Houston vs South Florida predictions

[Bullrush33]

I am going with   ?.   We dont know what we will get with Mike White.  We dont know how the defense will respond to this offense. John O'Korn is not Teddy Bridgewater.

[Danm1983]

Houston 31

USF 23

 

USF gets Shaw back, and White plays a relatively okay game. They limit mistakes and eat up some clock, enough to slow down Houston, and the defense keeps everything in front of them during the first half. Halftime score is close.

[BullFan98]

42-13 Houston, only because we are pathetic.  Although Houston is 6-1, they only played two good teams (BYU & Rutgers (arguably).  They did play very well against BYU, despite the loss.

[bullsbucsfan426]

In fairness, the Houston defense is a porous sieve. They're #94 in total defense in the FBS, allowing 439.7 YPG. Their offensive domination has permitted them to get away with that and it's probably why UH isn't ranked despite having just one loss. 

 

I'd throw in there though that their scoring defense is far better, ranked 32nd while allowing 22.3 points per game. 

 

Other useful stats: 

 

Run defense: 58th in the country, allowing 157.3 YPG at 3.73 YPC with 10 rushing TDs against.

 

Pass defense: 109th in the country, allowing 282.4 YPG at 7.14 yards per attempt, with 9 passing TDs against. 

 

Biggest statistic here: Houston is #2 in the country for interceptions, taking 16 off 277 attempts. That's approximately 5% of passes attempted, and it's despite only being middle of the pack with 15 sacks. 

 

Also something to note. In red zone defense, they've allowed 16 Tds and 5 FG in 28 attempts. All ten of the rushing TDs scored against them have been in the red zone. 

 

So offensive philosophy here?

We're going to have to chew up all sorts of clock and keep moving the ball against the defense. It's clear they wear down on long drives, or they wouldn't be giving up running TDs inside the 20 so much. That's our ONLY hope to win this game. White will need to be efficient-this is one game where we can't afford turnovers. We especially can't afford penalties here that take us out of scoring range. 

 

Do that and we have a chance. Don't do it and we'll get savaged. This is a major opportunity for Taggart to show off his West Coast offense. He can't waste it-Houston is a potential show case. 

[NTXCoog]

In fairness, the Houston defense is a porous sieve. They're #94 in total defense in the FBS, allowing 439.7 YPG. Their offensive domination has permitted them to get away with that and it's probably why UH isn't ranked despite having just one loss. 

 

I'd throw in there though that their scoring defense is far better, ranked 32nd while allowing 22.3 points per game. 

 

Other useful stats: 

 

Run defense: 58th in the country, allowing 157.3 YPG at 3.73 YPC with 10 rushing TDs against.

 

Pass defense: 109th in the country, allowing 282.4 YPG at 7.14 yards per attempt, with 9 passing TDs against. 

 

Biggest statistic here: Houston is #2 in the country for interceptions, taking 16 off 277 attempts. That's approximately 5% of passes attempted, and it's despite only being middle of the pack with 15 sacks. 

 

Also something to note. In red zone defense, they've allowed 16 Tds and 5 FG in 28 attempts. All ten of the rushing TDs scored against them have been in the red zone. 

 

So offensive philosophy here?

We're going to have to chew up all sorts of clock and keep moving the ball against the defense. It's clear they wear down on long drives, or they wouldn't be giving up running TDs inside the 20 so much. That's our ONLY hope to win this game. White will need to be efficient-this is one game where we can't afford turnovers. We especially can't afford penalties here that take us out of scoring range. 

 

Do that and we have a chance. Don't do it and we'll get savaged. This is a major opportunity for Taggart to show off his West Coast offense. He can't waste it-Houston is a potential show case. 

 

Bigger stat than #2 in interceptions is #1 in turnovers gained, almost 4 per game.    And #1 in turnover margin.

 

The keys to beating Houston...

1)  Score early (and often) - UH has only given up double digits in the 2nd half twice...  13 against BYU & Rice, and 1 of Rice's scores was on a blocked FG.  5 fourth quarter shutouts.  2 second half shutouts

2)  Make UH go on long drives - Most of our TD drives are under 2 minutes.  We have tended to bog down in the red zone offensively (although the endzone fade to Greenberry was a nice new wrinkle used with success for the first time against Rutgers).   Trying to TOP Houston to a loss generally doesn't work.  Forcing long UH drives where UH eats the clock is more successful than the opponent's offense eating the clock.

[Rizman]

Houston 38  USF 3

 

Still unable to move the ball because of the QB and offensive line.

[BuckeyeBull9257]

Think about it, our offense won't be tired at all this week!  They only played for about a quarter on Saturday.  If our defense can get in some quality rest, we'll have the fresh-er team.  Then at least it might be manageable :3  Besides, we can now play like we have nothing to lose.

 

Go Win or Go Home:  USF 27  Houston 24.  (the optimism)

[yosoybullsfan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSPNQ82Sq4E

[Buller64]

Usf breaks the touchdown scoring drought and scores 2TDs unfortuneately Houston still owns TOP and wins 31 - 14, breaking it open in the fourth as the defense gets stranded out there for 40 minutes again.

[cougar king]

TOP is useless to us.