Though the season is only four weeks old, it’s never too early to start thinking ahead to the postseason. After all, the big guns of the college football world have no doubt been thinking of the four-team playoff system since before the season started, so it’s got to be alright for the USF’s of the world to be dreaming of bowl season, right?
The Bulls are looking to make a return to a bowl game after missing out the last three years and, at 2-2, will need to hunk down to reach that magical six-win mark. This is especially true with the Wisconsin Badgers, who ripped off 600-plus rushing yards last week, and the No. 23 East Carolina Pirates on the schedule, among others.
The one man who, if at all possible, will lead the charge towards a postseason berth for the Bulls will be someone who wasn’t even on the radar before the season began. If the Bulls hope to get to the postseason, they’re going to need to run there and Marlon Mack will be the one carrying them.
The freshman running back has been an absolute revelation for USF. Before the season began, not much was expected of him. After all, he’s a true freshman and the team had other talented options it could have looked to. Instead, he stepped into the lineup in week one and set American Athletic Conference records by rushing for 275 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Western Carolina, a game that could have been far dicier if not for Mack.
Through four games, he’s rushed for 502 yards, ranking ninth in the country. He’s averaging 125.5 yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry. The most important number? He’s accounted for 82.9 percent of the team’s total rushing yards. Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, who the Bulls will see on Saturday, has 431 yards and accounts for just 39.9 percent of Wisconsin’s team total.
Mack’s totals are even more impressive when you consider just how inept the USF passing attack is. Quarterbacks are completing under 40 percent of their passes and teams are given free rein to tee off on Mack and the ground game. He’s faltered at times – he rushed 34 times for 124 yards (3.6 yards per attempt) in losses to Maryland and North Carolina State – but remains the catalyst for a struggling offense.
If the Bulls have any hope of reaching a bowl game this season, it rests firmly on the shoulders of Mack and his ability to pound the rock in the face of heavy odds.
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