The USF Bulls are looking for win number two on the season as they try to complete a victory over their former Big East & American rival in Louisville.
This is the first game between these two schools in almost 10 years, with the last duel being an in-conference game featuring the likes of Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville won 34-3).
It seems like the tables may turn as South Florida is playing a Louisville team that has relied on a similar offensive game plan in the first three weeks of the season. The Cardinals are also looking for their second win.
Preview
While on paper the QB matchup is quite compelling, with both Gerry Bohanon and Malik Cunningham at the helm, the rushing attack has been quite effective and this game may end up being the game where one of these two QBs will have to show off their passing skills to get their team over the edge.
Louisville’s Malik Cunningham, the senior QB out of Montgomery, AL, has 282 yards on the ground this season and 596 yards passing with three interceptions and four total touchdowns as well.
While Cunningham hasn’t blown anyone out of the gate in terms of his numbers, he does bring out a dynamic ability at the position that can compare to Bohanon, which is an extension to both Louisville and USF’s run game.
Bohanon has not blown anyone out of the water either in terms of his passing attack, as he still is looking for his first passing touchdown and has had a few misfires on targets in the first few weeks.
With that being said, when you have running backs in the “Fearsome Three” in the form of Michael Dukes, Jaren Mangham and Brian Battie, who have all been very productive rushing for the USF in the past two weeks, why not rely on the run game?!
Then again, this can be a game where we could see the South Florida receivers get a bit more action; expect Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn Jr. to have solid receiving numbers, specifically later in the game.
This game won’t be a game for defense, as both teams come in with bottom half rankings in total defense on the year, but it’s gonna be a game to see which team can limit the mistakes on the offensive side and also create some momentum in the passing game.
Overall Thoughts
If USF can play the way they played last week in The Swamp against the Gators, they have a very good shot versus Louisville this week.
These two programs have a lot in common in terms of the team play style, but USF needs to tighten up against power-5 competition in the big moments.
There were crucial mistakes last week that costed the Bulls late.
If USF can improve upon last week and have a similar finish or even an upset victory over the Cardinals, it would definitely be a trending upward moment for the program as well as a great stepping stone heading into conference play next week where USF could do some damage against teams such as Temple, Navy, Tulsa and quite possibly UCF.