#24 South Florida (5-1; 2-0 American) vs. Florida Atlantic (2-3; 1-1 American)
Saturday, October 18 • 7:30 PM • Raymond James Stadium (65,000) • Tampa, Fla.
SURFACE: Natural, Bermuda Turf Grass
TV: ESPNU: Jack Kizer (P-by-P) & Craig Haubert (Analyst)
RADIO: Q105 FM/ Bulls Unlimited digital
SERIES: USF leads 4-2
IN TAMPA: USF leads 2-2
IN BOCA RATON: USF leads 2-0
LAST TIME: USF 44, FAU 21, in Boca Raton, 11/1/2024
VS AMERICAN: 40-58, won 6 of last 8
AMERICAN HOME GAMES: 21-26, won last vs Charlotte (54-26)
HOMECOMING GAMES: 14-14, lost last vs Navy (28-7)
GAMES ON ESPNU: 30-19, lost last at Tulane (45-10)
SOUTH FLORIDA GAME NOTES
As No. 19-ranked South Florida (5-1, 2-0 American Conference) prepares for Saturday night's Homecoming game against the Florida Atlantic Owls (3-3, 1-1) at Raymond James Stadium, there are numerous reasons why the Bulls have become such a success story.
Here's one of the biggest:
The Bulls have forced a nation-leading 16 turnovers. In Friday night's 63-36 road triumph at North Texas, the Bulls got five (four on defense, one on special teams) and that helped to transform it from a halftime tie into a resounding rout.
"Certainly, you coach the heck out of creating turnovers,'' head coach Alex Golesh said during his Tuesday news conference. "You're on the defensive guys to punch as hard as they can at these footballs. … We preach it, maybe as hard as anybody. Fumbles don't just happen. Interceptions don't just happen. They happen because there's elite-level effort around the football. It's usually the second and third guy (there) that creates it. Sometimes, it's a tipped ball. Sometimes, it's a violent collision.
"I truly believe it's a mindset and an attitude, where the culture is like, 'We're going to go get that football.' You look at our three interceptions (against North Texas) and each time there was somebody in the quarterback's face as he threw it. Balls don't just bounce your way. You force balls to bounce your way. It's that extra little bit of effort.''
Against North Texas, two of the Mean Green turnovers were a direct reflection of extra effort on USF's part.
USF trailed 14-7 as halftime neared, but North Texas punt returner Miles Coleman was hit by USF's Tray Kinkle (who was running 23 miles-per-hour, according to GPS), who forced a fumble. Cedrick Hawkins Jr. pounced on it at the North Texas 17-yard line with 43 seconds remaining. It led to USF's tying touchdown, a 2-yard pass from Byrum Brown to tight end Jonathan Echols.
In the third quarter, to punctuate USF's run of 28 unanswered points, nickel back Jarvis Lee laid a big hit on Mean Green receiver Simeon Evans to force a fumble, which was scooped up by linebacker Jhalyn Shuler for a 34-yard touchdown, giving the Bulls a 42-21 advantage.
"We practice running to the ball … and that's where plays happen,'' Lee said. "That's when big plays happen. So, we run to the ball and make plays on the ball. Basically, it has been a dominant, violent defense. If you're not dominant and being violent, then it can't be the best. And we harp on that every day — to be the best defense we can in this country.''
Golesh lamented the unfavorable turnovers — USF suffered three in the first quarter, when Brown threw an interception, had the ball knocked away for a fumble and suffered yet another fumble on a faulty exchange with running back Nykahi Davenport — and that must be fixed.
But Golesh found a positive in that aspect as well.
North Texas scored just seven points off USF's three turnovers as the Bulls forced their own turnover and a three-and-out on two of the North Texas possessions.
USF, meanwhile, accounted for 28 points off the five North Texas turnovers.
"That's a big swing in the game and it's also complimentary football, the ability to respond,'' Golesh said. "The thing I'm most proud of is we're at a point in our program where I'm sitting there watching the defense come off the bench after a (USF offensive) turnover and I'm saying, 'Man, is there somebody who's going to get frustrated?'
"It's 11 dudes and 10 coaches sprinting on the field, excited to go play defense. And that's contagious in so many ways. I think what these guys have created in terms of a culture that they've got each other's backs, it's super cool. It has taken a long time to get to that point, but if we can keep that going, it's super positive.''
So far, the Bulls have put together a fun-to-watch group, which Golesh said he hopes will translate into a large, spirited crowd for Saturday night's Homecoming game against FAU. The new-look Owls have the nation's youngest head coach in Zach Kittley (34), the former offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Texas Tech, and a 6-foot-3, 236-pound quarterback in Caden Veltkamp, who leads the nation in completions per game (27.3) and the American Conference in completion percentage (65.1), passing yards (1,781) and touchdowns (14).
"My challenge to our fan base is to show up Saturday night,'' Golesh said. "I think it'll be really, really electric under the lights. The weather is going to be incredible. It's going to be an exciting football game and I think our players deserve it (support). This university deserves it. The city of Tampa deserves an awesome crowd. Our students will be there. They've been there all year. We need people to get to the stadium, pack it out and create an incredible environment.''
"We've been the same USF team for whoever jumps on and whoever jumps off,'' offensive tackle Derek Bowman said. "We're going to keep doing us. If you want to support us, great. We'll love you for that. And if you don't, we're going to keep on trucking.''
–#GoBulls–
