USF Prepares for Louisville
Following a heart-wrenching loss at Florida, the Bulls now will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to play the Cardinals. A key win now hangs in the balance for both squads before entering conference play. Considering each team’s start this game might be more important than people think.
What’s at Stake
With a lot riding on this game for the Bulls, they are hoping to come out of Kentucky with a 2-2 record. USF is hoping to steal a win so they can travel home knowing they split even in non-conference play.
For Jeff Scott especially this game would be a key victory considering it would be coming against an ACC team. Knowing Scott has already had two poor seasons means he needs something to add to his resume as the USF head coach. A win against an ACC team would be huge in showing people that the Bulls can hang with just about anyone.
On another note, a win-to-end non-conference would really boost the team morale heading into conference play. The Bulls have a very tough conference schedule because the AAC is a growing conference. Regardless, any sort of confidence boost to the guys in the locker room will be huge so they can have a good rest of the season.
Competition Level
Even though the Bulls lost a hard game to Florida the Bulls took a lot of positives for that game they can use against Louisville. The main one being the competition level. USF coming into the game against Florida was about a 24-point underdog and they ended up losing by only 3 points. Furthermore, USF showed that in a big game they can truly raise the bar and play to another team’s standard no matter how much of an underdog they may be.
USF going into the game against Louisville are showing as a 14.5-point underdog. Despite what the prediction is saying the Bulls are looking to wreak havoc on a Louisville team who just came off a big loss as well to FSU. For USF, it will be all about playing to Louisville’s level which they have proven they can do against other teams.
Keys to the Game
Heading into this week, the Bulls’ focus will be shutting down Malik Cunningham. He has had a decent start to the season and is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. USF, who has played a couple of dual-threat QBs so far this season in Jaren Hall and Anthony Richardson might be a little more prepared than normal.
Regardless, Cunningham is no joke when it comes to running the ball as so far this season, he has 47 carries for 282 yards and three touchdowns. If the Bulls can stop him they will be in very good shape to win this game.
Another key for USF in this game will be getting the offense going early. USF in its three games this season has scored most of its points in the 2nd half of games. So far this season the Bulls have only scored 34 first-half points. Moreover, if USF can get the offense rolling earlier in this contest against Louisville, then there’s no reason to count them out.
Finally, the Bulls will need as much help as they can get from special teams. Special teams is going to play a big part in this game. If Brian Battie can return a kick or if Xavier Weaver could return a punt would be huge for the Bulls. On top of that, Spencer Shrader will need to make sure he’s on his game to secure three points every time he’s called to kick a field goal.
Expectations
For the Bulls, this game is another meaningful game so expect USF to come out with a lot of intensity and excitement. Excitement is one factor of the game that will be there for USF because even though they lost last week, they hung with a top 25 team and truly could’ve won the game.
This contest will hold to be a big test for the Bulls on both sides of the ball. On the defensive side of the ball expect a quarterback spy to help stop Malik Cunnigham from doing what he does best which is running the ball. On the offensive side of the ball expect a lot of running plays just like last week against UF. All in all, expect a high-paced game from the Bulls which hopefully will result in a win for the boys in the white.
