USF Athletics

'High-Spirited' Bulls Getting Ready for Battle With No. 17 Bearcats

November 12, 2019

NEXT GAME: USF (4-5, 2-3) vs. No. 17 Cincinnati (8-1, 5-0)
DAY/TIME: Saturday/7 p.m.
LOCATION: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV/RADIO: CBS Sports Network/USF Radio Network: Over the Air: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM & Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Cincinnati leads, 9-7; Bulls lead, 5-3, in Tampa
GAME NOTES: USF  (PDF)
 
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, NOV. 12, 2019 – Senior Day isn't until Nov. 23, but younger Bulls want to honor veteran teammates early by doing their part to ignite a late-season surge on Saturday.

"We've got three games left. We gotta get at least two of them to get to a bowl game," junior tight end Jacob Mathis (Tampa) said Tuesday. "I'd love to get all three of them."

USF's mission of making the postseason for a fifth straight year begins with a Salute to Service battle against the No. 17 Bearcats this weekend at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls are looking to bounce back from a Thursday night setback against Temple and they've been sticking together since the final whistle.

"This (locker room) is holding up a lot better than a lot of the outside people probably think," Mathis said. "People are still pretty high-spirited."

This week at the Morsani Complex, the Bulls are preparing to face a red-hot Cincinnati squad that hasn't lost since Sept. 7 at current No. 2 Ohio State. One place the Bearcats haven't won since 2011 is Tampa and the Bulls are determined to extend that skid to four games.

"Practice has been good," said sophomore defensive tackle Rashawn Yates (Port St. Lucie, Fla.). "(Today was) one of the highest-energy practices I think I've had since I've been here. Everybody is just trying to come together, regardless of what's happening."

Cronk Eyes Top 10
Following an explosive October, Jordan Cronkrite wants to accomplish more notable feats in the final month of the regular season.

Heading into Saturday, the senior back from Miami needs just 9 yards to move into a tie for 10^th on USF's all-time rushing list with Moise Plancher (1,739 yards, 2006-10).

"Hats off to everybody here. They kept me even-keeled here and just helped me push through," Cronkrite said. "It's a great feeling to know that I'm close to that achievement."

With 1,730 career rushing yards as a Bull, Cronkrite needs 88 more to jump all the way up to seventh on USF's career chart, a spot currently held by Darius Tice (1,817 yards, 2013-17).

Cronk boosted himself up the rushing list right away last season, racking up 1,121 yards in his first run with the Bulls. The third team all-conference pick by Phil Steele posted five 100-yard games a year after the former Florida Gator redshirted due to transfer rules.

"When I got here, I just kept my head down and continued to work," he said.

Despite a slow start to this season, Cronkrite kept pushing forward and it paid off last month. "Cronktober" included 511 rushing yards (127 ypg) and three 100-plus yard outings that helped the Bulls win three of four games.

"It's not my job to be Superman out there," he said. "It's just to do my job out there, and I just try to make everybody else better around me."

Trimmed-Down Mathis Turning Up the Production  
Tampa native Jacob Mathis came home to make an impact with the Bulls and that's exactly what he's doing in his second season with the program.

Averaging a team-best 16.25 yards per catch (minimum five receptions), the junior tight end currently ranks third on the squad with 195 receiving yards this season.

"It feels good," he said. "I just want to make the most of every opportunity I get. That's kind of how I've been going at it."

Mathis and fellow tight end Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) lead all USF receivers with six 20-plus yard catches apiece this season. Mathis has been able to move downfield much better this fall following a very transformational summer.

Weighing 255 pounds in the spring, Mathis said he's now down to about 235 thanks in part to receiving continuous support from associate head strength and conditioning coach Brandon Roberts.

"He was always checking on me and making sure I'm staying on top of what I said I'm trying to do," Mathis said. "He's probably a big reason I was able to get that done."

Part of Mathis' promise to Roberts, and himself, was saying no to cravings for fast and fried foods, along with soda and even juice. Instead, Mathis drank lots of water, opted for healthy smoothies, and stayed dedicated to USF's offseason conditioning program that included running in the 4 p.m. Florida heat.

"I had a really good camp and then everything is just falling into place from there," he said.

 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
Having completed just its 22^nd season of football, and 19^th at the FBS level, the USF football program has earned 10 bowl appearances, including a current run of four straight, and owns a record of 6-3 in bowl games. The Bulls have appeared in the national top 25 rankings in each of the past three seasons, including a program record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25, and in 2018 reached the program's 150^th win faster than any FBS program in state of Florida history. USF has posted a pair of 10-plus win seasons in the last three years, including a program-record 11 wins (11-2) in 2016, and logged 15 winning seasons overall. Since first taking the field in 1997, the USF program has reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings (2007), seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 29 earn first-team all-conference selection.
 
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