7-1 Bulls Looking to Bounce Back Saturday at Ray Jay
USF GAME NOTES
PURCHASE USF-TULANE TICKETS
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, OCT. 29, 2018 – After falling for the first time since November of 2017, the 7-1 Bulls are looking to bounce back at a place where they've posted a plethora of victories during the winningest era in program history.
Raymond James Stadium is the stage for Saturday's conference clash with Tulane that's set for a 3:30 p.m. start on CBS Sports Network. The Bulls are 20-3 at home over the past four seasons with an average winning margin of 17.4 points per game.
"We have another conference opponent coming here this Saturday," said head coach
Charlie Strong at Monday's press conference. "The thing we have to do is just be better prepared, a focused football team, and don't let one game beat us twice."
USF (7-1, 3-1 in AAC) still has control of its conference destiny after dropping a 57-36 decision at Houston last Saturday, the program's first loss since Nov. 24, 2017. The Bulls haven't lost consecutive games since a three-game skid in the first quarter of the 2015 season. USF hasn't been defeated in two straight conference games since all the way back in 2014.
"It's time to move on," Strong said. "We had a chance to watch the tape yesterday and made a lot of mistakes (at Houston). They're mistakes that can be corrected."
Bouncing back from a loss is something USF has done well since Strong took over the program in 2017. Last season, the Bulls posted a 17-point win after a setback against Houston and won the Birmingham Bowl following the War on I-4 thriller in Orlando.
"I'm really excited about getting back out on the field tomorrow and going back to work," said Strong, who is 17-3 with USF. "Let's get back on track."
Salute to Service Game Details
USF will be wearing helmet decals to honor the nation's armed forces and first responders during the Bulls' Salute to Service game Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.
The pregame coin toss will be conducted by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Dennis Kelly, a retired Vietnam veteran and the father of USF Vice President of Athletics
Michael Kelly. Saturday's "Hero of the Game" will be retired U.S. Marine Corps Major Sergeant Marty Davenport, one of the last soldiers to leave Vietnam during the fall of Saigon.
Freshman Ford Keeps Rolling
Freshman running back
Johnny Ford earned a spot on The American's weekly honor roll after registering his second straight 100-yard rushing game at Houston.
Ford rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries a game after racking up 164 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries (23.4 ypc) in a win over UConn.
"Johnny is doing an unbelievable job for us," Strong said. "The thing is each and every game, he's growing with the game."
Averaging 8.6 yards per carry this season, Ford has produced 329 rushing yards in the past three outings and ranks second on the squad with 462 total yards on the ground. The Miami native is tied for the team lead with seven rushing touchdowns after the third multi-TD performance of his breakout debut season with the Bulls.
"He's fun to watch and he is developing," Strong said. "He's turning into a complete back."
Know the Foe
Tulane (3-5, 2-2 in AAC) seeks its second straight win after scoring 17 unanswered points in a
24-17 comeback victory over Tulsa last Saturday in Oklahoma.
In his first start with Tulane, quarterback Justin McMillan produced the go-ahead score on a 39-yard run with 3:46 to play. McMillan rushed for two touchdowns in the game, but Strong said the LSU transfer's main strength is his arm.
"With the change in quarterbacks, you're going to see more throwing game now," Strong said.
So far this season, McMillan has completed 24 of 48 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The graduate student threw for 2,854 yards and 37 touchdowns with only four interceptions as a senior at Cedar Hill School in Texas.
"Even if they bring the option game, he's more of a thrower," Strong said. "He will tuck the ball and run it if he has to, but it's more of a throwing game with him."
Tulane scored 40 points in its other conference win over Memphis on Sept. 28 after Darius Bradwell (6-1, 230) rushed for a game-high 143 yards and two touchdowns. Corey Dauphine (6-0, 200) also rushed for two touchdowns against Memphis and together, Bradwell and Dauphine have combined for 1,138 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
"They're big backs and they're really physical. They're downhill runners," Strong said. "… The thing they're going to do is try to run you over."
On the other side of the ball, Tulane is giving up 153.0 rushing yards per game (third in AAC) but ranks 103rd nationally in passing yards allowed (263.4 per game).
Bulls Bits
'WARRIOR' WILCOX APPROACHING RECORDS: Numerous key players were unable to contribute last week because of injuries, but tight end Mitchell Wilcox impressed Strong by toughing it out. "He is a warrior. Mitch Wilcox is just an unbelievable player to battle through that injury and keep going on one leg," Strong said. "He'll be ready by Saturday." This Saturday, the junior from Tarpon Springs, Fla., needs 84 more yards to grab the USF tight end career receiving yards record currently held by Sean Price (897 yards, 2012-15). Wilcox also needs 13 yards to set the new USF tight end season receiving yards record (Trevor Hypolite, 390 yards in 1997).- McCANTS ALSO ON THE MEND: Strong also said senior receiver Tyre McCants "should be back" after suffering an injury during the first half last week. The Niceville, Fla., native is two catches away from a tie for fifth on USF's career receptions list with Taurus Johnson (112 catches, 2005-08). McCants also needs two touchdown grabs to tie Andre Davis' USF career scoring receptions record of 17 from 2011-14.
BULLS MOVING THE BALL: USF has moved up to 10th nationally in total offense (500.3 ypg). Averaging 291 yards on the ground the past four games, the Bulls now rank 16th in the FBS in rushing offense (233.4 ypg).- CRONK MOVES CLOSER TO 1K: Junior Jordan Cronkrite enters Saturday's game needing 67 more yards to register USF's ninth 1,000-yard rushing season. Cronkrite could become only the fifth player in program history to accomplish the feat.
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.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
- #GoBulls -
