GAINESVILLE — Dee-fense! Dee-fense!
How long had it been? USF football had enjoyed some notable victories over the last 15 or so years, but those outcomes were mostly driven by breakneck offenses, highlight-reel playmakers, scoring big, scoring fast and flat-out outscoring the opponent.
Last week seemed different.
It was almost a throwback to another era, when the gritty Bulls built a hard-nosed program, brick by brick, on defensive toughness and physicality. When USF began its season with a dominating 34-7 performance against then-No. 25-ranked Boise State, it was more than just a very nice win.
It was a statement.
Dee-fense! Dee-fense!
Which brings us into Saturday afternoon's challenge at the Swamp, a cauldron of heat and humidity that should cook up more clues about the direction of this USF season. Are the Bulls (1-0) up to this task? After all, one week does not a season make.
Now the challenge gets heightened. The No. 13-ranked Florida Gators (1-0) have multiple offensive weapons — including the poised and resourceful sophomore quarterback, DJ Lagway — which they will need in upcoming weekend tests against the LSU Tigers and Miami Hurricanes.
But the Gators can't look ahead, especially now. USF — specifically that rugged defense — has earned the Gators' full attention.
Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has acquired more assets, such as a much-deeper defensive line, a veteran linebacker corps and a secondary that played startlingly well against Boise State.
"I think Todd Orlando is one of the best defensive coaches in football,'' Gators head coach Billy Napier said. "This guy has been around the block. He has always been a tough prep. I think in general he has front variables, pressure variables and coverage variables. And I think he gets them to play hard.''
Meanwhile, the Gators are also wary of USF's quarterback, 6-foot-3 1/2, 232-pound Byrum Brown, who powered to a pair of rushing touchdowns (with another called back by penalty) against Boise State. Brown didn't just skate around the end. He initiated contact a couple of times, working the crowd into a lather, before head coach Alex Golesh suggested some discretion. The next time in the open field, Brown went into the much safer QB-slide and smiled Golesh's way.
The nation already knows about Lagway, a former five-star prospect and a beast of an athlete at 6-foot-3, 247 pounds.
"His stature is enormous,'' defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. "He can throw the ball anyplace he wants to throw the ball. He can run around. It looks like he's in command of what they're trying to do. He has a comfort level with it all. He has all the talent in the world. So, there's a lot to be concerned about.''
But there's also a growing national fascination with Brown's game.
"Tackling him (Brown), there's some physical things that come with that,'' Napier said. "I think he does break tackles. He has the ability to outrun angles.''
Lagway and Brown are a few biscuits short of nearly 500 pounds of quarterback. It's a rare physical matchup.
Golesh went deeper.
"Byrum has a physical presence,'' Golesh said. "He trains that way. He practices that way. He eats right, sleeps right, hydrates, takes care of his body. He's uber, uber, uber competitive. That's what makes him special. He doesn't like to lose at anything. He's uber competitive, highly intelligent and a phenomenal athlete. That's a good combination to have, especially for a quarterback.''
Brown needs to continue humming, mixing his own skill with the careful deployment of USF's offensive threats. Likewise, USF's defense must maintain its opening-week standard. The Gators were favored by 17.5 points at mid-week, but clearly Napier doesn't foresee a walkover.
Can USF do it once more against a nationally ranked opponent?
Here are the keys to the Bulls pulling off what would certainly be one of the biggest upset wins in program history:
1. Tackle In Space
The Gators will make some plays. Count on that. But it's imperative that USF defenders run to the ball and tackle with confidence to avoid extra yardage being tacked on to a play.
"When you're out there one-on-one with somebody and your teammates are saying, 'Hey, we're going to be right behind you,' then you take your shot,'' defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. "You're always a better tackling group when teammates are behind you and everybody is running to the ball. There's less hesitation. You take your shot, slow somebody down, then everybody covers them up.
"Obviously, Florida has a ton of weapons. It's imperative that we run to the football. They're going to make people miss because they have some really fast, dynamic guys. Ultimately, everybody is going to miss a tackle. It happens in football, especially when you're dealing with high-end athletes. But what you can't have is lack of effort. We've got to run around and make some plays. Playing hard can cover up a lot of things.''
The Bulls played exceptionally hard against Boise State. They also tackled pretty well, especially in the secondary, and that was a big reason why the Broncos were limited to one touchdown. That effort, mentality and physicality must continue against the Gators.
2. Do The Ordinary Exceptionally Well
Extraordinary plays are great. Extraordinary plays show up on SportsCenter. Extraordinary plays make for legendary performers.
But football games are generally won by successfully carrying out a game plan, doing your job and staying fundamentally sound.
Seems boring, right?
Boring wins games.
The Bulls must do the ordinary exceptionally well — and not deviate from that plan.
"There were some things we put on film against Boise that make you (cringe),'' Orlando said. "Nobody's going to remember that or dwell on it because we won convincingly. But we definitely had some guys out there that lost their minds. All the stuff they practiced was just erased and they decided to freelance.
"That environment (Swamp) we're going into, that could cause it to recoil again. So, we just need our guys to execute their jobs. If you do it the right way, you'll get your share of plays. Through the course of my career, there are only a handful of plays during the course of a game where you go, 'Man, that was phenomenal. What a great play.' The rest of the plays come down to somebody screwing up. You'd be surprised how many plays on both sides of the ball come down to just somebody doing their job. That's what we have to get better at.''
USF must do the ordinary exceptionally well. It won't get you on SportsCenter. But it could be the difference between winning and losing.
3. Move The Chains
Even in victory against Boise State, everyone from coaches to fans realized the obvious deficiency in USF's offense.
The Bulls couldn't run effectively. And that was a big problem.
USF rushed 28 times for 117 yards and a 4.2-yard average, which doesn't sound horrible. But with about six minutes to play, Alvon Isaac had a 49-yard scamper. Without that play, USF rushing was laboring about 2.5-yards per carry (27 carries for 68 yards).
The runners, led by Charlotte transfer Cartevious Norton and Oklahoma transfer Sam Franklin, are mostly new. But it's an experienced offensive line, bolstered by another couple of transfers in Connor McLaughlin (Stanford) and Thomas Shrader (Appalachian State). So, a subpar running game isn't acceptable.
"You give Boise some credit because they've been a good team stopping the run for about 20 years,'' offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said. "They did a couple of things that were different, but we need to adjust faster and play better. It was the first game, really, for all three of the running backs to get early playing time in this offense. But as we move forward, the expectation is for us to execute at a higher level.''
Long scoring drives would fuel USF's offensive confidence, while also quieting the Swamp's sure-to-be boisterous sellout crowd.
"Moving the chains is everything,'' Gordon said. "We've got to stay on the field. We put a lot on our defense (against Boise State). We can't play for spells of time where we're not moving it or staying on the field and putting our defense in a bad spot. We just can't.''
4. Avoid Mistakes
Against Boise State, one of USF's most impressive statistics was zero.
As in zero turnovers.
"We've talked about that as much as anything in this program, especially on offense,'' Gordon said. "You've got to learn how to not beat yourself. If you can learn how to not beat yourself, it makes it hard, generally, to get beat.
"I was excited the (turnover) number ended up being zero. There were some ball security (issues) that must get fixed and it's all over the video. That has to change. The No. 1 thing we've got to do to give ourselves a chance every single week is taking care of the ball. Our players know it. It has to be personal. It has to be every single day in this program. That's our standard.''
Brown has done a great job maintaining that standard. Dating to the 2023 season, Brown has 204 consecutive pass attempts without an interception (the program record is 235 by Marquel Blackwell in 2001).
"It's just a matter of being smart, not forcing anything and knowing where to go with the ball,'' Brown said. "You never want to beat yourself by giving the ball back to the other team.''
Penalties, like turnovers, should be avoided at all costs. Against Boise State, USF had just one penalty in the second half (for 5 yards) after a first half with six flags (for 51 yards).
It's unrealistic to expect a mistake-free game from the Bulls. But to have any realistic chance against the Gators, the Bulls must avoid mistakes at all costs.
–#GoBulls–
