This weekend begins the USF Bulls’ quest towards a return to a bowl game, as South Florida welcomes in the 25th ranked team in the country into Tampa, the BYU Cougars.
USF comes into the season under third-year head coach Jeff Scott, who took over the head coaching duties in 2020. Up to this point in Coach Scott’s three seasons, Scott and his Bulls have only been able to muster up three wins, with only one of them against an FBS opponent in Temple.
While Scott’s head coaching resume with USF hasn’t proven to be illustrious, the team also has had its fair share of struggles, as the team last season was in the middle or bottom half of Division 1 FBS Defensive and Offensive team rankings.
Although the struggles and mistakes have been prominent in the last few seasons for the Bulls, the season looks bright but with a tough slate. With that being said, there are five questions that USF fans should have heading into this weekend and also this season.
1. What Is The Identity?
This is one of the biggest questions that need to be answered this weekend not only for the team, but also for the fans. The last two seasons have been strange to say the least and we haven’t seen the full potential from certain players on the roster.
With that said, this BYU game is a great opening test. BYU is on scale with USF in terms of returning production and players who know how their respective team’s systems and BYU is arguably better than Louisville and Florida in terms of the non-conference games.
USF needs to make a splash this weekend somehow, someway. Whether it be a big defensive day or even Bohanon bringing some juice to the offense, USF needs to find what will make them who they are this season.
2. Is Bohanon “The Man”?
The biggest transfer move made this off-season for South Florida was the acquisition of Gerry Bohanon from Baylor University. Last season, Bohanon put together a solid season, tossing 18 touchdowns and over 2,000 passing yards and a Sugar Bowl win over Ole Miss.
On paper, Bohanon is definitely an upgrade over Timmy McClain, who transferred to UCF and will not be eligible to play, but the only way we can see if he is an upgrade is his on the field play and this BYU game is a perfect “tryout”.
If Bohanon can do what he did last season with Baylor here with USF, don’t be surprised if the Bulls are 6-6 and bowling once again.
3. Passing or Rushing?
Another question is what will Bohanon be relying on for this season. The passing attack last season for the Bulls was one of the more unformidable parts of this team with McClain only throwing five passing touchdowns.
However, with Bohanon and an interesting group of receivers that feature grad student Latrell Williams and leading receiver Xavier Weaver, the question is what does Bohanon rely on?
One of the bright spots last year was the rushing attack, with incoming senior Jaren Mangham coming into the year off a 15-TD season last year and Brian Battie, who was one of the best return specialists in college football. Mix that in with the almost 10 rushing TDs Bohanon had last season with Baylor, it may create an interesting dynamic offensively. Simply, Saturday should answer what offensive production the team will rely on.
4. Jeff Scott, Hot Seat Season?
This may be more of a “what if” question but it is something to keep in mind as we get later on in the year.
As mentioned earlier in this article, Jeff Scott has not lived up to expectations in terms of in-game production and team success and while sometimes you can’t defend a coach for shortcomings of a team, this is one case where you have to.
Personally, I still believe in Coach Scott. The 2020 season can be put aside with how much change occurred that year and the 2021 season was kind of the rebound year as teams in collegiate football tried to revert back to normal routines.
With that being said, Jeff Scott had a solid offseason this year, really making this year’s team his. Jeff Scott brought in 15 D-1 transfers, primarily on the defensive side of the ball and a majority from Power 5 schools, hoping that some of that Power 5 experience can translate and help when playing these power 5 schools and the rest of the AAC.
5. Bowl Capable?
While this may not be answered this year, we can at least figure things out. USF comes in with a talented group and a team that has experience. To be honest, I am nervous if Bohanon goes down due to injury because of the lack of college quarterback experience behind him, but I do think this team has a shot and potential this year.
I predicted 4-8, which is very achievable; this team could easily be a 6-6 club and show some potential in the coming years, but this team may very well be 2-10 due to the strength of schedule and conference foes they have to play. While I don’t believe this team will make a bowl game, this team will build off their season last year, where the team did have shots to win in multiple games.
Overall Predictions
My predictions heading into this weekend is unfortunately a USF defeat. While I do believe this is a great opening contest for the Bulls to see what they have, I don’t see them knocking off No. 25 BYU. BYU is coming off a 10 win season with 85% of their team returning as well.
If you’re the Bulls or a fan of the team, if you have a shot to win in the 4th, that is a very successful day. If this team can show improvement from last season this weekend, then you have to be happy.
Saturday’s game will kickoff from Raymond James Stadium at 4pm EST with the game scheduled to be airing on ESPNU as USF looks to take the series lead as it’s tied at one a-piece.