USF Athletics

Potent USF Offense Looks for More Production in Prime Time

October 11, 2018

GAME NOTES

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, OCT. 11, 2018 – Following a 58-point outing at UMass last week, No. 23 USF eyes another explosive performance in conference play during Friday's nationally televised 7 p.m. ESPN game at Tulsa.

One of just 11 remaining undefeated teams in FBS football, USF (5-0, 1-0 in AAC) jumps back into league action with confidence on offense after producing 574 total yards, including a season-high 365 yards on the ground (ninth-best in program history) last week.

Leading the ground attack is conference offensive player of the week Jordan Cronkrite, who ranks third nationally in rushing yards per game (151.5) and rushing yards per carry (8.78). The last time out, the playmaking junior from Miami set new USF and AAC records with 302 rushing yards (13.1 ypc).

Head coach Charlie Strong was aware of the record being within reach during the game and kept Cronkrite in to chase history on his memorable day that included touchdown runs of 77, 30 and 76 yards.

"It shows he has a lot of love for me," said Cronkrite of Strong. "You don't get that with a lot of coaches. Usually if you have a big game, or something like 200 yards, then they put everybody else in. He wanted me to get an achievement for myself personally and I love him for that."

Offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert also is happy about the production by Cronkrite and USF's blockers that have helped the Bulls continue to move down the field. USF has rushed for 200-plus yards in 29 of the past 35 outings and has ran past the 300-yard mark six times in less than two seasons working in Gilbert's up-tempo attack.

"It really starts up front with us," Gilbert said. "Our O-line and our tight ends have done a great job and have just continually gotten better schematically with what we want those guys to do. You've got a guy like Jordan to hand the football to and he's been able to produce, execute and get results that we wanted."

The Bulls could have more ground success Friday against Tulsa (1-4, 0-2 in AAC), which ranks 110^th in rushing defense this season at 207.4 yards allowed per game.

"Just like every week, we'd like to go out and set some physicality," Gilbert said. "We're doing that up front, but it's adapting and adjusting to what's happening on their side of the ball. Whatever adjustments we need to do to have success, we're willing to do."

Getting the run game going again, especially early on, could open things up for quarterback Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.), who ranks 27^th nationally in passing yards (261.6 ypg). Airing it out against Tulsa hasn't been easy this season with the Golden Hurricane ranking 14^th nationally in passing yards allowed (173.4 ypg).

Only No. 9/14 Texas has thrown for 200 or more yards against Tulsa this season and Gilbert is well aware of the Golden Hurricane's lockdown capability. Using a new scheme filled with disguises, Tulsa's defense has improved on last year's numbers by an average of 195 fewer total yards allowed per game.

"It's personnel and really scheme," Gilbert said. "You've got five guys back there in the secondary, so it's kind of tough to get past and behind people like that. Schematically, you've got to go execute what you've got planned and guys got to take advantage of that."

Whether they get it done by air or ground, the Bulls have found a way to deliver 35 straight 20-plus point games, the longest streak in the nation. USF has been especially good on the road, averaging 41.9 points and going 12-2 in its past 14 games away from Tampa in the past three years.

 "I think it's just everybody buying into the system, buying into what the coaches are asking us to do," said senior receiver Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.). "Everybody is locked in and just giving 100 percent every play."

Defense Getting Takeaways Heading Into Tulsa Game
USF's defense played a big role in the Bulls racking up a season-high five takeaways at UMass, which led to 28 points. The performance helped USF move up to 15^th nationally in turnovers gained (11^th in turnover margin, 1.20).

"That was part of the reason we felt like we turned the corner on defense last year – our ability to get turnovers, get the ball back to our offense and limit possessions for the opponent's offense," defensive coordinator Brian Jean-Mary said. "That's always big. Time of possession and number of possessions usually tell the tale of who wins and loses games."

More turnover opportunities for the Bulls' defense could be there for the taking this week. Tulsa is tied for 124^th in the country with a turnover margin of -1.40 per game after giving the ball away three times against Houston last week.

Tulsa is tied for the sixth-most interceptions thrown this season in FBS football (7) and puts the ball in the air an average of nearly 30 times per game. Led by Mike Hampton's two picks, USF has intercepted six passes this season and wants to put itself in a position for more against the Golden Hurricane.

"Our goal for this week is to stop the run, make them a one-dimensional team and just play our ball," said senior defensive end Josh Black (Tampa).

Stopping Tulsa's ground attack hasn't been easy for opponents this season with the Golden Hurricane averaging 206.8 rushing yards per game. Sophomore backs Shamari Brooks (93.8 ypg) and Corey Taylor II (82.2 ypg) rank sixth and seventh in The American in rushing.

"They make it a priority to run the ball. They don't care how many guys you have in the box, what front that you're in, or even how good your defensive line and linebackers are," Jean-Mary said. "They are who they are. They're going to run the ball with a very good offensive line with big, physical guys. They work well together and really move people in the run game."

Bulls Bits

• ONE MORE 'W' FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS: The Bulls are in the midst of the most successful run in program history (34-9, winning percentage of 79.0 since 2015) and need one more victory to post the program's best four-year win total. USF also will be looking to improve to 6-0 for the second straight season and continue its pursuit of matching the program's best-ever start to a season (7-0, 2017).
• McCANTS APPROACHING MILESTONES: Senior Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.) heads into Friday's game with 15 career touchdown receptions, just two shy of the USF career record held by Andre Davis. McCants also ranks fourth in the USF history books with 1,534 career receiving yards and needs 115 more yards to grab the third spot from Carlton Mitchell (1,648 yards, 2007-09). Davis owns the USF career record with 2,136 receiving yards from 2011-14. "It's an honor to be talked about like that, but at the end of the day I just want to be the best I can," McCants said.
• HAMPTON LEADING SECONDARY: Sophomore cornerback Mike Hampton leads the team with two interceptions after picking off a pass at UMass. The Tampa native also has a team-leading eight pass breakups and he's tied for fifth nationally with 2.0 passes defended per game. "He's shown the ability to really play one-on-one coverage very, very well," defensive coordinator Brian Jean-Mary said. "We play man coverage a majority of the time and he really does a great job of sticking to receivers and being in position to make plays."

 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
 
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