With the Bulls off to a 1-4 start, coach Jeff Scott said Tuesday that he still believes in his players and coaches, while adding that he also believed a turnaround can be best achieved through stability and sticking to the plan.
For USF fans running low on patience, Scott said, "I can understand their frustration. And their frustration is not just from the last three years, but the stuff the program has dealt with in the last 12 years.''
Scott said the Bulls have faced a challenging schedule in 2022, ranked as the nation's 25th most difficult slate by College Football Playoff data, and been hamstrung by a flurry of injuries (11 players who have started at USF were sidelined for last Saturday's 48-28 neutral-site defeat against East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference opener).
"I think you have to take all of that into consideration,'' Scott said. "It would be very easy to say, 'Man, look at our record. We're not doing what we want to do. We just need to blow it all up and start over.'
"But that would be a mistake to do. Because at the end of the day, we are seeing progress. And we know it's a process, right. I mean, I knew when I took the (USF) job, that I was taking a very challenging rebuild. I knew that coming in. The last thing that usually comes as part of the process is those on the field results. And we're all frustrated by that. But we definitely have seen a lot of progress. I'm confident that as the season goes, and we get some of these (injured) guys back here over the next few weeks, that we're going to have a chance to play much better. … I'm very confident we're going to see some positive results over the last half of the season.''
USF's schedule won't get easier in the short term. Saturday, the Bulls travel to the No. 24-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (4-1), who have won 17 straight games in AAC action and are seeking their 30th consecutive victory at venerable Nippert Stadium (UC's last home defeat was in 2017).
The Bearcats, coming off an AAC championship, 13-1 season that included a CFP berth, might have the best defense that USF has seen in three seasons, according to Scott. Cincinnati replaced plenty of talent — nine Bearcats were taken in the NFL draft — but the Bearcats apparently haven't missed a beat.
"The key again this week is showing up in practice and meetings, looking for ways to improve and controlling what we can control,'' Scott said.
One obvious needed improvement for USF is figuring out how to start games more effectively. The Bulls trailed ECU 41-7 at halftime, continuing a disturbing slow-starting trend (in losses against BYU, Louisville and ECU, the Bulls fell behind significantly in all at halftime).
"Quite honestly, I think those other teams have played better and executed better than us in the first half,'' Scott said. "That's not what anybody wants to hear. Ultimately, it comes down to executing a lot better.''
Scott said USF's turnover since 2010 — five head football coaches, three athletic directors and three school presidents — has not been ideal for stability. Scott said that has changed with the commitment of vice president of athletics Michael Kelly and school president Rhea Law. Scott said all of USF's upper-level officials are dedicated to football rebuilding and providing resources, such as the soon-to-open $22-million Indoor Performance Facility and the proposed on-campus stadium.
"At the end of the day, I feel very confident in our plan,'' Scott said. "I feel like we've got great alignment and vision with the facilities and other things that are going to pay off down the road.
"I would ask our fans to continue to support these players. They chose the University of South Florida. They had other choices and chose to come here. They chose to stay here. They've had plenty of opportunities to go quit and say, 'Hey, it just didn't work out.' They come out every day with an attitude to work hard and get better. We're not going to get where we want to go by continuing to push reset.''
Without question, Scott said, the Bulls must play much better to have a turnaround this season. He acknowledged that he would not receive a good grade for his coaching because "you've got to look at your record … you are what your record is.''
At the same time, Scott said he feels he has "done a good job of continuing to show up and keep everybody moving in the right direction. I think if we didn't have a good culture, you'd see a lot of guys jumping ship.''
"What we know is the truth,'' Scott said. "Let's watch the video. Let's don't hide it. Let's talk about the bad. Let's talk about the good, too. And then that's where we're going to live. We're going to eliminate the clutter and the distractions.''
What is the truth about USF football?
"The truth is we have not played well enough to upset the strong teams that we played on our schedule,'' Scott said. "We haven't played at a high enough level to go earn those victories. The other truth is we've been injured and everybody has to deal with that at different times of the season. We're not going to use that as an excuse because we as coaches have got to get our backups ready to play better.
"I would say, hopefully, our guys know that I've been very genuine and real in my assessment of where we are each week. That's one reason our guys continue to show up. If there was ever time for our group to quit, it would be down 41-7 at halftime (against ECU) coming off (a 41-3 loss at Louisville). But they came back and held them (ECU) to seven points in the second half, while our offense scored touchdowns on three straight drives. Those are the little signs you see along the way as a coach. Even though we haven't gotten the final result we want, we're trending. And we're going to get there as long as they continue to do that.''
Injury Outlook
Scott said cornerback Daquan Evans, who has missed the last four games with injury, has a chance to return at Cincinnati. That would be a good thing, according to fellow cornerback Aamaris Brown.
"It will actually mean a lot,'' Brown said. "He's a big part of our defense. Being in the corner room with him and seeing the knowledge that he has of the game, just the I.Q. in general, we have definitely missed that.''
Scott also said that running back Kelley Joiner, who fractured his foot during fall camp, could return to practice next week and there's a chance he could play in the Oct. 15 home game against Tulane.
– GoBulls –
