Keys to Victory: Start with containing the return game
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 (PDF)
By Joey Johnston
Earlier this week, as USF special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato hurried to a staff meeting, an observer brought up a major concern for Saturday night's homecoming game against the No. 20-ranked Houston Cougars.
Da Prato stopped the statement in mid-sentence and smiled knowingly.
He assured the observer he was well aware of the threat looming for the Bulls' kick coverage unit and the Bulls had a plan to handle it.
Of course, that's easier said than done. When USF (2-6, 1-3 AAC) faces the first-place Cougars (7-1, 5-0 AAC) at Raymond James Stadium, there are many problems areas to address. Houston has one of the nation's best defenses (fourth in total defense, No. 1 in third-down defense). It has an explosive offense and a quarterback (Clayton Tune) who passed for a career-high 412 yards and four touchdowns in last week's 44-37 victory against previously unbeaten and top 25-ranked SMU.
But cornerback Marcus Jones, the nation's top kick returner and one of the best in NCAA history, is the kind of player who causes sleepless nights for coaches. Jones, whose 100-yard kickoff return with 17 seconds remaining beat SMU, tied an NCAA record with his ninth career touchdown return (six kickoffs, three punts).
Jones, who began his college career at Troy University, is averaging 47.7 yards (not a misprint) on six kickoff returns and 15.1 yards on 19 punt returns.
The easiest alternative would be for USF place-kicker Spencer Shrader to boom every kickoff through the end zone (he has 26 touchbacks on 38 kickoffs) and punter Andrew Stokes to angle every punt toward the sideline. USF coach Jeff Scott acknowledged that Jones' presence creates a dilemma.
A pooch kick or sky kick could give Houston advantageous field position. A squib kick could be pitched back to Jones and potentially ruin USF's coverage timing and tackling. The only safe decision might be to avoid Jones completely.
Regardless of the USF vs. Marcus Jones cat-and-mouse game, one thing appears certain. USF's special teams have been a major strength all season, a unit that can be trusted with difficult jobs.
Shrader has made every field-goal attempt (9-for-9) and point-after (22-for-22), while Stokes has averaged 40 yards per boot with six of 50-yards-plus. The Bulls have not allowed any touchdowns on kickoff or punt returns. Brian Battie scored on a 100-yard kickoff return against Tulsa, while wide receiver Xavier Weaver, the team's leading receiver and big-play threat, is averaging 14.7 yards on seven punt returns.
When the Bulls needed a punt returner in the preseason, Weaver answered Scott's call and raised his hand. It was that easy. Now Weaver has found another way to impact the game.
"Special teams are interesting … and very important,'' Weaver said. "You can get a lot of hidden yards and that can make the difference in winning and losing.''
Scott said USF's special teams have been the team's most effective unit this season and that's a great sign. Why?
"Special teams doesn't get first pick of players,'' Scott said. "When you have a rebuilding team, thin in some spots, the group that suffers the most is special teams because you're putting your best players on offense and defense.
"But if you have consistency with special teams, that's going to keep you in games. If you're not consistent with special teams, you can lose games really quickly with blocked punts, kickoff returns for touchdowns or not being able to make field goals. I give Coach Da Prato a lot of credit in getting the team to buy into special teams when it's not as popular or maybe as fun. But it affects everybody.''
And it certainly affects the USF-Houston matchup.
There are many variables that could position the Bulls for an upset. Quarterback Timmy McClain likely returns to the lineup after missing the game at East Carolina and must raise his productivity. USF's defense has to figure out a better method to get off the field on third-down situations.
But special teams remain one of the biggest keys. The performance can't waver, particularly with Jones lurking as a potential red-flag on every kick return.
Throwback Helmet
USF Football is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2021. The program first took the field in 1997 at sold out Tampa Stadium. For the homecoming game, USF will wear a throwback helmet incorporating the "Robo Bull" logo that USF wore on its helmets for its first seven seasons from 1997-2003. USF wore gold helmets with an all black logo from 1997-2003. For the throwback helmet, the logo was placed oversized in gold on a matte white helmet, and the "Robo Bull" logo red eye was accentuated. The eye did not previously appear on the helmet logo – which was all black – but was part of the logo when used in other locations.
Welcome Home Quinton Flowers
USF has been honoring former Bulls greats at home games this season, including recent appearances by quarterback Matt Grothe and wide receiver Jessie Hester. This week, quarterback Quinton Flowers, who led the Bulls to a pair of 10-win seasons and bowl game victories over Power 5 opponents, will be recognized following the conclusion of the first quarter. Flowers owns 42 USF records and finished his career as one of just four players in FBS football history to post more than 8,000 yards and passing and 3,500 yards rushing.
The USF-Houston Series
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 finished 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.
Houston's last trip to Ray Jay had a haunting finish. On Oct. 28, 2017, the Bulls were ranked 17th nationally and entered the game at 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.
In last season's meeting at Houston, the Cougars prevailed 56-21.
Connections
* Houston's running backs coach is Marquel Blackwell, the St. Petersburg native and former USF quarterback who was 30-12 as a Bulls' starter from 1999-2002. Blackwell still has USF's career record for passing yards (9,108).
* Houston has two players from Florida — sophomore offensive lineman Reuben Unije of Bradenton and sophomore Nathaniel Dell of Daytona Beach.
* USF's lone Texan — defensive back Will Jones II — suffered a season-ending knee injury two days before the season-opener.
Trivia Time
Besides the seven matchups against USF, Houston has faced five other teams from the state of Florida. Can you name them? (Answer below).
Looking Ahead
After Saturday night's matchup against Houston, USF will face another nationally ranked team, the No. 2 Cincinnati Bearcats, on Friday night at Ray-Jay (ESPN2, 6 p.m.).
Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0), which hosts Tulsa on Saturday afternoon after hosting ESPN's College GameDay in the morning, will become the highest-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision team to face USF in Tampa. The Bulls played at No. 2 Oklahoma in 2002.
USF is 1-1 against top 5-ranked FBS teams in Tampa, defeating No. 5 West Virginia 21-13 in 2007 and falling to No. 4 Florida State 30-17 in 2012.
The Bearcats, who are 40-5 since the start of the 2018 season and 21-1 all-time as a top-10 team, are one of six remaining unbeaten FBS teams. Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder (1,847 yards, 18 touchdowns, just four interceptions) is a prime Heisman Trophy candidate. Running back Jerome Ford of Armwood High School, who played two seasons at Alabama before transferring to Cincinnati, has 864 rushing yards and an AAC-leading 14 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Bearcats, who lead the nation in pass-efficiency defense (88.3) and have allowed only four touchdown passes this season, feature a pair of Jim Thorpe Award semifinalists in cornerbacks Ahmad Gardner and Coby Bryant. Bearcats' linebacker Darrian Beavers is a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.
USF is 7-11 all-time against Cincinnati with three straight defeats, including a 28-7 road loss in 2020, but 5-4 against the Bearcats in Tampa.
Trivia Answer
Besides USF, the Houston Cougars have played games against five other state of Florida teams — the Florida Gators, the Florida State Seminoles, the Miami Hurricanes, the UCF Knights and … the University of Tampa Spartans.
On Oct. 29, 1966, Houston defeated UT 48-9 at the 2-year-old Astrodome. The Spartans dropped football following the 1974 season.
