The college season takes a lifetime to get to, but once it starts, it seemingly goes by in a flash.
Sure enough, the 2014 season is already at the six-game mark for the South Florida Bulls, with the team sitting at a 2-4 mark. We know how they are doing thanks to their record, but how are they fairing on a deeper level?
That’s right, it’s grading time! Instead of doing individual grades, where someone like me is certainly not fit to grade the blocking of individual linemen, we’re going to do something a little bit different. Instead, we’ll grade by position. Obviously, some positional groups – quarterback, for example – will be closer to an individual grade.
Let’s get to it.
Quarterbacks: F-
The bulk of this grade falls on starter Mike White and it definitely isn’t good. To say the passing game has been abysmal would be putting it kindly. White’s 102.2 rating is 119th out of 128 starting quarterbacks in the nation. Among quarterbacks who have thrown a pass this season, his 43.8 completion percentage is 291st in the country. He’s thrown just 818 yards on the year with three touchdowns and four interceptions.
More importantly, once you get past the bad stats, it’s the effect White has on the Bulls offense that becomes the real detriment. His inability to find his receivers with any consistency or accuracy continues to plague the offense and make it more one-dimensional.
If the Bulls want to get back to a bowl game this year, the pressure is going to be on White to improve to something resembling a competent quarterback. As it stands now, his only impact on the Bulls is a negative one.
Running Backs: B+
This has been a surprisingly strong point for the Bulls thus far and it’s come from an unexpected source: freshman Marlon Mack. Mack has carried the bulk of the load, with 114 of the team’s 196 total carries. His 597 yards is good for 30th in the nation and he’s already got a half dozen touchdowns to his name.
It’s clear that the running game, which started the year off with a bang, has taken a step back in the last few weeks. Part of that is a natural regression to the mean, but part of that is also due to the ineptitude of the passing game. It’s hard to do much when the defense knows you’re the only reliable source of offense, but Mack is still churning along.
For Mack’s sake, the team has to hope that D’Ernest Johnson or Darius Tice can find a way to grab more of the carries so that Mack doesn’t get worn down from carrying the offense on his back.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: C+
To be fair to the receivers, there’s only so much you can do when your quarterback struggles monumentally to deliver an accurate ball. That said, they’ve done a fairly poor job of gaining separation and giving White much to throw at.
Rodney Adams leads the way in both receptions (15) and yards (231) and three guys have at least 10 catches. Andre Davis is back and he’s got a big average (24.0) on just seven catches, so the hope is that this group will get much better as he gets more involved.
Sean Price looked like a potential weapon coming into the season, but he’s been a bit of an afterthought through six games. His seven receptions for 80 yards are well below expectations and one would think that he’d be offered as more of a safety valve for the struggling White.
Offensive Line: B
On the whole, the offensive line has been a quality group. They’re in a tie for 26th in the nation in sacks allowed per game at 1.33, having given up eight sacks on the year to date. They’ve done a decent job opening up holes for Mack in the running game, but like Mack, they’re running into issues due to the quarterback play.
With the offense so one-dimensional, the blocking can only be good when the defense knows what’s coming. Hint: it’s likely a hand-off to Mack. Stacked boxes can beat even the best offensive line if the passing came can’t do anything to make them pay.
Defensive Line: C+
USF has focused on a primarily six-man rotation, with Eric Lee, Todd Chandler and Elkino Watson acting as your “starters” and Demetrius Hill, Deadrin Senat and Derrick Calloway as the “backups”.
Calloway leads the linemen with three sacks, helping give the defense a very respectable 14 team sacks to rankle in the middle of the pack in the category. Unfortunately, issues arise in the run game. USF ranks 88th in the country, ceding 182.2 yards per game on the ground. In surprisingly close games of late, the ground game has been the biggest issue in making the jump from “staying close” to “winning games”.
Linebackers: C
The pleasant surprise of this group has been senior Reshard Cliett, who has become a pass-rush threat. He is tied for the team lead with three sacks and has had several more pressures. After the safeties, Nigel Harris leads the way with 32 total tackles and is the steadying force of the linebacking group. He’s also contributed a pair of sacks, giving the defense that added dimension to their pass rush.
Much like the defensive line, this group has had its ups and downs, especially against the run game. Their inability to help clamp down on opposing rushing attacks are a big reason the team is 2-4 and desperately seeking a win to get back into bowl contention.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ebRO4AG-dk]Defensive Backs: B
The pass defense is performing at a decent level, sitting at 56th in the country with 224.5 yards per game. Corners Chris Dunkley and Johnny Ward have been adequate, surrendering the big play here and there, but generally being up to the task.
The strong point of this group is the safety tandem of Jamie Byrd and Nate Godwin. The duo has 96 combined tackles, with Byrd leading the way thanks to his 51 total tackles (tied for 69th in the country). That should illustrate the issue with USF’s run defense: not one but both safeties lead the team by tackles and it’s not even close. If the defense is getting to the second level, that means a ton of tackles for what is supposed to be the last line of defense.
Things could be A LOT worse in terms of the Bulls rush defense statistics if it weren’t for Byrd and Godwin.
Special Teams: A-
In the kicking game, Marvin Kloss has been solid as can be, hitting eight of his 10 attempted kicks on the year. He’s got a long of 47 and has been a perfect 5-of-5 from 30-plus yards. If the game is tight and the Bulls need a late field goal, they can feel very good about their chances.
If the game were based exclusively on the way your kicker and punter played, USF would be sitting pretty. Punter Mattias Cibatti is 18th in the country in net yards with 1,546 and 19th in average at 45.5 yards per punt. (Toledo QB Michael Julian dominates the competition thanks to his one punt of 65 yards).
The return game is just as good, with Chris Dunkley clocking in at 12th in the nation with 410 total kick return yards. He’s got no touchdowns just yet, but his 24.1 yards per return is a big asset to possess in the special teams game. He’s also the punt returner, but his opportunities have been far more limited, with only five returns for 60 yards. Either way, Dunkley is experienced and fast, giving the Bulls an advantage over most in the special teams game.
Overall: C
Though there’s still a lot to be desired, you have to be somewhat pleased of the progress USF has made since its awful Year 1 debut under coach Willie Taggart in 2013, when it it went 2-10 (2-6 AAC) and lost by an average of 19.7 points per game. The Bulls have been surprisingly competitive against teams such as Wisconsin (lost 27-10) and East Carolina (lost 28-17), but we musn’t forget that 12 games are played and that they started 2-4 last season before losing the remaining six.
If USF can match its win total from the first half of the season with two more in its final six, then the city of Tampa can be cautiously optimistic about returning to the postseason in 2015.
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