USF football hosts the Wisconsin Badgers in Raymond James Stadium on August 30th, 2019. This game will be the season opener for both teams and will feature a national television audience.
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The University of South Florida Bulls welcome the #19 University of Wisconsin Badgers into Raymond James Stadium on Friday night. This game, the second-ever between the two programs, is the final in the two-game series. In their last meeting, the Badgers won handily, 27-10, in Madison. The Bulls will look for revenge on their home turf.
Last season, Wisconsin went 8-5, overall, tying for third in the Big Ten West division. They made an appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl in the postseason, easily beating Miami, 35-3.
The Bulls started 2018 on fire, winning their first seven games. Injuries and locker room drama combined with coaching philosophical differences led to six game slide to end the regular season. If that weren’t bad enough for Bullls’ fans, the team took an embarrassing 38-20 loss to Marshall in their home stadium hosted Gasparilla Bowl.
USF Offense
After finishing 11th in 2016 and 6th in 2017 in total offense, the Bulls dropped to 33rd in 2018. That is due in part to losing the record smashing Quinton Flowers to graduation, as well as injuries to quarterback, Blake Barnett, midway through the season. Barnett missed two games and was limited in two others. In spite of that, he still passed for 2,710 yards and 12 touchdowns. Backing him up last season were Chris Oladokun and Brett Kean, both of whom have transferred out of the program. Redshirt freshman, Jordan McCloud, will be the number two, this year.
Returning this season for the Bulls are team leaders in rushing, running backs, Jordan Cronkrite (1,121 yards) and Johnny Ford (787 yards). Barnett also got his share of carries, averaging about 27 yards per game. That trio accounted for 25 rushing touchdowns, last season. This year, Ford has been moved to starter at the slot receiver position, but will probably continue to play a role in the running game. Backing up Cronkrite is Trevon Sands and Udunayo Seriki.
Joining Ford at starting receiver are Stanley Clerveaux and Randall St. Felix. St. Felix was the team leader in total yards with 679, an average of 62 yards per game. With nearly twice as many catches, Tyre McCants finished second with 622 yards. McCants, who has graduated, possessed a unique combination of size and speed that will be difficult to replace. Look for backups, DeVontres Dukes and Eddie McDoom to make some noise this season. There is also senior tight end, Mitchell Wilcox, who finished last season third in catches (43), yards (540), and yards per game (45). Wilcox is considered by the many to be one of the top tight ends in the country. His total yardage, last season, set a school record for tight ends and also landed him on the AAC All-Conference first team.
Perhaps the best news for USF fans is the hiring of offensive coordinator, Kerwin Bell. Bell led Division II Valdosta State to a national championship in 2018. His overall record at Valdosta State was 27-7, which included 15-straight wins in 2018, averaging 52 points per game on offense.
Wisconsin Defense
Wisconsin had a decent defense in 2018, ranked in the top 35 in scoring (34th) and total defense (29th). However, they have lost a lot. Of the team leaders in tackles, four of the top five have graduated. The Badgers run a 3-4 defense.
They return six starters on defense, to include defensive ends, Matt Henningsen and Isaiahh Loudermilk. They also have experience down field, with both cornerbacks, Faion Hicks and Rachad Wildgoose, as well as safety, Scott Nelson, returning. Wildgoose and Nelson led the team with 7 and 6 pass breakups, respectively, which more than doubles any other player on the team.
Senior linebacker, Zach Baun, is the most productive defender returning, ranking third on the team last season with 63 total tackles. He was also fourth on the team for tackles for loss (7.5) and fourth on the team for total sacks (2.5).
As they matchup with USF, experience in the secondary will be key as the Bulls will likely try to take advantage of the speed they have at receiver. The Badgers had the 22nd best pass defense in the country in 2018, allowing just 189 passing yards per game.
USF will also try to run to setup the pass, so inside linebackers, Chris Orr and Jack Sanborn will have their hands full. Sanborn didn’t start in 2018, but played in 11 games, making seven tackles, forcing a fumble, and breaking up a pass. Orr, while not starting last season, has played in 36 games over his career, logging 109 tackles, three pass breakups, and 2.5 sacks in that time.
Wisconsin Offense
The big star on the Wisconsin offense is running back, Jonathan Taylor. Taylor is a two-year starter at running back who won the Doak Walker Award and was a semi-finalist for the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards in 2018. He was an All-American and on the Big Ten Conference All-Conference Team. He led the #6 rushing offense in the country and was #1 in the nation in total rushing yards (2,194) and average yards per game (167), last season.
While Taylor may be the best overall player the Bulls will face, he can be contained. In six games last season, he was held without a touchdown and averaged just 110 yards per game. Wisconsin won just four of those games. The two teams they beat were Iowa (28-17) and Illinois (49-20). His season high was an impressive 321 yards against Purdue, but his season low was just 46 yards against Northwestern, which was one of the teams who held him without a touchdown.
The running game can’t be mentioned without discussing the offensive line. Unfortunately for Wisconsin, they must replace three All-American offensive linemen, who are now on NFL. The good news for the Badgers is that their five starters on the line all weigh more than 310 pounds and only one of them is shorter than 6-4. That is a foundation to build upon.
Jack Coan has been named the starter at quarterback. Coan played in five games, last year, passing for 515 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions. His completion rate was just over 60%.
Joining Taylor in returning on offense are four others, to include tight end, Jake Ferguson. Wisconsin likes to pass to their tight end. Ferguson was the number two receiver as a freshman, last season, totaling 456 yards and four touchdowns. For perspective, that’s 1/5 of the team’s total passing touchdowns (19). Receivers, A.J. Taylor and Kendric Pryor also return. Taylor led the team in receiving with 521 yards and three touchdowns. Pryor was fourth on the team, with 273 yards and three touchdowns.
The Badgers averaged under 30 points per game, last season, ranking them 62nd, nationally.
USF Defense
The Bulls return six starters on defense, but that defense struggled in 2018. They gave up an average of 447 yards on defense, the 104th worst average in the country. The 32 points per game they gave up ranked their defense 95th. Returning senior starters at defensive end, Kirk Livingstone and Greg Reaves plan to turn that around. Reaves’ 89 tackles and Livingstone’s 56 ranked them second and fifth on the team, respectively. Livingstone was also tied for second on the team in sacks.
Senior linebacker, Nico Sawtelle, is also back for his senior year, but recurring injuries make him questionable for this game. Linebackers are an area of concern for the Bulls. In addition to Sawtelle’s injuries, the team lost team-leader in tackles, linebacker Khalid McGee. Last season, the Bulls had to convert defensive end, Reaves, to the middle linebacker problem due to depth issues. With Sawtelle out, graduate student transfer, Patrick Macon, will start in the middle. Macon was a four-star prospect in 2017 who signed with Oklahoma State after playing two years at Arizona Western Community College. He did not play during his time at Oklahoma State due to redshirt and injuries.
The secondary returns cornerback, Mike Hampton, safeties Nick Roberts and Mekhi LaPointe. Roberts was fourth on the team in total tackles with 72 and led in interceptions with three. Hampton was an All-Conference Honorable Mention and ranked 9th in the country for passes defended (18) per game (1.4) North Carolina transfer, K.J. Sails, will also play a role in the cornerback rotation. He was recently cleared by the NCAA to play this season. For that reason, he was likely left off of the last published depth chart, but the coaches like what he brings and they’ll likely find a way to get him on the field.
The Bulls ranked 123rd against the rush (248 y.p.g) and 35th against the pass (199 y.p.g.) in 2018.
Expectations
Wisconsin and Jonathan Taylor are going to run the ball. He is such a dynamic runner with size and speed that it is a given that the offense will be built around him. USF will try to stop that run by loading the box and daring the Badgers to throw. Doing so doubles up their weakness at stopping the run and allows them to lean on their strength at defending the pass, which is one of the few things they did well in 2018. Their secondary is experienced and fast.
When the Bull have the ball, they will likely try to keep Wisconsin’s offense off balance by using the run to set up the pass and vice versa. They don’t have a Jonathan Taylor, but their Cronkrite and company are more than adequate to bust open big runs. This won’t surprise the Badgers, though, who face arguably the country’s best running in practice, every day. Their passing defense was effective in 2018. Barnett is a skilled passer, though, and it should be a great matchup between his offense their pass defense.
Summary
The current line on this came makes the Bulls a 12-point underdog at home. ESPN’s Football Prediction Index computers give Wisconsin the definitive advantage, predicting a 70% chance of a Badger victory.
Kickoff is at 7 PM EDT with television broadcast on ESPN.
