football Zebold: Five Things to Watch for vs. Memphis

[Brad]

Five Things to Watch for vs. Memphis

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, OCT. 1, 2015 – USF football sees challenges as great opportunities and the Bulls have a chance to make a splash on the national scene this week.

USF looks to cool off red-hot Memphis 7 p.m. Friday, when the teams clash in primetime at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls’ conference opener will be televised on ESPN2, which marks the program’s third consecutive game on national TV. Purchase tickets HERE.

“It’s great opportunity for us to take the next step in accomplishing those goals and that goal is to win our conference and win our division,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “This is one of those first steps. We got them at home, Friday night in primetime and it doesn’t get any better than that.”

USF (1-2) had an open date to prepare for the Tigers after falling at Maryland, 35-17, on Sept. 19. USF has worked on improving in all areas since the bye week and the Bulls were pleased with the work they’ve put in at the Morsani Football Complex.

“I thought this was one of the most complete weeks of practice we’ve had as far as just coming out every day and not letting external things affect us,” starting center Brynjar Gudmundsson said. “We came out here and practiced hard from the very first whistle and we finished strong.”

The Bulls know they’ll have to put together a complete performance to do something no team has accomplished yet this season – beating Memphis. The Tigers are 4-0 for the first time since 1961 and they’re on a program record 11-game winning streak dating back to last season.

“We’ve got a football team that’s rolling coming in here and it’s a great opportunity for this football team,” Taggart said.

Before the Bulls get back to business, here are five things to watch for as USF attempts to improve to 3-0 in American Athletic Conference openers.

‘Bull Sharks’ vs. Memphis’ High-Powered Offense

Memphis ranks fifth nationally with 53.8 points per game and the Tigers have been putting up basketball-type numbers with ease. Memphis is averaging 570 yards per outing and it all starts with quarterback Paxton Lynch, who set a new career passing high in each of the team’s past three games.

“He’s throwing the ball on time and getting it to the right people,” Taggart said. “He’s really got a good handle on the offense right now and it’s going to be a challenge for our guys.”

Lynch has totaled eight TD passes and no interceptions in his first 113 attempts this season. On the other side of the ball, USF’s “Bull Sharks” defense intercepted three passes at Maryland, which marked the program’s most in a game since 2011.

USF knows continuing the trend won’t be easy against Lynch and the Bulls will look to make the Tigers work for everything they get on offense.

“They have one of the top offenses in the nation, but we feel like we can keep up with them,” safety Nate Godwin said. “We’re going to go out there and we’re going to try to force them to field goals. In the red zone, we don’t want them to score. That’s the issue we’re forcing.”

Led by Jarvis Cooper, Memphis also is getting it done on the ground with 227.8 yards per game. Taggart said the Bulls must have “eye discipline” with all the fakes and movements the Tigers like to do on offense.

“You need it even more this week with some of the misdirection things they’re doing,” Taggart said. “It’s just going back to understanding your role and doing it to the best of your ability.”

Defense Focused on Takeaways

Offensively, Taggart said the Tigers “live on big plays” and the Bulls’ defense will try to make a few of their own in an effort to shift momentum.

Regardless if it’s a pass or a run, look for the “Bull Sharks” to take an aggressive approach to the ball-carrier in an attempt to produce turnovers.

“I don’t care who you are and what game you’re playing, if you want to win a big game, you’ve got to create takeaways,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “(Lynch) is hard to pick off, but fumbles are a part of what we do, teach and emphasize every day. We’ve had a great week in doing that and we’ve got to be really aggressive with that mentality.”

Accomplishing the feat would be a great statement made by the USF defense against a team that’s very efficient. Memphis has run 323 total plays this season and has lost only four fumbles.

Mack Attack

Controlling the pace of the game and eating up clock time could be a way for USF to slow Memphis down. Setting the tone with an effective running game would help and USF is looking to get its biggest playmaker on offense more involved.

Marlon Mack led The American with 1,041 rushing yards as a freshman and he’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry as a sophomore. Mack averaged 5.92 yards per carry on 12 attempts the last time out at Maryland.

“No matter how that game goes, he’s got to get more than 12 touches,” Taggart said. “That’s on me that he makes sure he gets more than 12 touches, and he will.”

It’s important to note that Mack ran for 102 yards on 16 carries in USF’s meeting with Memphis last season in Tennessee. One of Mack’s carries went for a 75-yard touchdown 11 seconds into the second quarter.

Bulls Focused on Getting the Passing Game Going

USF knows it has to get more out of its passing attack to sustain drives after totaling 60 yards through the air at Maryland. Dropped passes plagued the Bulls in their battle with the Terps and quarterback Quinton Flowers said the offense has looked much sharper in practice.

“We got our timing down, so we should be good,” he said.

More consistency has helped USF build more confidence in the passing game in practice and Flowers said it’s all about applying it in the game Friday.

“We went out there and we just showed Coach T we could do it,” Flowers said. “The whole team showed that they can do it. We know we can do it. We just have to go out there and put it on the field and show the fans that we can do it.”

The Bulls could benefit from having one of their top targets back in action. Tight end Elkanah Dillon (31.5 yards per catch) is expected to play after missing the Maryland game with a head injury he suffered late in the fourth quarter at Florida State.

“Kano will be back and that will be good for us,” Taggart said.

Bulls Need to Cash In on Opportunities

Regardless if Friday’s game is a shootout or a defensive showcase, USF knows it must cash in on opportunities close to the goal line. USF has scored on 82 percent of its chances in the red zone this season and has scored touchdowns 64 percent of the time (7-for-11).

“We have to score touchdowns, not kick field goals down there,” Taggart said. “That’s what it’s going to take against a really good football team, a high-scoring football team like Memphis.”

Opponents have been able to average 29 points per game against Memphis, but it hasn’t been an easy task inside the 20. The Tigers have allowed a touchdown inside the red zone only 47 percent of the time (7 of 15).

Link

[hm101]

I really... REALLY hope something got majorly repaired since md.

[Harry J]

Looking forward to a good game tomorrow.

[NCBull]

"as USF attempts to improve to 3-0 in American Athletic Conference openers."

Silver lining!

[hbryan]

6th Thing to Watch For:  Can USF offense score more than 17 points with Quinton Flowers at QB and will passing yards exceed 100 yards.

[SoTampaBull]

6th Thing to Watch For:  Can USF offense score more than 17 points with Quinton Flowers at QB and will passing yards exceed 100 yards.

Excellent observation and addition to his list, as the Bulls have scored just 20 offensive touchdowns in their 16 AAC games over two seasons.  That's just 1.25 offensive TDs per game.

[fla331boy]

Time to make a statement in the Conference opener. We must get to Lynch and force him into bad situations.

 

Having Dillon back should help QF as Price has decided to not show up much lately.

 

Mack needs to break some runs and we need to control the clock and limit stupid penalties.

Edited October 2, 2015 by fla331boy

[raptorcj]

Defense Focused on Takeaways

"...but fumbles are a part of what we do, teach and emphasize every day. We’ve had a great week in doing that and we’ve got to be really aggressive with that mentality.”

Getting takeaways is great, but honestly I would have preferred to hear Tom go off about focusing on tackling/wrapping up. He makes it sound like they'll go hard for the fumble, which we've often seen lead to poor tackling.

[CousinRicky]

So, we aren't running a hurry up offense this year?

Mack Attack

Controlling the pace of the game and eating up clock time could be a way for USF to slow Memphis down. Setting the tone with an effective running game would help and USF is looking to get its biggest playmaker on offense more involved.

Marlon Mack led The American with 1,041 rushing yards as a freshman and he’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry as a sophomore. Mack averaged 5.92 yards per carry on 12 attempts the last time out at Maryland.

“No matter how that game goes, he’s got to get more than 12 touches,” Taggart said. “That’s on me that he makes sure he gets more than 12 touches, and he will.”

It’s important to note that Mack ran for 102 yards on 16 carries in USF’s meeting with Memphis last season in Tennessee. One of Mack’s carries went for a 75-yard touchdown 11 seconds into the second quarter.

 

 

[TromBull12]

So, we aren't running a hurry up offense this year?

Mack Attack

Controlling the pace of the game and eating up clock time could be a way for USF to slow Memphis down. Setting the tone with an effective running game would help and USF is looking to get its biggest playmaker on offense more involved.

Marlon Mack led The American with 1,041 rushing yards as a freshman and he’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry as a sophomore. Mack averaged 5.92 yards per carry on 12 attempts the last time out at Maryland.

“No matter how that game goes, he’s got to get more than 12 touches,” Taggart said. “That’s on me that he makes sure he gets more than 12 touches, and he will.”

It’s important to note that Mack ran for 102 yards on 16 carries in USF’s meeting with Memphis last season in Tennessee. One of Mack’s carries went for a 75-yard touchdown 11 seconds into the second quarter.

 

 

Against  a high-powered offense you want to keep them off of the field as much as possible. So this is one where you don't want up tempo offense because our defense has to win us this game and if they're gassed...  Even if our offense is efficient, we can't win a shoot out.

Edited October 2, 2015 by TromBull12