USF GAME NOTES
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Time for a breakthrough?
It's the feeling you get around USF football as the Bulls (1-2) prepare for Saturday's high noon road showdown against the ACC's Louisville Cardinals (1-2).
That confidence springs from an outstanding performance last week in Gainesville, when the Bulls pushed the No. 18-ranked Florida Gators to the limit before falling 31-28.
In an ideal world, coach Jeff Scott said teams would keep building and get incrementally better each week. It doesn't always happen that way. Generally, you can wipe the slate clean and the circumstances change with each opponent.
But the performance against the Gators was much more in line with Scott's expectations for this team. He was more surprised by what he saw in the first two weeks, a poor effort in a defeat against BYU and intermittent sluggishness against Howard, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
"I've definitely felt that a breakthrough was coming just overall, from what I've seen from last year to this year with the work ethic and commitment I've seen in the offseason,'' Scott said. "In the second half against Howard, I felt we finally started getting in a rhythm. For the majority of the Florida game, we played maybe to a different level than we played in the past.
"Each week is a new week and a new beginning. I'm confident that we're pushing in the right direction. Another strong performance and finding a way to get a win would definitely be an exclamation mark on that feeling. At the end of the day, what matters is what happens on the field. You can't have a breakthrough moment in a loss. We had some momentum and saw good signs against Florida, but we've got to find a way to win those type of games. That's how you reach the kind of breakthrough we've been talking about.''
Quarterback Mobility
USF has faced BYU's Jaren Hall, Howard's Quentin Williams and Florida's Anthony Richardson — three dual-threat quarterbacks. Now it's Louisville's Malik Williams, and he might be the most dangerous of all.
Cunningham had his ninth career 100-yard rushing game with 127 yards in last week's 35-31 home defeat against Florida State. Cunningham has 2,901 career rushing yards and needs 58 to move into third-place all-time at Louisville. He has a shot at surpassing the program's all-time record of 4,132, held by former quarterback and current NFL star Lamar Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner.
"He has been starting there for a long, long time,'' USF defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. "He's a true dual-threat guy. He can make plays with his arm and his feet. Do not underestimate his ability to pass and do not underestimate his overall speed. He will probably be the best athlete on the field. It's going to take all 11 men on the field to do a good job defending him.''
Overall, Shoop said he was pleased with his defense's performance against the Gators, particularly in the second half.
"I thought we became a team,'' Shoop said. "It was a thing where we said, 'Do we want to be a bunch of individuals wearing the same cool ice-white jerseys? Or do we want to be a team?' In the second half specifically, I thought we became a team. Now we have to carry that mindset forward.''
Defensive Wrinkles
Shoop made a few adjustments to his defensive line against the Gators. Edge rusher Jatorian Hansford moved inside to the three-technique — a position he had never played — and he performed well. That allowed freshman Eddie Kelly to thrive as a disruptive defensive end and his role could continue to expand. Also, Shoop was pleased with the play of defensive tackle Nick Bags, a transfer from Temple who stepped into a more prominent role as well.
"We have some depth there and we need to use it by rotating players and keeping them fresh,'' Shoop said. "I think we had a few more guys step up and that makes me very encouraged moving forward.''
Daring Offense
Travis Trickett's offense showed exceptionally well against the Gators, going 8-for-15 on third-down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth-down tries. Running back Brian Battie had a career day (150 yards) and quarterback Gerry Bohanon (102 rushing yards) expertly ran the run-pass option plays by constantly keeping the Gators guessing.
"The way we played has got to be our standard of life,'' Trickett said. "There has to be a hunger to want that every week. You've got to keep taking steps forward. You can't stay the same. You don't play the game scared. You go out there and do what we do and keep trying to feed our best players.''
Wide receiver Jimmy Horn might be USF's most electrifying player, but he didn't touch the ball against Florida. He was utilized in a handful of offensive plays, but didn't go back as normal for kickoffs. Horn has been battling an ankle injury.
"Jimmy is an electric player and we have stuff for him every week,'' Trickett said. "He wasn't 100 percent. It's a long season and we have to be smart. But Jimmy at full strength, of course, he'll get fed because he's like lightning in a bottle.''
Trickett described Bohanon's first three USF games as "gritty.'' He believes Bohanon's decision-making has been on point and thinks the passing game will continue to make strides.
"It's his third game in this offense and we didn't have him for spring,'' Trickett said. "He's going to keep getting better and better. He's smart and very decisive. When our guys look back to him (Bohanon), they're calm because they know (the quarterback is in charge).''
Trivia Time
When USF last visited Louisville for a football game — Oct. 20, 2012 — the quarterbacks for the Bulls and Cardinals that day would eventually play in the NFL. Who were they? (Answer below)
Looking Ahead
USF faces the East Carolina Pirates next Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium in the American Athletic Conference opener. USF has dominated the series against ECU, leading 9-3, but the Pirates have won the last two, including a rainy-night, 29-14 decision last season in Greenville, N.C.
The Pirates (2-1), who will face Navy on Saturday night in their AAC opener, have won two straight games after a heartbreaking, 21-20 defeat against NC State, when the Pirates missed the tying extra-point attempt in the final minutes.
ECU is ranked 23rd nationally in total offense (495.3 yards per game) and 52nd in total defense (345.7). The Pirates' offense is paced by senior quarterback Holton Ahlers (11,019 career passing yards), who will make his fourth start against USF, and sophomore running back Keaton Mitchell, who rushed for 1,132 yards last season and has a pair of 100-yard rushing efforts in 2022.
Trivia Answer
The NFL-bound quarterbacks on Oct. 20, 2012 were USF's B.J. Daniels and Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater.
– Go Bulls –
