By Erik Slaby
This Saturday, September 24th at 12:00 p.m. ET, the University of South Florida Bulls (3-0) will face the 13th nationally ranked Florida State University Seminoles (2-1), led by seventh-year head coach Jimbo Fisher, at Raymond James Stadium.
Last week, USF defeated Syracuse in a 45-20 comeback win. By the end of the first quarter, USF was down 17-0. In the second quarter they exploded for a 28-0 run and by halftime, they were up 28-17 on Syracuse. From that point on, USF never relinquished the lead. The defense held firm for the rest of the game by only giving up three points in the second half. The USF offense scored 17 points in the second half.
Wide receiver Rodney Adams led USF offensively with three total touchdowns, rushing for two of them and had 149 all-purpose yards. Running back Marlon Mack also had 115 yards rushing, on nine carries with two touchdowns. This was his 14th game with over 100 yards rushing, a USF record. Adams spoke after the game about the slow start.
"It was a slow start, but we had to just calm down and play football like we normally do. That's exactly what we did. Coach Taggart preached about facing adversity. We calmed down and just played football." USF head coach Willie Taggart also spoke about the team after the win.
“We knew we'd face adversity and I wanted to see how this 2016 team handled it. They didn't flinch. They (Syracuse) threw the first punch and our guys kind of took it, then our guys settled down and thing started to really take off for us."
While USF has shown through three games that they have a dynamic offense, they have not played a defense as talented as FSU’s defense yet. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker leads FSU with four and a half sacks and has been a force in the backfields. He will definitely be a player that USF will have to keep an eye on as well as linebacker Matthew Thomas who leads the team in tackles. FSU will be missing a couple of starters in defensive end Josh Sweat and star safety Derwin James, so USF will have a chance to perform very well offensively. Coach Fisher spoke about the USF offense and the improvement they have made from last year.
“I think they understand the scheme more. Guys have been in it, playing more, more consistency. They're being really consistent in how they're executing. They're creating plays down the field throwing the football. They do a great job running it.” He also added, “I think they're more comfortable executing overall in general what they've done just from repetition, experience, keep doing the same things.”
Last week, FSU was annihilated by now 3rd ranked Louisville, 63-20 and struggled both offensively and defensively. This was FSU’s first game without James so they may be better prepared to play without him this weekend. Offensively, FSU is led by star running back Dalvin Cook and quarterback Deondre Francois. While they struggled last week, they will most likely rebound from their poor performances. It will be difficult for USF to contain them.
Against Syracuse, even though USF held Syracuse to 20 points, they also gave up 549 total yards of offense. If the USF defense struggled that much against Syracuse, they will have a much tougher time against FSU as they have more talent than Syracuse. FSU will have to pay attention to USF linebacker Auggie Sanchez on Saturday. He leads USF in total tackles with 33, total sacks with two and is the leader of the defense.
In the series between these two teams, FSU leads it all-time 2-1. This game will be the toughest test USF has faced so far this season. FSU is still a good team, and they are fresh off a humiliating defeat and falling in the national rankings. It will be very interesting to see how they will respond to this adversity. On paper, it looks like FSU has the more talented team but anything can happen.
Last week, USF defeated Syracuse in a 45-20 comeback win. By the end of the first quarter, USF was down 17-0. In the second quarter they exploded for a 28-0 run and by halftime, they were up 28-17 on Syracuse. From that point on, USF never relinquished the lead. The defense held firm for the rest of the game by only giving up three points in the second half. The USF offense scored 17 points in the second half.
Wide receiver Rodney Adams led USF offensively with three total touchdowns, rushing for two of them and had 149 all-purpose yards. Running back Marlon Mack also had 115 yards rushing, on nine carries with two touchdowns. This was his 14th game with over 100 yards rushing, a USF record. Adams spoke after the game about the slow start.
"It was a slow start, but we had to just calm down and play football like we normally do. That's exactly what we did. Coach Taggart preached about facing adversity. We calmed down and just played football." USF head coach Willie Taggart also spoke about the team after the win.
“We knew we'd face adversity and I wanted to see how this 2016 team handled it. They didn't flinch. They (Syracuse) threw the first punch and our guys kind of took it, then our guys settled down and thing started to really take off for us."
While USF has shown through three games that they have a dynamic offense, they have not played a defense as talented as FSU’s defense yet. Defensive end DeMarcus Walker leads FSU with four and a half sacks and has been a force in the backfields. He will definitely be a player that USF will have to keep an eye on as well as linebacker Matthew Thomas who leads the team in tackles. FSU will be missing a couple of starters in defensive end Josh Sweat and star safety Derwin James, so USF will have a chance to perform very well offensively. Coach Fisher spoke about the USF offense and the improvement they have made from last year.
“I think they understand the scheme more. Guys have been in it, playing more, more consistency. They're being really consistent in how they're executing. They're creating plays down the field throwing the football. They do a great job running it.” He also added, “I think they're more comfortable executing overall in general what they've done just from repetition, experience, keep doing the same things.”
Last week, FSU was annihilated by now 3rd ranked Louisville, 63-20 and struggled both offensively and defensively. This was FSU’s first game without James so they may be better prepared to play without him this weekend. Offensively, FSU is led by star running back Dalvin Cook and quarterback Deondre Francois. While they struggled last week, they will most likely rebound from their poor performances. It will be difficult for USF to contain them.
Against Syracuse, even though USF held Syracuse to 20 points, they also gave up 549 total yards of offense. If the USF defense struggled that much against Syracuse, they will have a much tougher time against FSU as they have more talent than Syracuse. FSU will have to pay attention to USF linebacker Auggie Sanchez on Saturday. He leads USF in total tackles with 33, total sacks with two and is the leader of the defense.
In the series between these two teams, FSU leads it all-time 2-1. This game will be the toughest test USF has faced so far this season. FSU is still a good team, and they are fresh off a humiliating defeat and falling in the national rankings. It will be very interesting to see how they will respond to this adversity. On paper, it looks like FSU has the more talented team but anything can happen.