USF at midseason: Are the Bulls good or bad?

[Bulls On Parade]

Good team, but not playing up to potential. 

Would agree with that. 

If this team brings there A game to every game the rest of the year they could win out.

But I doubt that will happen so they lose at min one more game.

[Cow Pie]

Good team, but not playing up to potential. 

ditto

[smazza]

Enjoy....

http://www.examiner.com/x-873-South-Florida-Bulls-Examiner~y2008m10d8-USF-at-midseason--are-the-Bulls-good-or-bad

USF at midseason: Are the Bulls good or bad?

October 8, 11:32 AM

by Tom Edrington, South Florida Bulls Examiner

     The USF bye week came at the right time.  The Bulls need to take a hard look at themselves and figure out what direction they are going.

Are they good?  Or, are they bad?

If you look at the Pitt performance, or lack thereof, the answer is obvious.  This USF team is NOT very good.

It is certainly not as good as last year's team. 

Defensively, it is painfully obvious that the Bulls cannot stop the run.  Pitt sophomore tailback LeSean McCoy (142 yards, 2 TDs) proved that as he left his cleat marks all over the Bulls.  He was smooth, elusive and the Bulls simply didn't tackle him very well.

On the same note, Pitt proved that USF cannot cover the passing game.  Two names account for that fact -- Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams.  That duo was a USF strength last year.  Jenkins was a first-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys and is logging nice playing time for the 'Boys this year.  Williams was drafted by Jacksonville but ended up on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.  Both are sorely missed and have not been adequately replaced.

Let's see, two major weaknesses -- stopping the run and stopping the pass.

With those two minor issues up for correction in the bye week, the offense has its problems.

QB Matt Grothe is USF's leading rusher with 244 yards on 66 carries while Mike Ford has 225 yards on 55 carries.

Not good.  Pitt's McCoy has 553 yards on 117 attempts in five games, one less than USF.

USF wide receivers have not distinguished themselves.  They were not present against Pitt.  Perhpas it was because Grothe had no time to find them.

Again, another USF weakness unmasked by the Pitt defense.

There is much work to be done over the next 10 days.  The defense must find some way to regain its swagger.  The offense needs spark.  It needs a running game to set up the passing game.

The answer may come in the form of Syracuse.  The Orange are in turmoil.  This will be Greg Robinson's last call as head coach.  Names are already being bantered around as possible replacements.   Alumni headed by former Orange fullback Rob Konrad, are calling for Robinson's immediate replacement.

Fact is, Syracuse just isn't that good.

Fact is, the 'Cuse just might be the cure for what ails the Bulls.

Next:  Running the table or running on empty?

middle of the road team again

they have same old problems

[BullBlood]

We've layed an egg every season in existence and PITT was our egg this year.  5-1 is "good."  If we were 6-0 everyone would be talking about NC this week, but after that final drive by pitt and now most are saying we're below average???  Puzzling.  One game does not define a season.

Painfully obvious that we can't stop the run??? Maybe we couldn't stop the run against PITT with all our recent injuries on the line.  That was painfully obvious.  Prior to pitt we were top 10 run defense.  Our guys will get healty and we'll see who else can run against us.

[bulls96go]

Good team, but not playing up to potential. 

coaching is the difference.

[Bullshark]

Above average, probably to good for our own good!  We play up to our ability in binges and then spend the following week still celebrating. 

If we do suffer from the same defensive problems we've had in the past (stopping the run) offensively we need to game plan for that.  I don't know where Mizzou' defense ranks against the run, but I'm willing to venture when most teams get down by 14 or more in 7 minutes or less against Mizzou, their OC (s) aren't thinking we still must continuously run the ball.  Had we been even a little more succesful on offense, McCoy's 140 yards may not have mattered.  KU wasn't very good vs. the run, but they didn't have to be, they lost by 3 w/ 2 seconds on the clock.

It should be easier to instill catching the ball, running the route you're suppose to, holding on to the ball and maybe even running shorter patterns, screen passes against a deep defensive line like Pitt's than expecting a "speedy"/ lighter defense (not deep on the line) to be able to stuff the run.  The game was lost by 5 points, one offensive drive maybe.  Pitt's defensive line, due to their substitutions, was aggressive and turning the corner pretty fast as well, we didn't answer with any screens, anything to punish the over-committment.  Gregory needs to put some kind of screen in the play book. 

[ahoyboy]

We are average right now..We were better at the time of the Kansas game. Quit reflecting on the fact that this team is an upstart. Aim high. Otherwise, it's just excuses...