Scott Sees Opportunity In Bulls' Final Four Games
USF (2-6; 1-3 American) vs #20/19 Houston (7-1; 5-0 American)
Saturday, Nov. 6 • 7:30 P.M. • Tampa, Fla. • Raymond James Stadium (65,857)
SURFACE: Tifway Bermuda
TV: ESPNU: Mike Couzens (p-by-p) & Dustin Fox (analyst)
RADIO: 95.3 FM WDAE
AUDIO STREAM: iHeartRadio - Bulls Unlimited1
SERIES: Houston leads, 5-2
IN TAMPA: Houston leads, 2-1
IN HOUSTON: Houston leads, 3-1
LAST: Houston won, 56-21, in Houston in 2020
STREAK: Houston has won 5 straight
HOMECOMING: 14-10, lost last
GAME NOTES
By Joey Johnston
Last weekend, as his team convened to dissect a frustrating defeat at East Carolina, Jeff Scott went to the board and wrote down the remainder of the Bulls' schedule.
No. 20 Houston
No. 2 Cincinnati
At Tulane
At Central Florida
"What do you see when you see this schedule?'' Scott asked his players. "People on the outside may see more of the same, more struggles. But what do you see?''
Scott paused.
"Personally, I see opportunity,'' he said. "I see an opportunity for this team to get a lot of the big-time wins we've been building for.''
That's the mindset Scott wants when the Bulls (2-6, 1-3 AAC) face the red-hot and first-place Houston Cougars (7-1, 5-0 AAC) in Saturday night's American Athletic Conference homecoming game at Raymond James Stadium (7:30 p.m. • ESPNU).
Houston has won seven straight games, including a riveting come-from-behind 44-37 victory against previously unbeaten SMU, so it's a formidable challenge. But Scott wants it no other way.
"The message to our team is, hey, we've got four games left in the (regular) season,'' Scott said. "We have made progress. We haven't turned that into the number of wins we wanted and expected.
"But this season will be based on how we finish. Everybody remembers November. Our next two games are at home against the top two teams in our league right now (Houston, Cincinnati). Many people may look at that and see challenges and adversity. I choose to see it as opportunity. I truly believe with the way this group has worked behind the scenes, pushing forward each and every day, there are going to be some good things ahead in the finish of the season. One of those (opportunities) is ahead of us on Saturday night.''
The Cougars are led by world-class return man Marcus Jones, whose 100-yard kickoff return beat SMU with 17 seconds remaining last Saturday. It was the ninth touchdown return of Jones' career, tying an NCAA record.
Meanwhile, Houston quarterback Clayton Tune had a career-high 412 passing yards and four touchdowns against the Mustangs.
But the real story is Houston's defense. The Cougars rank fourth nationally in total defense (286 yards allowed per game), while leading the nation in third-down conversion defense (25 percent) and team sacks (4.25 per game). The Cougars are 10th in rushing defense (96.1) and 18th in passing defense (189.9).
"This Houston team is playing with a lot of confidence and they have the best defense we've seen to this point,'' Scott said. "It's a big-time challenge.''
And a big-time opportunity.
Scott said he was more of a realist as a young assistant coach on Clemson's staff. But he will always remember Clemson's 2010 season, which produced a 6-7 record and a bowl defeat against USF. Scott said many observers wondered if coach Dabo Swinney was about to be fired. In a largely negative environment, Swinney proclaimed he was more convinced than ever that Clemson was about to begin the best decade in its football history.
And it happened. Clemson has had double-digit victories each season, along with two national championships.
Scott said Swinney's optimistic approach was contagious. Eventually, everyone became a believer.
"Really, where it starts is with the mindset,'' Scott said. "Part of my optimism about where we are right now is being around our players every day and seeing how they have changed their mindset, the way they show up every day and how it matters to them.
"They have a lot of pride and they want to see this thing get turned around … this year in the last four games, not next year. It's about being here, showing them the mistakes of why we lost the game, but it's also continuing the positive mindset of what we're doing. … It's not easy. It's hard. But what is the other choice? To have a negative mindset? A positive mindset is truly powerful and hopefully that's something that will help us moving forward.''
McClain Expected to Start
Scott said he expects freshman Timmy McClain to start at quarterback. After five straight starts, McClain suffered a sprained ankle and did not play the second half of a 34-14 victory against Temple on Oct. 23.
Scott said McClain could have played at ECU at less than 100 percent, but he opted to start freshman Katravis Marsh. Marsh was 15 of 30 for 192 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a rainy 29-14 defeat against the Pirates last Thursday night.
Scott said McClain was already "banged up'' against Temple and the ankle injury made things worse. Scott said it was in the team's best interest, especially on a short week, to rest McClain and give an opportunity to Marsh.
"Timmy was willing to play through some injuries and he didn't want to sit out,'' Scott said. "But I knew what our finishing schedule was going to look like. I knew we needed him to be full speed to give us a chance in some of those challenging games.
"I also really wanted Tray Marsh to get an opportunity because he has been performing so well in practice. Ultimately, I felt like with East Carolina being a blitzing, aggressive team, putting somebody (McClain) out there at not 100 percent in those conditions, I didn't think that was our best move.''
Turnovers Told The Tale
Scott said he was pleased with USF's three first-half takeaways, which helped to produce a 14-6 advantage at halftime. But Marsh threw three second-half interceptions, including a sideline pattern to DeMarcus Gregory that was picked off and returned for a 31-yard Pirate touchdown. That gave ECU a 19-14 lead it wouldn't lose.
Scott blamed himself and USF's coaching staff for the pick-six. ECU picked up on a tendency shown by the formation and the cornerback successfully gambled and jumped the pattern. Scott said the pattern had worked before, but the Bulls went to it once too often.
Scott said Marsh sailed his second interception over the head of an open receiver, while the third was thrown behind Xavier Weaver and tipped. Overall, though, Scott was most disappointed by the inability of USF's defense to get off the field at crucial times. The Pirates were 6-for-17 on third-down conversions and 5-for-6 on fourth-down conversions. Meanwhile, USF failed to convert any third-down situations (0-for-7).
Avoiding mistakes has been a major positive for McClain, who has 117 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the fifth-best mark in program history.
Another offensive positive has been the play of running back Kelley Joiner, who has consecutive 100-yard rushing games (103 at ECU and 126 against Temple). It could have been much more against the Pirates, but Joiner had a fourth-quarter 56-yard touchdown run negated by a holding penalty.
