The Bearcats look to take on the 4-5 South Florida Bulls this Saturday night at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. It will be 53º and clear at kickoff down in Raymond James Stadium. Vegas has set the line favoring the Bearcats (-14) against Charlie Strong’s squad.
USF is led by redshirt freshman quarterback #12 Jordan McCloud, who grew up playing high school football about a mile away from South Florida’s stadium. He is 92-162 on the year for 1,001 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. At 6’ and 190 lbs., the young McCloud is a dual-threat athlete with a lot of potential, but a very shaky arm at this point in his career. Fun fact – he is the brother of former Clemson standout receiver and current Buffalo Bill, Ray-Ray McCloud.
The Bulls are 11th in the American in total offense and 7th on total defense. They are 11th in passing, with 178.7 yards per game. They have also given up by far the most sacks in the conference, 38 in total. Look for edge rushers Malik Vann, Myjai Sanders, Michael Pitts, and Ethan Tucky to set up shop in the South Florida backfield.
The Bulls’ overall record is a bit misleading, with losses to Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Navy, SMU, and Temple. However, look for the stout Bearcats defense to contain the weapons on the USF offense. Speed kills, but USF does not have the experience yet to put everything together. This is a business trip for UC, and after the 46-43 scare down in ECU a few weeks ago, do not expect Luke Fickell and Company to look past anyone from here on out. We are taking the Bearcats 31-17 on their path to the Cotton Bowl.
For more analysis on the USF Bulls, tune into the BSR podcast this week, Episode 012 of the Hot Minute Pod!
By Andy Smith