How does an eight-win season, when most “experts” thought that would be an unreachable number, get lost in the shuffle?
Such is the story of the USF Bulls. Head Coach Willie Taggert was rumored to be on the hottest of seats, but then something funny happened on the way to the unemployment line: the Bulls put an early scare into Florida State as part of a 1-3 start, but then started reeling off wins very few people expected.
It started by waxing Syracuse before going to UConn for a ‘W’. After a bump in the road against Navy, USF scored 44 points on Temple’s tough defense and absolutely THUMPED Cincinnati and Central Florida – coming pretty close to winning the AAC East.
Sounds great, but USF’s surprising season flew under the radar thanks to the likes of Houston, Navy, Temple and Memphis; part of an amazing year in the AAC.
USF is out to prove 2015 wasn’t a fluke, and that they belong in the AAC’s “cream of the crop” conversation.
If that is going to happen, it starts and ends with the punishing power attack. Running back Marlon Mack is back for another season of terrorizing defenses. Mack carried the ball 201 times last season for 1,381 yards. In case your calculator isn’t handy, that’s a whopping 6.6 yards per carry. Wow. On top of that Mack punched it in the end zone eight times and didn’t lose a fumble all season.
And, oh yeah, since the AAC seems to be the league of quarterbacks, don’t forget the guy throwing the ball down Tampa. Quinton Flowers might not get the same love as Houston’s Greg Ward, but don’t sleep on Flowers, who had quite a stat line in his sophomore season: 2,290 passing yards and 22 touchdowns while also shredding defenses on the ground for over a thousand yards and 12 touchdowns.
You need some receivers to go with that attack? Check. USF returns all three of its top wideouts from a year ago and adds North Carolina State transfer Marquez Valdus-Scantling, who is six-foot-five. Think he’ll give defensive backs a few matchup problems?
#USF 1 of 3 programs IN THE NATION w/players on O'Brien, Walker, Biletnikoff & Mackey Award lists #GulfCoastOffense pic.twitter.com/GpgxS7oSS6
— USF Football (@USFFootball) July 14, 2016
The interior on both sides of the ball is where USF needs to rebuild. Three offensive linemen that started all 13 games last year are gone, as are three major contributors on the defensive line.
Speaking of the defense, despite the departure of defensive coordinator Tom Allen the Bulls plan to keep the 4-2-5 defense Allen established. They have positions like “BULL” and “STRIKER” and like to play an aggressive style that has guys all over the field. You don’t usually see players with big numbers of tackles for loss *and* passes broken up… but that’s what you get with this group.
Even though the defense returns a lot of talent from last season, it needs to make that next step in both results and consistency. Giving up 20 points to a meek UConn offense doesn’t look good on the resume, nor does the 45 spot put up by Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl. Yes, the Bulls gave up the fewest points in the AAC last season, but in this conference that’s like finding the most Pokemon during a flip phone convention.
When you look at the 2016 schedule, USF gets a chance to pad its resume and get those new linemen experience against both Towson and Northern Illinois.
The Bulls once again play Syracuse (which it seems like every AAC team does these days) before a rematch with Florida State. If USF comes out of that without getting beat up, the AAC slate plays out pretty well for this bunch of bulls. Houston is not on the schedule this year, and USF gets UConn, Navy and East Carolina at home. Assuming the Bulls can hold serve, the conference road schedule will define this team in 2016: Cincinnati, Temple and Memphis. Can the Bulls win these games? Sure, but there is also the possibility they could go 0-3, taking away all chances of getting to the conference championship game.
And that really should be the goal for USF this season. This team, which seemed to flip some sort of switch in the middle of 2015, is positioned to prove last season was just the start of things to come. If they can do that, the Bulls success won’t be ignored by anyone in the AAC and beyond.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
