The Good, Bad & Ugly from South Florida’s loss at Louisville
Saturday was a disaster for South Florida (1-3) as they were defeated 41-3 by Louisville (2-2, 0-2 ACC) at Cardinals Stadium.
The Bulls seemed to give up early on as the scoreboard rose for the Cardinals. A speedy offense helmed by redshirt senior quarterback Malik Cunningham was too much for South Florida. On top of that, the Cardinals defense was dominate, holding the Bulls to only 158 total yards.
Here are a few positives and negatives that came out of the loss at Louisville.
GOOD – PUNTER ANDREW STOKES & BACKUPS GOT PLAYING TIME
GOOD – PUNTER ANDREW STOKES & BACKUPS GOT PLAYINGTIME
There really is not much to say that’s good about this game. The Bulls played atrociously on both sides of the ball, and the game seemed to be over by halftime.
Other than one bad snap catch, sophomore punter Andrew Strokes played well. He averaged 42.5 yards on six punts – his long punt of the day traveled 51-yards – and he had four inside the 20.
In the second half, with the offense not finding any rhythm and the game already over, a few of the Bulls backups were able to see some action.
Sophomore quarterback Katravis Marsh entered the game in the third quarter and completed 4 of 11 passes for 48 yards. Joining him was redshirt freshman running back K’Wan Powell who ran the ball eight times for 45 yards.
BAD – INJURIES AND THE OL
Even before the opening kickoff, the Bulls were not in an ideal position. Injuries sidelined their top four receivers - Xavier Weaver, Jimmy Horn Jr., Khafre Brown and Ajou Ajou.
Without them, and with the offensive line being manhandled all day, the USF offense struggled to move the ball. Louisville recorded three sacks, nine tackles for loss, and four QB hurries.
The Bulls knew they would have to run the ball to have a chance in this game. With the USF aerial attack largely grounded, the run game averaged just 1.4 yards per carry.
GOOD – A FEW BRIGHT SPOTS ON DEFENSE
The best player for the Bulls this game was linebacker DJ Gordon IV. Gordon had nine tackles, four solo, three for a loss and forced a fumble. Fellow linebacker Antonio Grier and defensive back TJ Robinson followed with eight total tackles each.
UGLY – THE ENTIRE GAME
The Bulls were hard to watch Saturday. They did not keep a single ounce of that energy from a strong performance at Florida. The offense found little success all game, and the defense could not stop or slow down the Louisville offense.
Bohanon and Marsh combined for only 110 yards passing on 13-of-28 (46 percent) attempts and the run game was worse – 48 yards on 35 carries.
Cunningham had himself a day combining for 299 yards rushing and passing. He ran for three touchdowns and threw for another. Louisville backup quarterback Brock Domann came off the bench to finish the fourth quarter and completed 5-of-8 passes for 73 yards.
The Bulls rush defense was also non-existent, allowing 283 yards on the ground. Louisville ran the ball 46 times, with eleven runs for more than ten yards.
Overall, the Bulls have their fair share of kinks to work out before they take on the East Carolina Pirates at Raymond James Stadium next Saturday.