Chi Trib: Friday's matchup, prediction: Illinois at South Florida

[Atlanta Bull]

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-illinois-usf-preview-spt-0915-20170914-story.html

 

Records: Illinois 2-0; USF 2-0.

Last meeting: The programs have never met.

 

Keys to the game

Will South Florida struggle after a tough week? After Hurricane Irma forced the campus to close and the team to disperse, the Bulls did not practice from Sept. 7 until Tuesday. They had only three days to regroup and prepare for Friday's game at Raymond James Stadium. USF canceled its game last weekend at Connecticut as it braced for the storm. Will the Illini benefit from the Bulls being rusty?

Will Mike Epstein keep it up? The freshman running back from Florida has made a quick impression, leading the Illini with 165 rushing yards and scoring two of their four offensive touchdowns. The Bulls allowed only 100.5 rushing yards per game in their first two.

Can the Illini defense continue to take the ball away? Illinois is tied for 26th nationally with four takeaways (two fumbles, two interceptions). It's a message coach Lovie Smith has preached since arriving on campus. USF senior dual-threat QB Quinton Flowers has thrown four TD passes with one interception.

Shannon Ryan's pick: The Bulls have had a rough week, but they have enough talent to outlast the Illini. South Florida 32, Illinois 17.

 

[GaUSFBull]

Bulls take care of the ball, and get touchdowns, they win this one going away.  Lovie Smith teams are predicated on turnovers - it's what he loves more than anything.  I trust QF to protect the ball as he usually does.  

[usfgrad84]

I am a little nervous about how the offense has performed.  Being a nationally televised game, as a ranked team, with every game a very meaningful game this year for where we want to get, I am really curious to see how Flowers handles that pressure.  He has always excelled in the bigger games so I am confident in him and the one thing that  he rarely does is turn the ball over due to bad decisions.  

Now the bigger unknown that really has me worried for the season is Gilbert's offense.  I personally believe he has not really shown anything more than just the basics so far.  When I watched the Texas games from last year there was a lot more downfield throws and more to the outside.  I think this game he gives us the full arsenal.  Also, Charlie Strong is a smart guy.  I have to imagine that he understands the G5 New Year's day game is realistic for this year.  He also has seen us drop by 3 slots even though we are winning.  I believe he has this team ready and they will coming out on all cylinders.  If we come out lethargically like we have the first couple of games then  it could end up being a lost year in respect to the conference championship and major bowl game.  Although not a conference game, I think this is a very big in a lot of ways.  It is big for Strong, big for Flowers and big for the the team.  Being on the national stage we need to come out and make a statement.  

I am nervous about it, but I think we will.

[El_Toro_86]

19 minutes ago, usfgrad84 said:

I am a little nervous about how the offense has performed.  Being a nationally televised game, as a ranked team, with every game a very meaningful game this year for where we want to get, I am really curious to see how Flowers handles that pressure.  He has always excelled in the bigger games so I am confident in him and the one thing that  he rarely does is turn the ball over due to bad decisions.  

Now the bigger unknown that really has me worried for the season is Gilbert's offense.  I personally believe he has not really shown anything more than just the basics so far.  When I watched the Texas games from last year there was a lot more downfield throws and more to the outside.  I think this game he gives us the full arsenal.  Also, Charlie Strong is a smart guy.  I have to imagine that he understands the G5 New Year's day game is realistic for this year.  He also has seen us drop by 3 slots even though we are winning.  I believe he has this team ready and they will coming out on all cylinders.  If we come out lethargically like we have the first couple of games then  it could end up being a lost year in respect to the conference championship and major bowl game.  Although not a conference game, I think this is a very big in a lot of ways.  It is big for Strong, big for Flowers and big for the the team.  Being on the national stage we need to come out and make a statement.  

I am nervous about it, but I think we will.

Well said!  Feel the exact same way.