The Bulls of the University of South Florida head north for their first road trip of the 2016 season to visit the Orange of Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. USF has had unique success against the Orange, dominating them with a 7-2 win-loss
record since beginning play in 2005. Not only do they Bulls dominate the record, but they dominated the scoreboard as well, winning by an average of 33-16. The two teams played again last year for the first time since Syracuse left the Big East football conference to join the ACC, where they have a 14-23 record. This game will be played in the Carrier Dome, where USF is an undefeated, 4-0.
The Orange come into this week three matchup after a dominating 33-7 win over Colgate in the first week, and a humiliating loss to Louisville, 62-28, in week two. Averaging just over 30 points per game thus far, their offense comes in ranked 70th in points, nationally. Sophomore quarterback, Eric Dungey, is putting up respectable numbers, averaging 305 yards of offense per game, with five touchdowns and one interception on the season. In two games, he has already accumulated 610 yards of passing offense.
Dungey’s favorite targets have been senior receiver, Amba Etta-Tawo, and junior receiver, Ervin Philips. While each of them have 20 catches, Etta-Tawo has made the most of his catches, going for 156.5 yards per game and three touchdowns on the season. As a team, the Orange average 365 yards passing per game, ranking them tenth in the nation in this category.
Their running game is a different story, ranking 102nd in the nation, with just 119 rushing yards per game. Nearly half of that load, 54 yards per game, comes from freshman running back, Moe Neal. Dungey also accounts for about a fifth of the rushing yards, with 22 per game.
Defense is an exposed weakness for the Orange. Giving up more than 34 points a game ranks their scoring defense at 104th, nationally. Kielan Whitner, sophomore defensive back, leads the team with nine tackles. They’ve managed just one interception thus far, courtesy of sophomore defensive back, Daivon Ellison. Ellison’s one pick came against Louisville, last week. Syracuse has been able to get some pressure up front, with five sacks in two games. Sophomore defensive lineman, Chris Slayton, has a pair of sacks from the Colgate game.
USF enters the game on a roll, scoring over 100 points in their first two games, this season. They’re currently ranked 10th in the country for scoring offense, accumulating an average of 52 points per game. After having a relatively quiet passing game in the first week against Towson, junior quarterback, Quinton Flowers, had a breakout game against NIU, passing for 350 yards and four touchdowns. That bumped the yards per game average to 297, the 27th best total in the nation. Individually, Flowers is ranked 32nd in passing yards per game.
Junior receiver, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, leads the Bulls with eight catches and 151 yards on the season, with one touchdown. Senior, Rodney Adams, has 86 yards on seven catches with one score. With half as many targets as Valdes-Scantling, fellow junior, Ryeshene Bronson, has one touchdown and 122 yards of receiving on the season.
The running game has been a particular area of strength for Bulls. Even after a week one injury to star junior running back, Marlon Mack, USF ranks 22nd in rushing offense, with 253 yards per game. In Mack’s absence, senior running back, Darius Tice, has kept the team on track, running for 120 yards and a score against NIU. Tice leads the team with 152 total yards, but junior running back, D'Ernest Johnson, has racked up 120 yards and Flowers has just a tick under 100 and two touchdowns. Adams has also contributed to the running game, rushing for 65 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
USF’s defense is ranked 42nd in scoring defense, nationally, allowing 18 points per game. Junior linebacker, Auggie Sanchez, has resumed the team lead in tackles with 13, a lead which he held for most of last season. Individually, he’s ranked 32nd in the country in total tackles. Sophomore defensive back, Jaymon Thomas, is second on the team, with six. The Bulls have five sacks on the season, with five different players each getting one. The only interception this season has been caught by senior linebacker, Nigel Harris, against Towson.
All indicators in this game seem to favor the Bulls. Syracuse’s strong point is their passing game, but they will face the 30th ranked passing defense, who are allowing just 163 yards passing per game. USF seems to be putting together a high powered offense, which sounds like a mismatch for the Orange’s 104th ranked scoring defense. Their rushing defense is also below average, allowing 229 yards per game, an area where USF is likely to find exploits. The Bulls have probably allowed more points than they should have, given the caliber of their previous opponents, but Syracuse hasn’t demonstrated the ability to create a lot of points to take advantage of a weakness there.
The Orange are 14 point underdogs at home to the Bulls. Kickoff is at 3:30 PM and can be viewed on ESPN3.
