SBR Likes the Bulls

[Brad]

Bull Rider: South Florida Hangs With Wisconsin In Week 1

 

 

Monday, August 12, 2019 1:27 PM MST

A key interconference clash in Week 1 finds the Wisconsin Badgers in Tampa as 2-TD favorites against the upset-minded South Florida Bulls.

 

Wisconsin Badgers at South Florida Bulls

Friday, Aug. 30, 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Free Pick: Bulls +13½

Best Line Available: 5Dimes

 

Wisconsin	-13 1/2 -110	-13 -113	-13 1/2 -115	-13 1/2 -105	-13 1/2 -115
South Florida	+13 1/2 -110	+13 -100	+13 1/2 -105	+13 1/2 -105	+13 1/2 -105

View All Odds

 

Missed opportunities and blown chances might be the quickest way to describe the 2018 results turned in by Wisconsin and South Florida. Changes in personnel – both on the field and the sidelines – have the Badgers and Bulls each looking towards redemption in 2019 as they prepare to give the schedule a boot in Tampa on the season’s first Friday.

ESPN will carry the contest from Raymond James Stadium, and early action at sportsbooks has been fairly one-sided. Wisconsin opened -11, and that spread has since climbed to -13½. Initial totals are hanging in the 57½-58 point area. It’s just the second meeting between the programs, Wisconsin needing a big second half to claim a 27-10 decision as 33-point chalk.

High Hopes Pinned On USF’s Offense

An 8-5 season isn’t a huge cause for alarm necessarily, but three upset losses really cost Wisconsin a year ago to put Paul Chryst at least on the warm seat if not the hot seat among college coaches. They fell to BYU early at home as 3-TD favorites, then again to Minnesota in Madison laying 12 late in the season. The Badgers also went to Northwestern as light chalk and came home with a 31-17 defeat. Finding a new quarterback is a key question for Chryst and his staff, junior Jack Coan the favorite with freshman Graham very much in the mix. Sophomore Jonathan Taylor is back after leading the nation with more than 2,100 yards rushing, and we can expect him to carry a heavy load once again.

It remains the elephant in the room for Charlie Strong and USF, and unavoidable in conversation: Opening 7-0 in 2018, then losing each of the last six games. Strong reworked his coaching staff, including bringing in Kerwin Bell to ramp up the offense, and the unit has the potential to be among the most explosive in the nation. Seniors Blake Barnett and Jordan Cronkrite are back at QB and RB, respectively, to lead that side of the football. The key will be how much the young defense from a year ago improves, that unit a big part of why the Bulls only covered the spread in four of the 13 games.

Both Teams 12/1 Picks To Win Their Conference Divisions

There was a lot of renewed optimism in Tampa during spring practice under the new coaching staff, but that isn’t really translating in terms of concrete expectations for the Bulls in 2019 with South Florida picked fourth in the AAC East as a 12/1 choice on college football futures. Wisconsin rates about the same in the Big Ten West and the Badgers’ biggest test will come in Week 4 when they host Michigan in the conference opener for both schools.

Both offensive lines will go through growing pains early in this game and the season, and while I stop short of calling for an outright upset, I like the Bulls with my free NCAA football pick.

 

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