USF HEALTH, Making Victory Possible: Offense looks to control the ball
USFÂ (1-3; 0-0 American)Â at SMUÂ (4-0; 0-0 American)
Saturday, Oct. 2 • 4:00 P.M. • Dallas, Texas • Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000)
SURFACE:Â FieldTurf
TV:Â ESPNU: Mike Couzens (p-by-p) &Â Dustin Fox (analyst)Â
ESPN+
RADIO:Â 1250 AM WHNZ
AUDIO STREAM:Â iHeartRadio - Bulls Unlimited1
SERIES:Â USF leads, 3-2
IN TAMPA:Â SMU leads, 2-1
IN DALLAS:Â USF leads, 2-0
LAST:Â SMU won, 48-21, in Tampa in 2019
AAC ROAD:Â 15-17, lost last 5
AAC OPENERS:Â 5-3, lost last 2
GAME NOTES
LIVE STATS
By Joey Johnston
Dallas, Texas, Oct. 2, 2021 — The Bulls (1-3) didn't get the victory in last week's 35-27 defeat at BYU. But in the second half, they found a winning formula and it might be what it takes to upend the high-flying SMU Mustangs (4-0) in this afternoon's American Athletic Conference opener.
After the Cougars exploited USF's beleaguered defense with a three-touchdown first-quarter blitz and a 21-0 advantage, the game changed. With efficiency from true freshman quarterback Timmy McClain and hard-nosed running from Jaren Mangham (26 carries, 86 yards), the Bulls' offense began finding success.
Then in the second half, the game really changed. USF had three time-consuming drives that ended in three touchdowns, making it a one-possession game with 5:50 to play. With no timeouts remaining, coach Jeff Scott opted for an onside kick, but it bounced out of bounds giving possession to BYU, which ran out the clock.
USF's defense has been slammed by injuries, especially in the secondary. Depth has become a major issue — only 16 USF defensive players were available against BYU — and poor tackling has also been a problem.
Bulls defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer, looking for solutions, reintroduced live tackling during some practice periods and worked to elevate the roles of several young players, who may have previously been headed for a redshirt season or scout-team duty.
But the biggest help for USF's defense? It's probably the Bulls' offense, which can aid the cause by controlling the clock, shortening the game and allowing the short-handed defense to preserve its strength.
"Being able to run the ball, stay ahead of the chains and not find ourselves in third-and-long situations, that has been in our best interest,'' USF coach Jeff Scott said. "When you have a young, developing quarterback, your short and intermediate passing and the screen game are friends to that young quarterback, along with picking times for your shots.
"It's not a situation where you're saying, 'Well, we could score if we run this, but we don't want to score yet.' That's not the situation at all. But there's no doubt we have more depth on the offensive side right now. We feel a lot better about keeping our offense on the field, shortening the game down a little bit and keeping the defense off the field as much as we can. If we could've done that earlier (against BYU), we obviously could have had a different result.''
It's in every team's best interest to keep SMU's offense off the field. The Mustangs, coming off a 42-34 victory against rival TCU, are averaging 43 points and 549.8 yards per game. Quarterback Tanner Mordecai has passed for 1,268 yards and an FBS-leading 20 touchdown passes. Running back Ulysses Bentley IV is averaging 7.8 yards per carry, while wide receivers Danny Gray and Rahsee Rice each have five touchdown receptions.
In USF's case, the best defense might be a good offense.
"For sure, our No. 1 goal is we want to play fast, but I want to win, whatever it takes,'' said USF offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. "We don't need to play totally slow, just a normal tempo, slowing it down at times. It's overall managing the game.
"Our defense is banged-up with a bunch of injuries, so we don't want a 14 or 15 possession game (for SMU's offense). An eight-possession game is more of what we want it to be.''
That's how it was against BYU. McClain wasn't perfect, but he made plenty of good decisions and delivered the ball to the right spots. Mangham was ultra-reliable.
"He (Mangham) finishes runs going forward,'' Weis said. "He gets hit at 2 yards and gets 6 yards. There's an arm tackle and he gets 5 or 6 yards. He handled the moment well. He's a tough dude to tackle.''
USF won the second half 21-7 and Spencer was lamenting the what-might-have-been emotions had his unit played just a bit better.
"We keep searching for answers,'' Spencer said. "As a coach, I want it all fixed. There's a lot of anxiety and a lot of desire on my part and the kids' parts to (get it right). As coaches, it's our job to get it out of them and keep improving every week.
"The first thing I did after the game was, I went right to the offensive side of the locker room and told them they did a tremendous job. I don't know if I've ever been around an offense that took over like they did in the second half. They did what we needed to do to win the game. They gave us a chance. I don't know if anybody in the nation could've done that any better.''
Previous meetings
USF leads 3-2 in the series against SMU and won both meetings in Dallas (14-13 in 2014, 35-27 in 2016).
In the last meeting, SMU defeated USF 48-21 in Tampa during the 2019 season. The Mustangs rolled to a 41-0 advantage with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter. SMU collected 10 sacks against USF quarterbacks and twice intercepted Jordan McCloud.
Connections
Well, there's this: First-year SMU defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was USF's first head coach (1997-2009). Yep, the Mother of All Connections. That being said, Leavitt is just a name in history to most USF players. He has coached in the NFL and with five colleges since leaving the Bulls. There are still a handful of USF staffers — including team chaplain David Lane — who were brought on by Leavitt.
USF has one Texan on its roster — junior place-kicker Jared Sackett (Fort Worth). SMU has one Floridian — junior defensive end Nelson Paul (Flagler Palm Coast).
After last week's 19-play, 94-yard touchdown drive at BYU, it prompted memories of USF's first trip to SMU in 2014. That trip marked the Bulls longest drive by plays as USF won 14-13 on a touchdown pass from Mike White to Andre Davis with four seconds to play, culminating a 21-play, 75-yard march.
Trivia time
SMU is among seven Texas-based programs that USF has played in its 25-season football history. Can you name the others? (Answer below).
Looking ahead
After a bye week, the Bulls return home to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-4) on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Raymond James Stadium. Tulsa, beaten at home on Friday night by Houston, 45-10, has had a rough start to the season, which began with a 19-17 defeat against FCS opponent UC-Davis. There were also road losses against Oklahoma State (28-23) and Ohio State (41-20).
Tulsa has one of the AAC's most productive quarterbacks in junior Davis Brin (293.4 passing yards per game). But after posting the nation's 19th-ranked defense in last season's COVID-reduced slate (6-3) and playing in the AAC Championship Game (losing 27-24 against Cincinnati), Tulsa has surrendered an average of 398.2 yards in five games.
Tulsa will play at Ray Jay for the second straight season, prevailing 42-13 in 2020. That was USF's first-ever defeat against the Golden Hurricane. The Bulls captured the first three games in the series, including a madcap fourth-quarter rally and a walk-off field goal by Coby Weiss to win 25-24.
Trivia answer
Besides SMU, the Bulls have faced six other Texas-based football programs. They have shared a conference with Houston and TCU. They faced Texas Tech in the 2017 Birmingham Bowl. They played North Texas, Texas State and UTEP in the regular season. (Additionally, USF played in a Texas-based bowl game, facing Oregon in the 2007 Sun Bowl).
