USF (1-6; 0-3 American) at Houston (4-3; 2-1 American)
Saturday, Oct. 29 • 12:00 P.M. • TDECU Stadium (40,000) • Houston, Texas
SURFACE: Turf
TV: ESPN2: Beth Mowins (PXP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst) & Stormy Buonantomy (Sideline)
RADIO: 102.5 FM/102.5 HD 2
AUDIO STREAM: TuneIn - Bulls Unlimited 1
SERIES: UH Leads, 6-2;
STREAK: UH won last 6
IN TAMPA: UH Leads, 3-1
IN HOUSTON: UH Leads, 3-1, last, UH, W, 56-21
LAST USF WIN: 32-14 at Houston in 2002
LAST AT HOUSTON: UH won 56-21 in 2020
LAST YEAR: UH won 54-42 in Tampa
USF GAME NOTES
With USF's bye week falling at almost the season's natural mid-point, the Bulls (1-6, 0-3 AAC) are ready to turn the page and begin anew with Saturday afternoon's road contest against the Houston Cougars (4-3, 2-1 AAC).
USF's first seven games were filled with injuries — including a season-ending shoulder injury to quarterback Gerry Bohanon against Tulane — and now sophomore quarterback Katravis Marsh gets his opportunity as the starter with true freshman Byrum Brown in reserve.
"At the end of the day, we can't feel sorry for ourselves,'' head coach Jeff Scott said. "Our only path is the next man up mindset. Houston is a really good team, so it's another big challenge and a new opportunity for us.
"The first seven games haven't gone the way we envisioned and there are a lot of reasons for that and we've had a hand in that. We could have coached better. We could have played better. Those first seven games are part of our story for this season. But it doesn't have to be the story of our season. If we finish the right way … that could be the story of the season. Nobody is happy right now. Everybody is frustrated. But we have guys who are continuing to push and striving to get better.''
Scott said he has become almost immune to USF's rash of injuries — "just put another one on the list and move to the next guy,'' he said — but the loss of Bohanon was particularly significant.
"We're all hurt that GB (Bohanon) got hurt because he was having his best game of the season, so far,'' running back Brian Battie said. "He has done great for us all year long. We're just thankful to have him for the games that we did have.
"(Marsh) has been sitting behind GB all year and learning. GB also did a great job of being a great teacher and showing him ways to play the quarterback position and make certain reads. We have a lot of confidence in (Marsh) and we think that he'll do a great job out there.''
Marsh has started two previous games at USF — at Cincinnati during his 2020 freshman season and last season on a short week at East Carolina. Marsh, known for his big body (6-foot-5, 232 pounds) and powerful arm, has tremendous physical skills but not much game experience. The overall game savvy was one of Bohanon's biggest strong points.
"He was really settling in and playing some good ball,'' Scott said. "So, I'm disappointed for him. Gerry's a tough guy, mentally and physically, and he'll come back stronger next year.
"Obviously, we would love to have those (injured) guys with us, but we have to keep pushing and getting ready for the task at hand.''
That means full concentration on the Cougars, who were picked to win the AAC in the league's preseason poll. Houston has suffered disappointments of its own with overtime defeats against Texas Tech and Tulane, along with a 48-30 home loss against a much-improved Kansas squad that has resided in the top 25 for much of the year.
Scott said USF utilized its bye week for a lot of self-evaluation in order to give the Bulls a better opportunity to compete against the Cougars and the rest of the teams on their schedule.
"You're looking at tendencies,'' Scott said. "How did we do that? What gave us problems? How do we correct it? From a 10,000-foot view, what we've told our guys is the game is about execution. It's not about plays, right? We can draw up plays and talk about how they could work, but it's about how well you execute.
"Defensively, it's time to look at what you've done well and things you need to improve on. It's not a lot of exciting stuff to talk about. It's the basics like tackling. It's playing with lower pads up front, having better leverage, understanding angles. There are definitely things within our scheme that we can do better to put our guys in a better situation. And as far as the injuries, that's why we have 85 guys on scholarship. Other guys have to step up and we have to focus on the things we can control.''
Defensive end Jason Vaughn, who is coming off a three-sack game vs. Tulane, said the spirit remains high among USF players.
"Our guys really buy into the mindset of just continuing to work,'' Vaughn said. "Don't just put your head down. You've got to keep working. It's really only that option or quitting — and you know with the guys on this team, we're not going to quit. We're doing whatever we can do every day to get better. I think that's the mindset we have going into the next five games. I appreciate that.''
Scott does, too.
"We have to keep improving, but also keep perspective on the reality of what has happened to put us where we are,'' Scott said. "We have to block out the noise that happens when you have a difficult year and realize that we still have an opportunity.
"The only people who can change it are the ones in our team room and our locker room. We've got five games to go. We've only got maybe 32 days left in the season. We're not going to count the days. We need to make each day count.''
Vaughn's Defensive Impact
Vaughn, a 6-5, 246-pound junior defensive end, has emerged as one of USF's most improved players. His three sacks against Tulane were the most for a USF defensive player since Deadrin Senat in 2017. Vaughn has a team-leading five sacks and seven tackles for loss (linebacker Dwayne Boyles leads there with 7.5 TFL's).
"The thing I appreciate about Jason is he has worked every day, he shows up and he puts in the work,'' Scott said. "When his opportunity came, he made the most of it. I'm really pleased with how he has played.
"We made a lot of improvement in our sacks and TFL's from last year. We're trying to give our guys more chances while trying to do some things up front. Jason has been a big part of that.''
Houston Memories For Battie
Battie, a consensus All-American kick returner in 2021, tied an NCAA record with a pair of 100-yard kickoff return scores against Houston last season at Raymond James Stadium. Is there even a chance Battie sees the ball on special teams against the Cougars?
"I wouldn't be surprised (by getting a kickoff),'' Battie said. "We haven't had as much success as we've been wanting this season as a kickoff-return unit. We did do a little damage to them last year, so it could go either way. If they do kick it to us, we're just going to try and execute our job. Hopefully we can get some big returns or touchdowns.''
Battie has 19 kickoff returns for a 19.7-yard average and a long of 42 — well off his 2021 pace, but he has been intentionally avoided by many opposing special-teams units.
Meanwhile, Battie has enjoyed an extremely productive season at running back with a team-high 493 yards (6.1-yard average) and four touchdowns while becoming one of USF's most valuable players on offense.
"I've just got to keep doing what's asked of me,'' Battie said. "I've got to keep watching film on defenses and keep my big guys up front energized and give them something to work towards. The running backs are only going to go as far as the O-linemen allows them to.''
– Go Bulls –
