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PURCHASE TICKETS FOR USF-CINCINNATI
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, NOV. 19, 2015 – What a thrilling football season it's turned out to be for the USF Bulls.
Head coach Willie Taggart's squad didn't hit the panic button after a 1-3 start that included hard-fought games against FSU and Memphis. Instead, the Bulls stuck to Taggart's grand plan and climbed their way back up to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010 with five wins in the past six games.
“The more you win, the more confidence you get and that's what we're seeing out of our football team,” Taggart said. “When they go out now, they're confident in what they can do with their ability and they believe they can win every game.”
This is what Taggart has envisioned since the first day he put on a USF cap. The believing Bulls also are in the mix for something Taggart has talked about since his introductory press conference – winning a conference championship in a first-class manner.
USF (6-4, 4-2) is one game behind first-place Temple in The American's East Division with two games left on the regular season slate. Playing in the conference championship game on Dec. 5 sure would be sweet for a USF team that's taking the right approach along the way.
The first order of business is beating the Cincinnati Bearcats on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium.
“We've got everything to play for,” senior linebacker Zack Bullock said. “The Temple deal was just something we had to do in order to reach our goal, just like this game. It's something we had to do.”
Taking care of business Friday would certainly be impressive considering how good the opponent is. Cincinnati (6-4, 3-3) has set a program record by becoming bowl eligible for the fifth consecutive year and the Bearcats have the fourth-best offense in the FBS.
“The thing about them is they do a great job passing and a great job running,” Taggart said. “It's going to be a challenge again for our defense against this team.”
Here are five things to watch for heading into USF's most meaningful Senior Day game in a long time. Remember, kickoff is set for 8 p.m. and fans can reserve their seats at USFBullsTix.com. See you at Ray Jay.
“Bulls Sharks” Need to Swarm the Quarterback
Cincinnati has put up videogame numbers on offense this season, averaging 585.4 yards and 38.7 points per game. The Bearcats have not one, not two, but three 600-yard rushers with at least four touchdowns apiece. They also have Shaq Washington (795 receiving yards) and a group of wideouts that have helped Cincinnati rank fourth nationally in passing offense (387 ypg).
USF did a solid job bottling up a potent Temple offense last week and the key to slowing down Cincinnati is giving its quarterback a hard time. Cincinnati signal-callers have thrown multiple interceptions in two of the team's three losses. In their other loss to BYU, the Bearcats gave up a total of eight sacks.
Cincinnati's passing offense is all about timing and throwing to spots, so getting the Bearcats off-schedule is a must. The task won't be easy with Gunner Kiel having thrown for 2,434 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first eight games this season.
It Could Be Another Big Night for USF's Ground Attack
Cincinnati is tied for 77th in the FBS in scoring defense (28.2 ppg) and the Bearcats are tied for 88th nationally in rushing defense with 186.1 yards allowed per game.
The greatest strength of USF's rapidly improving offense is its running game. The Bulls rank 15th nationally with 227.9 rushing yards per game and they're just 157 yards shy of the single-season program record.Marlon Mack is coming off a 230-yard rushing performance against a Temple defense that ranked 12th nationally against the run.
The thing about USF is you can't just focus on stopping Mack because the Bulls have multiple rushing threats. Quarterback Quinton Flowers is 253 yards away from the 1,000-yard mark this season. USF's other talented backs, Darius Tice and D'Ernest Johnson, have combined for nearly 500 rushing yards with five touchdowns on the ground.
“The guys that we have in the backfield, they just need a crack of daylight and they can be gone. Quinton is the same way,” co-offensive coordinator Danny Hope said.
Flowers-Led Air Attack Continues to Take Off
Quinton Flowers continues to get better with time in USF's Gulf Coast Offense and he's shining in more ways than one.
In the past four games, the sophomore quarterback has thrown for 735 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in 85 attempts.
“He has been a difference-maker for our offense and he's impacted our football team and season,” Hope said.
Flowers has gained a lot of experience in 11 career starts and it's showing with the way he's throwing with confidence and not forcing something when it's not there.
“It's not that he just makes the right decision, he making it a lot quicker. The ball comes out of his hand a lot faster,” Hope said. “He's not back there in the pocket as long as he used to be, trying to figure out what's going on.”
Flowers has developed a great rapport with his receivers as the season has progressed, especially with Rodney Adams. The junior from St. Petersburg has scored a touchdown in five of the past six games.
Which Team Will Start Fast?
Friday's game features two teams that go after opponents right away.
USF has scored first in eight of 10 games this season, including seven straight outings prior to last week. The Bulls have outscored opponents, 130-78, in the first half this season and 91-40 in the second quarter.
Cincinnati has jumped out to a 104-65 advantage on opponents in the opening quarter this season and the Bearcats have outscored foes, 233-136, in the first half.
Mentally Tough Bulls Looking for Redemption
Cincinnati is an opponent USF knows very well with 12 previous meetings between the programs. The Bearcats defeated the Bulls, 34-17, last October in Cincinnati.
“Our guys know they have a lot of the same players that were on their team last year that beat our football team pretty good up in Cincinnati,” Taggart said. “So they know what we're getting into and what kind of team we're facing. We have to be on our 'A' game.”
USF has proven to be a much different team than last season, especially when it comes to dealing with adversity. The Bulls erased second-half deficits in wins at UConn and East Carolina, and showed mental toughness last week.
Following a USF fumble in its own territory, Temple scored 10 straight points in the third quarter to cut its deficit to 31-20. The Bulls responded by outscoring the Owls, 13-3, the rest of the way to secure bowl eligibility.
“Throughout the season and throughout some of these wins, there has been some adversity that hit our football team and we responded in the right way, in a positive way,” Taggart said. “That's something we've been trying to get our team to do for the longest.”
The USF Football program is in its 19th season overall and 16th at the FBS level. The Bulls have made six bowl appearances, including every season between 2005-10, and have four bowl game victories. USF has produced 14 All-America selections, 25 NFL Draft picks and reached the No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Poll in 2007.
