Underdog Bulls Will Need Superb Play to Shock Irish Again
GAME 2 MATCHUP: USF (1-0) at No. 7/7 Notre Dame (1-0)
DAY & TIME: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind.
TV: USA Network
RADIO: Over the Air: 1250 AM WHNZ &
Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Bulls lead series, 1-0, after 23-20 win in South Bend in 2011
GAME NOTES: USF (PDF) |
Notre Dame (PDF)
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, SEPT. 17, 2020 –
Jeff Scott summed things up very well when he told reporters about his message to the Bulls heading into their tall task of trying to take down No. 7 Notre Dame in South Bend.
"Hey, we don't have to play perfect to win this game Saturday, but we're gonna have to play very, very well," said USF's first-year head coach, who has two career wins over the Irish as Clemson former co-offensive coordinator.
Bulls calling the shots on both sides of the ball echoed Scott's sentiments Wednesday while talking about what needs to be done to help the underdog Bulls to pull off a monumental upset, like the program's
2011 stunner at Notre Dame Stadium.
"You gotta play really well, so taking care of the football is No. 1," offensive coordinator
Charlie Weis Jr. said. "Then, we gotta take our chances and take some shots and make those plays down the field. It's gonna be really important to give us a chance."
Weis knows Notre Dame very well, spending five years in South Bend while his father served as head coach of the Irish from 2005-09. Returning to a place he still calls "home," and sidelines he used to stand on behind Charlie Sr., Weis would love to make a great impression as a coordinator who orchestrated USF's 302-yard rushing performance in the season opener.
"Obviously, we want to run the football just like we did in Week 1. Continuing to have that success will be key," said Weis, who ultimately seeks balance. "Having that run game success is great, but now we've gotta add some of that pass game to it and hitting some balls down the field."
Beating a Notre Dame team that has won 19 straight home games will require a stellar, all-around defensive effort as well against a new type of opponent for the Bulls.
Last week, coordinator
Glenn Spencer's group kept The Citadel's triple-option offense in check, forcing two turnovers, allowing zero touchdowns and limiting the Bulldogs to 3.7 yards per carry on 54 rushing attempts.
This week, the Bulls will face a loaded Notre Dame offense that runs
ACC Running Back of the Week Kyren Williams downhill behind a starting line averaging 308.8 pounds across the board. The Irish also have a bevy of big tight ends (all at least 6-4 and 235 pounds on depth chart) they utilize as both blockers and pass catchers. Don't be surprised to see multiple tight end packages Saturday, especially on running plays.
"All the 11, 12 and 13 personnel groupings they can get, it's a big challenge just of movement, of holding point, of playing gap control," Spencer said. "Fundamental deals you have to do. You have to play with leverage, try to keep a low pad and do the best you can and try to be as physical as you can."
Notre Dame also has playmaking targets at receiver for veteran quarterback Ian Book. Spencer called game planning for a mobile QB like Book, "a pain," because of his ability to accurately throw on the run. The grad student also has lots of knowledge reading defenses with 36 career games (23 starts) to his credit.
"You've gotta finish well. That will be the challenge," Spencer said. "Do your job and let's get as many people we can to the ball to finish, to just try to limit their big play capability that they have."
Depth a Big Plus for Bulls on Offense
Last Saturday's season opener showed fans – and coaches – that the Bulls have lots of players who can produce at numerous positions on offense.
Led by starter
Kelley Joiner Jr. (Clermont, Fla.), USF had five running backs combine for 236 yards (9.4 ypc) on a rainy night that saw the Bulls rush for a total of 302 yards (7.7 ypc), even with three veteran offensive line starters out.
"There's a whole bunch of guys back there that we can count on and I don't feel like there's much of a drop-off," said coordinator
Charlie Weis Jr. of USF's running back depth. "…I 'm really encouraged with how that group is and we have some quarterbacks who can run the ball well, too, so that always helps and makes you a little dangerous."
The game plan against The Citadel didn't involve much passing (25 attempts), but eight different receivers still recorded at least one catch on throws from three different quarterbacks.
"That was the plan going in – to play a good amount of players, see how they do, see how they handle it, so we can know going into the future who we can count on," Weis said.
Bulls Bits
THAD AN INSTANT HIT: Wofford transfer DT Thad Mangum (Piedmont, S.C.) totaled a career-high nine tackles last Saturday against The Citadel, his former conference foe, in his first USF game. "I'm glad that he had a good game against them," defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. "I'm just really impressed with Thad just being a guy at the point of contact, playing really well." Spencer especially liked Mangum's effort overall and particularly on one "huge" stop in particular. "He made a play from one hash on the far sideline on one of those options that got outside," Spencer said. "That's obviously one that we stressed and showed to the whole team. That's something we can build on."- MEKHI GETS BEST SAFETY GRADES: Junior Mekhi LaPointe (Seffner, Fla.) currently ranks as the highest-graded FBS safety in the nation in overall defense (94.3) and pass coverage (95.8), according to Pro Football Focus. Against The Citadel, LaPointe had an 18-yard return on USF's first interception of the season late in the fourth quarter and finished with four tackles (three solo). "It didn't surprise me because that's the way Mekhi has been practicing," Glenn Spencer said.
- SCOTT ON DOLLISON'S UNIQUE PLAY: Receiver Omarion Dollison (Columbia, S.C.) got a special shout-out from Coach Scott during Monday's USF Football Radio Show, two days after his historic play on special teams. In his season-opening Bulls debut, the freshman caught a botched Bulldogs punt while tiptoeing inside the end zone pylon, tying the record for the shortest punt return touchdown in NCAA history (0 yards). "When you're playing fast, then you have a chance to make those plays. That was a heads-up play, just to be able to turn around and catch the ball," said Scott of the "momentum play." "One of our keys on our plan to win is to make a difference on special teams. That was a huge play in the game and really got that extra touchdown on the board early there in the second quarter."
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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- #GoBulls –
