USF Athletics

Bulls Look to 'Get Back on Track' Saturday Night at Cincinnati

November 05, 2018

NEXT GAME: USF (7-2, 3-2 in AAC) at No. 25/23 Cincinnati (8-1, 4-1 in AAC)
DAY/TIME: Saturday/7 p.m.
LOCATION: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: 820-AM, 98.3-FM, Bulls Unlimited

GAME NOTES
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, NOV. 5, 2018 – USF football has an opportunity to bounce back and build momentum for the stretch run of the regular season Saturday night.

Following a rare home loss and its first two-game skid since early in the 2015 season, USF (7-2, 3-2 in AAC) begins a two-game road trip with a prime time matchup at No. 25/23 Cincinnati. The Bulls are eying their first win over a ranked opponent since 2016 and their first road victory over a top-25 foe since 2011.

"It's going to be a big test for us this week going to Cincinnati. We're on the road again," said head coach Charlie Strong during Monday's weekly press conference. "The thing about us, we've just got to get back on track."

USF stayed on the winning path for seven straight weeks this season, equaling the best-ever program start, before dropping consecutive conference games for the first time since the end of the 2014 season.

Last Saturday, USF was without several starters for its 41-15 setback against Tulane at Raymond James Stadium. Plenty of Bulls continued to gain experience with 13 first-year starters seeing action against the Green Wave, including nine starters that are sophomores or younger.

"You're playing a lot of young guys and they're enjoying every opportunity they get," Strong said.

Getting closer to full strength, the Bulls are motivated to making things happen in all three phases of the game and remain in the conference mix this weekend. USF is a game behind second-place Cincinnati and Temple (the Bulls' next two opponents) in the AAC East and two games behind leader UCF, which heads to Tampa for a War on I-4 rivalry game on Friday, Nov. 23.

"You've got three games to go play and they're all conference games, so you don't ever think the season is getting away because you never know what's going to happen," Strong said. "… Within this conference, you can't really say teams are so much head-and-shoulder above other teams. You catch them on any given day and anything can happen."

Know the Foe
USF has won its past three meetings with Cincinnati, including a 45-20 victory in the teams' last matchup at Nippert Stadium in 2016.

Keeping that streak going won't be easy against Cincinnati, which is coming off a 42-0 home win over Navy last Saturday. The Bearcats entered the top 25 this week and have the top defense in The American, ranking fifth nationally in total defense (276.1 ypg) and sixth in scoring defense (14.0 ppg).

"It's similar to us last year. Three of the front four guys are seniors that played a lot of football," Strong said.

With its sturdy, veteran line, Cincinnati ranks 15^th nationally in rushing defense (105.2 ypg) and Strong said the Bulls must be physical in order to have ground success Saturday.  

"If we're going to run the football, we're going to have to move people off the line of scrimmage," he said.

Offensively, Cincinnati has the ability to keep up in a shootout, averaging 35 points and 454.8 yards per game. The Bearcats' 235.6 rushing yards per outing are good for 16^th nationally and their top back, sophomore Michael Warren II, is averaging 103.4 yards on the ground (T18th in FBS).

Cincinnati has an 8-7 lead in its series with USF and the Bearcats are 5-2 all-time at home against the Bulls.

Bulls Bits

• WELCOME BACK, WILCOX?: Strong said he expects star tight end Mitchell Wilcox to return Saturday after missing the Tulane game with an injury he suffered the week before at Houston. The junior from Tarpon Springs, Fla., needs just 13 more yards to break USF's tight end single-season receiving record currently held by Trevor Hypolite (390 yards, 1997). Wilcox is 84 yards away from grabbing the USF career tight end receiving yards record from Sean Price (897 yards, 2012-15).
• UPDATE ON OTHER BANGED-UP BULLS: Strong also is hoping to have standout redshirt freshman receiver Randall St. Felix (Miami) back in action after missing the previous two games. Strong said starting middle linebacker Nico Sawtelle (Jensen Beach, Fla.) is "day-to-day" along with redshirt freshman safety Mekhi LaPointe (Seffner, Fla.). Strong added sophomore defensive tackle Kevin Kegler (Madison, Fla.) "should be back" and noted linebacker Khalid McGee (Miami) "will be back" after sitting out of the Tulane game.
• CRONK CLOSER TO 1K: Junior Jordan Cronkrite (Miami) currently ranks 10^th nationally with 118.3 rushing yards per game and he's on the verge of another program milestone. The Miami native needs 54 yards to become the fifth-ever Bull to post a 1,000-yard rushing season. Cronkrite already has a USF record four touchdown runs of 60-plus yards this season and one more could help him register the ninth 1,000-yard rushing season in school history.
• BARNETT COULD SOON BECOME MR. 3K: In his first year as USF's starting QB, Blake Barnett is 600 yards away from the Bulls' first 3,000-yard passing season. The junior from Corona, Calif., ranks 19^th nationally in passing yards per game (267.2) and 16^th in the FBS in total offense (301.8 ypg). Last week, Barnett threw for 300-plus yards for the third time this season.
• COLD WEATHER GAME: Saturday's game could feature possible temperatures in the 30s by the 7 p.m. kickoff. If so, it would mark the Bulls' first kickoff below 40 degrees since playing at Rutgers on Dec. 7, 2013.

 
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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