Game 5 Preview: Rested Bulls Hit the Road
Pow6rful Minds in The American
The American Athletic Conference Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) once again has made mental health and safety its top priority. All 13 American institutions will kick off the American Athletic Conference's Pow6rful Minds Campaign for 2018-19 with Mental Health Awareness Week, Oct. 1-7. This is part of an important initiative to improve awareness of mental health issues and resources available to student-athletes with the goal of ending the stigma related to seeking help and promoting success through a healthy, powerful mind. Learn more HERE.
USF GAME NOTES
By JIM LOUK
Voice of the Bulls
TAMPA, OCT. 4, 2018 – It's back to work after the open week.
Whatever we know now about the 2018 Bulls, we'll know a lot more soon. USF will now play eight games in eight weeks. Seven of those eight will be conference games, and five of them will be on the road. The journey begins with back-to-back road games in a 13-day span.
The final non-conference game of the season is this weekend, as the Bulls travel to Amherst, Mass., to play UMASS for the first time. The teams were scheduled to meet in Tampa last Oct. 14, but rescheduling due to a hurricane pushed that game back to 2022.
The open week occurred at a good time for the Bulls, allowing numerous players to heal up and be ready to play. USF has won seven straight times when they have had more than a week to prepare for a game, so all indications are the Bulls will be fully ready for Saturday. USF enters the game as one of 14 remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS.
Here's a few notes on the Bulls and Minutemen to get you ready for this week's game:
- This will be the first time the Bulls have played a game in Massachusetts.
- A win Saturday could very well get the Bulls into the top 25. They are currently at 26 in the Coaches Poll and 27 in the AP Poll.
Tyre McCants is approaching the all-time USF top 10 in receptions. He has 87 career catches. DeAndrew Rubin is currently 10th with 91 receptions. McCants is also seventh all-time in receiving yards at USF.- Traveling hasn't bothered the Bulls in recent seasons. They are 11-2 in their last 13 games away from Tampa.
- UMASS has played a series of high scoring games this year. The Minutemen have averaged a little over 35 points per game, but they've given up more than 42 points per game.
- UMASS has been one of the busiest teams in college football so far this year. It had a week zero game and has played every weekend since, making Saturday's game its seventh of the season.
- McGuirk Stadium will be the smallest venue the Bulls have played at in many years. It seats 17,000, was built in 1965, and got permanent lighting in 2008. With FBS status requiring a minimum of 15,000 seats, McGuirk Stadium is one of the smallest venues in the FBS classification. The facility is named after Warren McGuirk, the UMASS athletic director from 1948 to 1971.
- Keep an eye out for UMASS wide receiver Andy Isabella, who wears No. 5. He's already caught 41 passes and has seven touchdowns on the season.
The game will be telecast locally on WTTA Channel 38. WTTA shows up on Fios, Spectrum and Dish, so check local listings for the specific channel. Eleven Sports will be the originator of the broadcast. We'll begin on radio at 1:30 p.m. EST. You can hear it on AM 820, as well as 96.7 FM in Hillsborough County and 98.3 FM in Pinellas County. As always, we're available worldwide on USF Bulls Unlimited through the free iHeart app. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. Saturday's weather forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 65 degrees, so if you make the trip, you should enjoy some very nice fall weather.
After this, the Bulls return home and get into a short week. They'll leave for Tulsa next Thursday and play next Friday night.
It's not too early to make Homecoming plans! The Bulls will play UCONN in their next home game on Oct. 20. Game time will be announced soon.
Horns up!
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
