The USF Bulls (7-1) lost their chance at a perfect season last weekend, but they’ll look to keep their AAC title hopes alive versus UConn. The Huskies (3-5), coming off an embarrassing loss to Missouri, will host the Bulls at Pratt and Whitney Stadium. Kickoff is at 3:30 EST, with the game airing on ESPNU.
Everything went haywire last Saturday for the Bulls. The one concern for them heading into last week against Houston was that they hadn’t passed the ball consistently. But while their air attack showed up Saturday, the Cougars surprised everyone by stifling the run.
USF still had a chance at the end, but their coverage was dreadful last week. They have talent all over the field, but they will need a major improvement to stay focused on the road. QB Quinten Flowers had 325 yards, but not when it counted most, as he finished with zero passing touchdowns.
On the other side, the Huskies were improving drastically with back-to-back wins. That’s until they got steamrolled by Missouri last week, 52-12. Their passing was under 50%, their rushing under 3.0 YPC, and their defense gave up over 400 yards passing.
UConn comes in as 23 ½-point underdogs.
It’s do-or-die for the Bulls now. They’ve lollygagged at times this year and weren’t truly challenged by anyone. That’s before last Saturday, when they got a surprise at home from Houston. But given how awful their run game performed, it’s a wonder they stayed as close as they did. They should’ve won at the end, and had several chances to do so.
UConn is coming off a demoralizing loss, and playing a team with their season goal on the line is going to be an uphill battle all day. UCF doesn’t look like they’ll lose up until the point of playing USF at the end of the season, so the Bulls can’t afford another slip-up.
The Huskies run defense is not all that much worse than Houston’s, but the personnel is clearly not as talented on the front seven. And there’s also the small fact that UConn is dead-last in the entire nation against the pass. Coming off his best performance through the air, Flowers will be able to build off that.
Missouri gouged UConn through the air. And while USF may not put up 52 points, they may find more balance than they’ve had all year.
Darius Tice should also expect more carries, as he was the only one getting anywhere on the ground versus Houston. He’s a powerful back that can create matchup problems for each level of the Husky defense.
As far as the defense goes for the Bulls, a few red flags went up on the defensive line. They’d been dominant all year versus the run, but got pushed around against a more physical front. UConn doesn’t have those same capabilities. They’ve only rushed for over 200 yards once this season, and are too sporadic with their successes there.
UConn’s offense as a whole is getting better with a more up-tempo approach. They’re liable to put up 21 points against this defense. But they can’t keep up with the Bulls in a shootout, which is what it’ll be from the get-go if the Bulls show up.
Look for USF to take the Huskies out with an early second half surge, and hold them off the spread late.