just poor on defense, or perhaps Wisconsin was just a juggernaut on offense. Unfortunately for the Bulls, due to the level mismatch this week, the answers will have to wait.
The leader for USF on defense is incoming transfer from Oklahoma State, Patrick Macon. Macon, who replaced injured Nico Sawtelle at middle linebacker, leads the team with 20 total tackles and five tackles for loss. He will miss the first half of Saturday’s game due to a targeting penalty called late in the Georgia Tech game. That targeting penalty allowed the Yellow Jackets to run out the clock for the win.
Defensive back, Devin Studstill, and defensive lineman, Greg Reaves are second in third in tackles, with 13 and 12, respectively. Fellow lineman, Kirk Livingstone projects to be a leader on defense this season. He currently has 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
Expectations
Questions around quarterback remain unresolved to date. However, expect Barnett to be the starter and McCloud to get significant playing time. The offense will look improved, but it shouldn’t be contested much against their FCS opponent. The defense will also make it seem as if they have turned the corner, but it will be against lower level competition. Also, don’t expect SC State to lay down. They will make a game of it as long as they can, riding high on their early season upset over ranked Wofford. They will see USF as a wounded bird and a possible rare opportunity for a win over an FBS foe. USF depth should be enough to hold them off in the end.
Summary
The Bulls are favored by 27 points in this game. ESPN’s prediction computers, the Football Power Index, predict a 94% chance of a USF win. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM EDT, with coverage available on ESPN3.