Keys to Victory: Battle of Freshman Quarterbacks
USF (2-8; 1-5 American) at Tulane (1-9; 0-6 American)
Saturday, Nov. 20 • 12:00 P.M. • New Orleans, La., • Yulman Stadium (30,000)
SURFACE: Artificial
TV: ESPN+: Jack Benjamin (p-by-p) & Brian Kinchen (analyst)
RADIO: 95.3 FM WDAE
AUDIO STREAM: iHeartRadio - Bulls Unlimited1
SERIES: Tied, 1-1
IN TAMPA: Tulane leads, 1-0
IN NEW ORLEANS: USF leads, 1-0
LAST: Tulane won, 41-15, in Tampa in 2018
STREAK: Lost 7 straight road conference games, last win coming Oct. 26, 2019 at ECU (45-20)
GAME NOTES (PDF)
By Joey Johnston
Saturday afternoon at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans is about pride. The Bulls (2-8, 1-5 AAC) and Tulane Green Wave (1-9, 0-6 AAC) are shooting for better times in 2022, but they are definitely not just playing out the string.
Both teams have been feisty.
USF battled gamely in home meetings against No. 20-ranked Houston (54-42) and No. 2 Cincinnati (42-28), arguably the two best teams in the American Athletic Conference.
Tulane let one get away, falling at UCF 14-10 in the final minute. Then it really let one get away, missing a 26-yard chip-shot field-goal attempt with four seconds to play and eventually losing against Tulsa 20-13 in overtime.
So, here's a game of similarities. Two teams that had higher hopes. Two teams that played rigorous schedules. Two teams seeking a big bounce into the offseason.
Here's the winning edge: Both teams are led by true freshman quarterbacks — Timmy McClain for USF, Michael Pratt for Tulane. Who plays better on Saturday afternoon? That could decide things.
If that's the case, the Bulls feel good about their chances because McClain is growing into an electrifying difference-maker.
After being shut out in the opener against NC State and scoring 20 points against Florida, USF is averaging 31 points in the seven games started by McClain. In the four games McClain has started since the Oct. 9 bye week, USF is averaging 33.8 points. Freshman Katravis Marsh played the whole way in an Oct. 28 rain storm at East Carolina (29-14 defeat) when McClain was injured.
There's a growing national buzz surrounding McClain. Former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Andre Ware, an ESPN analyst, calls McClain "the next one.''
"I've watched plenty of film on this guy and couldn't get enough of it,'' Ware said on the ESPN2 telecast of USF-Cincinnati. "He is as accurate on the run as he is standing still. … He is a 'sick' player that we are going to talk about for a very long time. … He has the ability to make the game look easy. … He is why guys are going to come from the state of Florida and other recruits, too, to play alongside Timmy McClain because he is that good.''
McClain, a left-hander, leads USF in explosive plays (15-plus yards) with 26, including three runs. He led scoring drives of 94, 75, 69, 62 and 54 in a deafening din at BYU. He had a career-best 335 total yards against Houston. He engineered a 16-play, 98-play touchdown drive against Cincinnati.
And all while displaying the poise, escapability and dart-throwing accuracy not normally seen from a player who was playing high-school ball last season.
"I'm not real surprised because I've seen it all year in practice,'' head coach Jeff Scott said. "With a freshman quarterback, I've been through it with talented players like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence (at Clemson). With players like that, they don't make the same mistakes as they made in the last game. They only have to see it one time. Their confidence keeps growing and they keep getting better.
"Every time Timmy has the ball, I think something good is going to happen. I think the (opposing) defense feels the same way. For us to be where we want to be, with a chance to win our conference, you've got to have an older quarterback, someone who has been through some battles and has some experience. As we're building this thing, all these experiences are going to pay off for Timmy and our entire team.''
Now it's time for McClain and the Bulls to experience something new — a conference road victory. It hasn't happened since Oct. 26, 2019, when the Bulls won at East Carolina.
"I see the exact same thing everybody else does, that we are (improving),'' McClain said. "We are rebuilding, but we are getting better each week. We have to keep getting better through the offseason and into next season. It's important for us to beat Tulane because that will give us a lot of confidence.''
The USF-Tulane Series
USF has only twice faced Tulane in football — a 34-28 victory at New Orleans in 2017 and a 41-15 defeat at Raymond James Stadium in 2018. The Bulls entered the 2018 game with a 6-1 record, but suffered three turnovers and five sacks, while Tulane put the game away by scoring 34 unanswered points.
Connections
* Tulane has seven Floridians, including starting quarterback Michael Pratt, a freshman from Boca Raton.
* USF has one player from Louisiana — junior offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs from Gonzales, La., a transfer from Grambling State University.
* USF athletics has shared three conference homes with Tulane — the Metro Conference (1991-95), Conference USA (1995-2005) and now the American Athletic Conference (2013-present).
Trivia Time
Tulane's best football season was 1998, when the Green Wave rolled to a 12-0 mark, won the Liberty Bowl (beating Brigham Young 41-27) and finished No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. Who was the quarterback? Who was the head coach? (Answers listed below).
Looking Ahead
After facing Tulane, USF will complete its season on Black Friday with the annual "War On I-4'' game against the UCF Knights in Orlando.
The Knights (6-4, 4-3 heading into Saturday's home non-conference game against UConn) have gone 4-4 after winning the season's first two games, including last week's 55-28 road defeat at SMU.
The Knights turned to true freshman Mikey Keene (1,263 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions) at quarterback after a final-play injury to Dillon Gabriel at Louisville on Sept. 17. Wide receiver Jaylon Robinson, who had missed five games due to injury, has returned to the lineup.
UCF has won the last four meetings to even the series 6-6, including last season's 58-46 triumph at Raymond James Stadium when the teams combined for 1,223 yards, 104 points and 14 touchdowns. USF quarterback Jordan McCloud completed 32-of-46 passes for a career-high 404 yards and four touchdowns. The Bulls got 100-yard rushing efforts from Kelley Joiner (116) and Brian Battie (102).
Trivia Answer
Tulane's 1998 quarterback was Shaun King, the St. Petersburg native who took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the 2000 NFC Championship Game as a rookie, then became an assistant coach at USF. King led the nation in passing efficiency (183.3 with a 68.0 completion percentage, 36 touchdowns, six interceptions and 3,232 passing yards). King also finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting. Tulane's 1998 head coach was Tommy Bowden, who left the Green Wave to take over at Clemson following the season.
