Keys To Victory: Run Game, Rain & Rowdies at Dowdy
USF (2-5; 1-2 American) at ECU (3-4; 1-2 American)
Thursday, Oct. 28 • 7:30 P.M. • Greenville, N.C. • Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000)
SURFACE: Tifway Bermuda
TV: ESPN: Matt Barrie (p-by-p) &
Roddy Jones (analyst) & Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline)
RADIO: 95.3 FM WDAE
AUDIO STREAM: iHeartRadio - Bulls Unlimited1
SERIES: USF leads, 9-2
IN TAMPA: USF leads, 3-2
IN GREENVILLE: USF leads, 5-0
NEUTRAL: USF leads, 1-0 ('06 Papa Johns Bowl)
LAST: ECU won, 44-24, in Tampa in 2020
STREAK: USF has won 5 of last 6 meetings
GAME NOTES
By Joey Johnston
GREENVILLE, N.C. — The Bulls (2-5, 1-2) must emphasize their strong, record-setting running game to defeat the East Carolina Pirates (3-4, 1-2) in Thursday night's ESPN showcase game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Why? Let us count the ways.
Rain is in the forecast. An 80 percent chance of thunderstorms at game time. If Jaren Mangham's USF white-on-white uniform is covered in slick mud by the fourth quarter, that's a good sign.
There's uncertainty at quarterback. Freshman Timmy McClain, who suffered a sprained ankle and didn't play during the second half of USF's 34-14 victory against Temple on Saturday night, is a game-time decision. That could leave the work for Katravis Marsh or Cade Fortin.
Most importantly, it plays to USF's offensive strengths. With a veteran offensive line and a Mangham-led stable of backs – including Kelley Joiner Jr. and Brian Battie who have both logged 100-yard games his season – the Bulls can impose their will on defenses. They move the chains. They control the clock. And that gives USF's defense, under fire with depth and injury issues all season, an opportunity to breathe.
And there's this:
"Thursday night games are hard regardless (of the opponent) for coaches and players who are used to having six days for prep, then having it forced down to three-and-a-half days,'' Bulls coach Jeff Scott said. "In my experience, the cleaner and tighter the game plan, the simpler the game plan, the better chance you have.
"If you go out and do too much, you aren't able to practice everything. If in doubt, cut stuff out. Let's be simple. Let's know what we're doing. Let our guys go and play. I believe they'll be playing with confidence coming off last week.''
Against Temple, the Bulls set program records for rushing yards (421), rushing first downs (27) and time of possession (44:35). Mangham had a career-high 152 yards and scored two touchdowns (the sixth consecutive game he found the end zone), while Joiner Jr. raced for a career-high 126 yards.
"We have a lot of confidence in our running game,'' Scott said. "Ultimately, each game you look at the opponent and figure out the best game plan. Against Temple, we felt we should be able to run the ball. We challenged our offensive-line group to take over and they did.
"East Carolina is a different defense. We're not going to be able to line up and run the ball every play with the way they blitz. They commit a lot of guys to the box. We're going to have to be balanced, running it and throwing it.''
If it's up to USF's offensive linemen, there's no question about the strategy. Bulls center Brad Cecil described the Temple victory as "big-boy football.'' That sounds good to offensive tackle Donovan Jennings.
"My kind of game,'' Jennings said. "Put it on our shoulders. I think we can continue to run the ball. I think we can break the (rushing) record again. We want to make a statement with how we run the ball and I think we did.''
USF would also like to make a statement with a powerful Thursday night performance. The Bulls were 1-11 on Thursday nights at one point, but have since won five of their last seven. With most college football fans, players and coaches tuning into ESPN, it's an opportunity for USF to showcase its program after coming off Scott's initial AAC victory.
It's also "Paint It Black'' night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Fans are being asked to wear black — or Halloween costumes — as ECU attempts to break its all-time student attendance record (11,395 in 2016).
"A lot of that stuff, you can't worry about,'' ECU coach Mike Houston said. "I really hope we have a great home crowd … and we really need the students to turn out. But that other stuff is kind of the outside of the realm of the locker room kind of stuff. We've got to focus on South Florida.''
USF can say the same thing.
Thursday night's game will go to the team that is best locked-in and focused on a night where there should be plenty of potential distractions. If USF can lean on an effective running game, all the better.
The USF-ECU Series
USF leads 9-2 in the series against ECU, but the Pirates prevailed 44-24 last season in Tampa.
The Bulls are 5-0 against the Pirates in Greenville, N.C. Some highlights:
2002: Marquel Blackwell passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns — still a USF record touchdown pass record — in a 46-30 victory.
2003: USF held on for a 38-37 double-overtime victory when the tying point-after attempt by ECU's Cam Broadwell was partially blocked and fluttered wide left. The Bulls had built a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. Santiago Gramatica kept USF alive with a 40-yard field goal to finish the first OT.
2015: Quinton Flowers hit Rodney Adams on a 67-yard touchdown pass in the rain with 4:40 remaining to give the Bulls a 22-17 victory.
2017: USF rolled up 575 yards and romped 61-31. D'Ernest Johnson rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
2019: Jordan Cronkrite rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulls prevailed 45-20 in what would be Charlie Strong's final victory as USF head coach.
Connections
* ECU offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler was USF's offensive line coach from 2010-12, when the Bulls led the Big East Conference in rushing offense and fewest sacks allowed.
* ECU cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis was the defensive backs coach on Charlie Strong's 2019 USF staff.
* The Pirates have seven players from Florida (three from Orlando).
* USF has two players from North Carolina, both freshmen — running back Daylan Felton and offensive lineman Uriah Greene.
Trivia Time
When USF won its first bowl game, defeating East Carolina 24-7 on Dec. 23, 2006 in Birmingham, Ala., who was the ECU head coach? (Answer below).
Looking Ahead
After facing ECU, the Bulls will return to Raymond James Stadium for their Nov. 6 homecoming game against the Houston Cougars (6-1, 4-0). By the time that game rolls around, Houston will have a better handle on its fortunes because it will host the SMU Mustangs (7-0, 3-0) in an AAC first-place battle on Saturday night.
The Cougars, coming off last Saturday night's 31-24 overtime victory against ECU, have won six straight games after dropping their opener against Texas Tech, 38-21. It's Houston's longest winning streak since an eight-game string that spanned the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Cougars are paced by running back Alton McCaskill (463 yards, nine touchdowns), but the real player to watch could be cornerback Marcus Jones, who has scored on three returns (two punts, one kickoff) this season.
USF is 2-5 all-time against Houston — with five straight defeats and no victories since 2002. That was a 32-14 decision at Houston's old Robertson Stadium, when the Bulls were finishing their final FBS independent season before joining Conference USA.
The win against Houston gave USF a 4-0 record that season against C-USA teams. It was also the final USF game for quarterback Marquel Blackwell — now Houston's running backs coach — who still holds the Bulls' career records for passing yards (9,108), QB starts (42) and QB victories (30, tied with Quinton Flowers).
Houston's last trip to Ray Jay had a haunting finish. On Oct. 28, 2017, the Bulls were ranked 17th nationally and entered 7-0. But Houston prevailed 28-24 on a 20-yard run by sophomore quarterback D'Eriq King with 11 seconds remaining. It was the only time USF trailed in the game. Houston's game-winning drive was kept alive by a 30-yard completion from King to Courtney Lark on fourth-and-24.
Trivia Answer
Skip Holtz was ECU's head coach when USF won its first bowl game by defeating the Pirates 24-7 on Dec. 23, 2006 in Birmingham, Ala. Holtz was USF's head coach from 2010-12.
