USF Athletics

2-0 Bulls Look for More Power Five Success Against Illinois

September 10, 2018

MATCHUP: USF (2-0) vs. Illinois (2-0)
WHEN: Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Soldier Field, Chicago
TV: Big Ten Network, channel listings - Dish: 590 (HD: 5445); Hopper: 405-4; DirectTV: 610-1 (SD/HD); AT&T: 694 (HD: 1694); Verizon Fios: 330; Frontier Vios: 330; Spectrum: 820 (1192 HD)

USF GAME NOTES vs. Illinois

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, SEPT. 10, 2018 – After rallying past ACC foe Georgia Tech, Charlie Strong's 2-0 Bulls are taking the show on the road and looking to extend an impressive streak against Power Five opponents.

USF will chase after its fifth straight victory over a P5 adversary when the Bulls clash with the Big Ten's Illinois Fighting Illini (2-0) Saturday at Soldier Field. USF's first-ever game in Chicago kicks off at 3:30 p.m. (ET) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.

"We're on the road, so we're really going to have to play well," said Strong at Monday's weekly press conference. "Going into Soldier Field, both teams are going to be fired up playing in a pro stadium. It's going to be a great challenge for us."

USF has a 1-0 lead in its all-time series with Illinois after defeating the Illini, 47-23, on Sept. 15 of last year at Raymond James Stadium. USF racked up 680 yards of offense in its first-ever win over a Big Ten opponent in that game and success on offense has continued this season.

Against Georgia Tech, the Bulls erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter with a 21-point outburst and extended their streak of 400-plus yard outings to 12 games. Producing more eye-catching numbers helped the program win for the sixth time in the past seven contests against Power Five opponents.

Strong credited the Bulls as a whole for their hard-working week of practice leading up to Georgia Tech and he expects the blue-collar mentality to continue leading up to Saturday.

"This is one of those games, I call it a trap game just because you can't let last week's performance get in the way of preparation for this week," he said. "We're really excited about it and looking forward to another challenge."

Barnett Earns National Praise, Props From Strong
Quarterback Blake Barnett is proving himself each week and reeling in the recognition for his efforts.

The junior from Corona, Calif., was named to the Davey O'Brien Great 8, became one of the Manning Award Stars of the Week and also earned his second straight conference weekly honor spot after leading the comeback against Georgia Tech. 

Barnett capped off the furious fourth-quarter rally with consecutive touchdown runs and his second straight four-score outing included a pair of TD passes. The first-year Bull currently ranks eighth nationally in points responsible for (8 TDs) and 21^st in total offense (314.5 ypg).

"I think Blake's presence here has really helped this football team," Strong said. "You get a guy like Blake, who came in and guys have just really taken him in. He's not arrogant, he's not cocky, he's just one of them. I think when guys see that in him, being a quarterback, then it kind of just sprinkles through the whole team."

Using his team-first approach, Barnett has shown a great ability to spread the love, throwing touchdown passes to five different receivers already this season.
 
Hard-Working Horne Puts the Special in Special Teams
Head coach Charlie Strong first caught a glimpse of Terrence Horne Jr.'s blazing speed in May, when the freshman receiver/return specialist sent a clip of his Florida 4A state 100-meter championship run.

"He won it from lane 1, which is very unusual for that to happen," Strong said. "If he did that, he can really fly."

Strong finally got to see Horne's speed in person at fall camp as he ran vertical routes past defenders.

"You kept watching him and he kept making plays like that at practice," Strong said. "I said, 'We've just got to find a way to give him the ball.'"

USF did just that against Georgia Tech and the result was a three-score performance by Horne, who matched the NCAA game record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns from 98 and 97 yards out. The former Miramar (Fla.) High School multi-sport standout also set new USF, conference records with 264 total kickoff return yards.

Horne was recognized for his outstanding game being named The American's special teams player of the week, a Paul Hornung Award national honor roll member and a College Football Performance Awards Honorable Mention Performer of the Week.

Just don't expect any boasting from this young, level-headed Bull.

"He's got so much respect for our vets," Strong said. "He just smiles, he doesn't say much at all. He just goes about the work."

Know the Foe
Illinois (2-0) cruised past Western Illinois, 34-14, last week, which added to its hot start in the third season under head coach Lovie Smith.

Smith, who led the Buccaneers from 2014-15, got a great relief performance from freshman quarterback M.J. Rivers II after starter A.J. Bush Jr.'s injury in the second quarter. Rivers (6-4, 215) led the Illini on consecutive touchdown drives and threw two touchdown passes in his first collegiate game.

"They lose their quarterback and then they come back with Rivers," Strong said. "So now, just at the quarterback position, you're looking at a guy who has really good size to him."

So does the Illini O-line with starting players averaging 6-feet-4 and 308 pounds across the board. Behind that wall of big men, Illinois is averaging 258.5 rushing yards per game (5.4 ypc) and already has five touchdowns on the ground.

"They're a big, Big Ten team," Strong said.

On the other side of the ball, Illinois' defense forced three turnovers last week and ranks ninth nationally in average turnover margin (2.00). Sophomore linebacker Jake Hanson is operating well in the Illini's multiple defensive scheme, ranking second nationally with 3.0 tackles for loss per game.
 
Bulls Bits

• STRONG, BULLS GRATEFUL FOR DR. GENSHAFT: Strong used part of Monday's press conference to pay tribute to USF System President Judy Genshaft, who announced on Monday her decision to step down from her position, effective July 1, 2019. "Her imprint will always be on this university with what she's done for it," Strong said. "You hate to see her leave because of what she's done and the passion she has. She loves not only the student-athletes, but all the students on this campus."
• 'UNBELIEVABLE' MCGEE: Linebacker Khalid McGee (Miami) was named conference defensive player of the week by College Sports Madness after making nine tackles (seven solo) against Georgia Tech. "McGee played unbelievable that game," Strong said. "I think the second or third play, they flipped him on his head and he bounced up. He just came back and just made a ton of tackles. Up to this point, McGee leads USF with 20 total tackles after registering a new career high with 11 against Elon, which was his first game starting at linebacker.
• MOST SUCCESSFUL ERA: USF is in the midst of its most successful run in program history (31-9 since 2015) and that includes 30 wins in the past 36 games. The Bulls are 18-3 at Raymond James Stadium over the past four seasons and they've won 10 of their past 11 non-conference games (both home and away).

 
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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