Bulls vs. Florida: Keys to Victory
USF (0-1; 0-0 American) vs #13/9 FLORIDA (1-0; 0-0 SEC)
Saturday, Sept. 11 • 1:00 P.M.
Raymond James Stadium (65,857)
TV: ABC: Bob Wischusen (p-by-p), Dan Orlovsky (analyst) & Kris Budden (sideline)
RADIO: 95.3 WDAE
AUDIO STREAM: iHeartRadio - Bulls Unlimited1
GAME NOTES
9/11 COMMEMORATIONS SATURDAY:
Bulls will wear a 9/11 helmet sticker
A moment of silence will be observed pregame
The USF and UF Bands will perform a 9/11 tribute together at halftime
By Joey Johnston
To take pressure off quarterbacks Cade Fortin and Timmy McClain, the USF Bulls must find ways to run effectively against the No. 13-ranked Florida Gators in Saturday afternoon's ABC-TV game at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bulls showed flashes in the season-opening 45-0 defeat at NC State. But after sophomore running back Darrian Felix dashed for 16 yards on the game's opening play, USF went three-and-out on five consecutive possessions. At that point, the Bulls were in catch-up mode and drifted away from their running plans.
USF offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. said he has confidence in the veteran offensive line, along with the four primary backs — Felix, Jaren Mangham (a transfer from Colorado), Kelley Joiner Jr. and Brian Battie. It might sound like "coach-speak,'' but Weis said the key to a consistent running game is better execution. He can hold up Felix's 16-yard game-opening run as a prime example.
Against NC State's base defense (three down linemen, cover-3 in the secondary), Weis went away from zone blocking and utilized a gap-scheme run. The right side of USF's offensive line, guard Demetris Harris and tackle Demontrey Jacobs, pulled to the left and effectively kicked out two Wolfpack linebackers, while tight end Mitchell Brinkman took care of the other. It opened a gaping hole and Felix took advantage of that.
Overall, USF rushed 32 times for 104 yards (3.2-yard average), which is sub-par on any occasion, particularly when compared to the rushing night of NC State (293 yards, 7.3 per-carry average).
Weis said USF's offensive line did a decent job of handling NC State's front, but penalties, turnovers and missed assignments contributed to the lack of offensive production. The O-line will need to up its game even more Saturday against the Gators, who feature Zach Carter (6-foot-4, 285 pounds), Antonio Valentino (6-3, 312) and Daquan Newkirk (6-3, 308) up front. Valentino (Penn State) and Newkirk (Auburn) are graduate transfers.
In reserve: Desmond Watson (6-5, 400), a world-class physical curiosity from Armwood High School.
"They have phenomenal defensive ends and tackles,'' Weis said. "They create havoc with TFLs (tackles for a loss) and sacks. We've got to find ways to slow them down with different run plays and pass plays. There are things you can do, but you have to execute them.
"We are confident in our ability to run the ball. It's a matter of us knowing some of the things we're doing good up front and for us as coaches, to stick to it and help out our quarterbacks a little bit.''
Stopping UF's quarterbacks
In UF's 35-14 victory against Florida Atlantic, the Gators rushed for 400 yards. Backup quarterback Anthony Richardson (160 rushing yards on seven carries) and starter Emory Jones (74 yards) were particularly elusive. Richardson was the first UF quarterback with a 100-yard rushing game since 2012 (Jeff Driskell).
"If you look at Emory's tape from last year, he was giving everybody trouble doing that (running) and Richardson is just the same,'' USF defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer said. "You've got to treat it like the Wildcat, another running back in the backfield.
"We don't have anybody on our scout team who can emulate that. We just tell the guy (scout-team QB) to take off, don't even think about throwing the ball, and find an open gap. They will get their yards, but can you keep it contained and bottled up, can you execute on critical situations and get off the field? That's our challenge.''
Spencer said depth is an issue (only 15 defensive players took eight or more snaps against NC State) and the tackling must improve (he counted 20 missed tackles against the Wolfpack).
"We as coaches have to get it out of them, make sure they are the best tacklers they can be,'' Spencer said. "They can't be somebody they're not, but they can be the best tacklers they can be and that's what we're trying to get done.''
Previous meeting
It's the second time for USF to face the Gators in football. On Sept. 12, 2010, the Gators prevailed 38-14 before 90,612 fans in Gainesville. Kickoff temperature was 89 degrees and the heat index was 103.
The Bulls began with a huge highlight. After the opening kickoff, USF mounted a 17-play, 96-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a 2-yard pass from sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels (now an offensive analyst on USF's staff) to tight end Andrew Ketchel.
On the drive, USF had nine straight rushing plays before attempting a pass. Daniels ran seven times for 38 of his team-high 107 rushing yards. After the game, Gators coach Urban Meyer described Daniels as a "stud'' and a "superstar.''
Ketchel, who lives in Tallahassee and is a partner with Capital City Consulting, has a framed photograph of his touchdown against the Gators in an arrangement with the gloves he wore that afternoon. "It's the biggest conversation starter I have,'' Ketchel said. "Of all the things I've done in my life, that was literally 10 seconds or less. But it's still the top thing people ask me about.''
Bulls vs. the SEC
USF is 2-5 all-time against SEC teams and both victories were overtime games — a 26-23 win at Auburn in 2007 and a 46-39 Birmingham Bowl triumph against South Carolina in 2016. Florida is the first SEC opponent to face USF at Raymond James Stadium.
Connections
* Weis was an offensive quality control coach at UF in 2011 (at age 18) and worked with wide receivers. Weis' father was UF's offensive coordinator that season.
* The Gators have seven players from Tampa.
* Both teams have Australian punters — USF's Andrew Stokes (Perth) and UF's Jeremy Crawshaw (New South Wales) — who both came through the ProKick Australia program. Stokes averaged 45.1 yards on eight punts against NC State. Crawshaw averaged 49.0 yards on two punts against Florida Atlantic.
* UF assistant coach Jules Montinar was on Jeff Scott's USF staff in 2020.
Trivia time
USF football has had nine lettermen who attended a Gainesville high school. One of them played in the NFL. Who?
Looking ahead
After Saturday's game against the Gators, USF will prepare for a Sept. 18 home game against the Florida A&M Rattlers. FAMU, which was defeated 7-6 by Jackson State (and Coach Deion Sanders) in the Orange Blossom Classic on Sept. 5, faces Fort Valley State on Saturday night.
The Rattlers already are switching starting quarterbacks, going with true freshman Junior Muratovic against Fort Valley State, while benching Rasean McKay, who started the opener. McKay completed 18 of 29 yards for just 79 yards and the Rattlers managed just two field goals.
USF is 3-0 all-time against the Rattlers, outscoring them 158-23, including a 51-3 victory in 2015. That game was best known as the moment when Bulls fans first knew that quarterback Quinton Flowers was something special.
On third-and-goal from the FAMU 22-yard line about seven minutes into the game, Flowers seemed trapped as the pocket collapsed. He eluded one tackler with a 360-degree turn in the backfield. He slipped, regained his footing, then scrambled right. While dodging another defender, just before the line of scrimmage, he threw across his body to D'Ernest Johnson in the back of the end zone.
Trivia answer
Offensive lineman Kenyatta Jones (1997-2000), from Gainesville Eastside High School, became the first USF player to be drafted into the NFL (2001, fourth round, 96th pick overall, New England Patriots). He was a member of the Patriots' Super Bowl XXXVI championship team and played in 21 NFL games (starting 13) over four seasons. Jones, known as "Bear,'' died in 2018 at age 39.
