Bulls Look to Bounce Back Saturday at UConn
NEXT GAME: USF (1-3, 0-1) at UConn (1-3, 0-1)
DAY/TIME: Saturday/noon
LOCATION: Pratt & Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, Conn.
TV/RADIO: TBA/USF Radio Network:
Over the Air: WDAE 95.3 FM/ 620 AM &
Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: USF leads, 11-5 (Bulls won last meeting at home, 38-30, in 2018)
GAME NOTES: USF
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, SEPT. 30, 2019 – Head coach
Charlie Strong's Bulls look to get back on track in the program's first conference road game of the season Saturday at UConn.
"We're on the road up there and we're gonna have to go play well because they've played good at home," Strong said Monday. "We gotta have our best and be ready to go."
UConn (1-3, 0-1 in AAC) is 1-1 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium this year. After opening the season with a 24-21 win over Wagner, the Huskies had the ball and a chance to at least tie the game up with a little more than three minutes remaining in a 31-23 home loss to Illinois in Week 2.
The Bulls look to continue a seven-game win streak over UConn and have an 11-5 lead on the Huskies since the first meeting between the programs in 2000. Close games have been a constant theme in the series that features an average margin of victory of 8.3 points. USF owns the most lopsided win in the series (37-20 at UConn in 2017), which marked just the fourth Bulls-Huskies clash that has been decided by more than eight points.
"We're gonna have to play really good on defense. When the opportunities come, we're gonna have to make plays. We're gonna have some guys that need to step up," Strong said. "Offensively, we're gonna have to move the football. We're gonna have to get first downs, which will generate into big plays and touchdowns for us. Right now, we gotta get it on track."
Strong noted USF has responded well since the loss to
newly ranked No. 24 SMU (5-0) last Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.
"We practiced yesterday. They came out and they had a good practice. They want to win," Strong said. "They're searching for answers and they want answers. Once you watch that tape, then they can see it themselves. It's a total team effort."
Quarterback Update
Strong dished out some good news and provided details on a wait-and-see situation when it comes to USF's top two quarterbacks.
Redshirt freshman
Jordan McCloud made his second straight start against SMU but didn't play in the second half after suffering a wrist injury.
"He'll be able to go (Saturday)," Strong said. "It's on his throwing hand, but he's tough enough. He wants to go do it, so he'll be able to go get it done."
McCloud accounted for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in the first start of his career before a learning experience against SMU. The Tampa native was sacked six times and turned the ball over in the end zone on a 16-play, 77-yard drive that could have tied things up in the opening quarter.
"He's a redshirt freshman who just started his second game, so it's gonna (take) some time with him," Strong said. "I think that the more he sees it, the more looks that he gets at it, he's just gonna grow and he's gonna get better and better."
Senior
Blake Barnett was solid in his second-half relief effort, throwing three touchdown passes on three straight scoring drives of 75, 82 and 83 yards. The senior from Corona, Calif., totaled 222 yards through the air and toughed out an injury he suffered near the end of the game.
"We think he's nursing maybe a high-ankle (sprain), but we'll see where we're gonna be at the end of the week with him," Strong said.
Wilcox Record Book Watch
Mitchell Wilcox continues to work his way up the USF career charts.
The senior tight end needs 18 catches to become the 11
th Bull ever to get 100 in his career and 22 more to break into USF's all-time top 10. The 14
th career 1,000-yard receiver in program history is now up to 1,154 yards (13
th on career list). He's 72 yards shy of Jessie Hester (12
th, 1,226 yards) and needs 152 more receiving yards to move into USF's top 10 in that category.
Wilcox already owns USF tight end career records for receiving yards, receptions (82) and touchdown catches (9), one shy of the Bulls' top 10 among all players and three away from the top five.
Wilcox moved closer to those potential milestones while posting four receptions for a team-high 77 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown grab, during USF's 21-point second half against SMU.
"We moved the ball well, much better than the first half," said Wilcox after the game. "It was a good spark there."
Wilcox certainly gave the Bulls' offense a boost in 2018, setting new USF tight end season records with 43 receptions (second on the team) for 540 yards (third-best among USF receivers). The productive season also included a USF tight end game record of eight receptions for a career-high 109 yards in the win over Illinois at Soldier Field.
All that production put the three-time Mackey Award candidate in a good position for the pro level. Heading into this season, Wilcox was ranked fourth among senior tight end prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft by NFL.com Senior Analyst Gil Brandt.
Bulls Bits
- BULLS ON NATIONAL STAT CHARTS: USF totaled two more takeaways against SMU after setting the program's game record with eight against South Carolina State. The Bulls are currently tied for second nationally in turnovers gained (13), tied for third in fumbles recovered (7) and tied for sixth in turnover margin (1.5). USF also is tied for eighth in the FBS with six interceptions and tied for third in team tackles for loss with 9.8 per game.
MACON STOPS OFTEN: Graduate transfer linebacker Patrick Macon ranks third in The American with 7.5 tackles per game and he's tied for third in tackles for loss per outing (1.5). The Memphis, Tenn., native has led the team in tackles twice this season, including the season opener when he racked up 15 stops against now No. 8/9 Wisconsin.- BYU GAME TIME SET: USF's homecoming game against BYU at Raymond James Stadium has been set for a 3:30 p.m. start on Saturday, Oct. 12. The first-ever meeting between the programs will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The next matchup in the series will take place Sept. 25, 2021 in Provo, Utah.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
Having completed just its 22nd season of football, and 19th 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 150th 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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– #GoBulls –
