It was a tough season opener for the University of South Florida Bulls, losing big to NC State in week one. The Bulls will look to rebound against the #13 University of Florida Gators, who are making their first regular season trip to Raymond James Stadium. The Gators started their 2021 campaign with a 35-14 win over FAU last week. This game, just the second all-time between these programs, is the first of a three game series and the only game of that series to be played in Tampa. In their last meeting in Gainesville, the Gators prevailed, 38-14.

USF Offense

The Bulls came into the season sounding like they had found their quarterback and an offense to make him successful. Instead, Cade Fortin was pulled early in the matchup against NC State, completing just three of his first nine passes. Fortin was replaced by true freshman, Timmy McClain. For his part, McClain seemed to lend a spark to the offense, running for 24 yards on three plays on his first drive before a series of incomplete passes forced the punting unit to the field. Against the Gators, Fortin will get the start, per head coach, Jeff Scott. Scott also said that McClain is likely to get a lot of playing time.

The running backs group were limited to less than 130 yards against NC State. Darrian Felix leads the team in carries (8), but Jaren Mangham led all runners with 23 yards. Kelly Joiner Jr. and Brian Battie also had carries in the opener and are expected to play a role in the offense, going forward.

In the opener, five Bull’s receivers had a pair of catches apiece. Xavier Weaver led the team with 73 yards, including a 44 yarder. Rounding out the top three are last season’s receiving leader, Bryce Miller, and tight end Mitchell Brinkman. Miller and Brinkman will be the guys looked to move the chains, while Weaver, Omarion Dollison, and Latrell Williams will try to stretch the field with big plays. Jimmy Horn Jr., known for speed, is expected to make an impact downfield.

Florida Defense

Despite allowing two touchdowns to the overmatched Owls in week one, the Florida defense performed very well. They forced FAU to punt five times, turnover on downs twice, and end drives with fumbles twice. They held the Owls to just 92 rushing yards and their two touchdowns came in the final seven minutes of play.

The Gators’ defense shined behind the line of scrimmage, sacking K’Nosi Perry, six times. Defensive lineman, Zachary Carter, had three of those sacks. Linebacker, Ventrell Miller, led the team with seven tackles. Safeties, Mordecai McDaniel and Trey Dean III had six apiece. Outside linebacker, Jeremiah Moon also had six tackles against FAU.

Florida Offense

Florida head coach, Dan Mullen, is on record stating that they do not have a quarterback controversy. However, they are going to play two mobile quarterbacks in the game against USF, as they did against FAU. Emory Jones got the start against the Owls and will likely do so again against the Bulls. Jones passed for 114 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the opener. He also rushed for 74 yards. Anthony Richardson passed for 40 yards and ran for 160 and a score. Richardson completed just one pass on eight tries.

Gators ran for 400 yards against FAU, a little over half of which came from quarterbacks. Malik Davis was the top running back, with 104 yards and a touchdown. Dameon Pierce and Demarkcus Bowman also carried for 31 and 20 yards, respectively.

Wide receivers, Ja’Markis Weston and Rick Wells lead the group, combining for 80 of the team’s 153 receiving yards. Wells had the Gators’ only receiving touchdown.

USF Defense

USF’s defense struggled against NC State’s power run game, allowing nearly 300 yards rushing, including four Wolfpack touchdowns. The linebacker corps, led by Andrew Mims with 14 tackles, did an adequate job slowing down the run when they were able to contain. However, the defense as a whole gave up too many big plays in the run game. Nearly 200 of NC State’s 300 yards were on nine plays of more than 10 yards of gain (five plays for more than 20 yards of gain). On many of those plays, the runner was either barely touched behind the line of scrimmage or not touched at all. Fellow linebackers, Antonio Grier (8) and Dwayne Boyles (7) were second and fourth, respectively, in tackles against NC State. Grier has only sack for the Bulls.

One bright spot on defense for USF was an interception by Auburn transfer safety, Matthew Hill, which he returned for 27 yards. Hill also had seven tackles in the game. Defensive backs, Daquan Evans and Mekhi LaPointe, also finished with seven tackles apiece against the Wolfpack.

Expectations

Expect the Gators to run on offense. Not only did they run for a whopping 400 yards against FAU, the Bulls have demonstrated that they struggle with the run. Both Florida quarterbacks seem more comfortable with the run game and doing so avoids the turnover threat that exists in the USF secondary. The Bulls should continue to look for their offensive identity. They will try to balance the pass and the run to keep the Gators’ defense honest, but their success will likely depend more on which quarterback they decide they’re going to lean on. If USF’s defense can keep the game close in the first half, the Bulls might have an outside of shot of some big plays in the second to put the game up for grabs. If not, it could be another game like their last.

Summary

The Gators are favored by nearly 29 points, with the over / under at 58.5. Kickoff is set for 1 PM EDT, with broadcast available on ABC.