Five Ways USF Can Win or Lose to Rutgers

The first game of the Big East schedule is upon us and as the Bulls take the field to face Rutgers, let’s stop for a minute and take a look at the ways RU can beat us and how the Bulls can win this game.

As the Bulls return home, they will be facing a team that has had their number and always plays them tough.  Here are 5 ways USF can win this game, but can also drop this Big East opener.

Five Ways USF Can Win this Game

1. Home Game – After traveling 5 hours from Reno, the Bulls will be glad to be back home in Tampa where they always play well.  With the home crowd behind them to wake them up from the jet lag and the band firing everyone up, the team will be ready to go in this game and should come out with a lot of energy and look to jump on RU early and often.
2. Close Loss Last Year Still Haunting Team – Last season, the Bulls lost to RU in New Jersey by 3 points, one of those close games that motivated the team to work even harder this fall.  Now, as they take the field for the first Big East game, they will be looking to repay the favor to the Knights for the loss they took.
3. Speed on Offence – Tired of hearing about it?  Well tough luck.  The Bulls have the advantage at the skill positions with the wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs on the depth chart.  With guys like Dunkley, Mitchell, Hopkins, Lamar, and others, the Bulls have tremendous speed and if they are able to get the ball to the track stars, they can have the Knights chasing dust clouds all evening.  It will be key to get the speed going early and not let up.
4. Pass Rush – The Knights don’t have a very mobile quarterback in Gary Nova so it will give the Bulls front 7 an excellent chance to get to him before he can throw the ball downfield.  Giddins, Mims, Forte, Chandler, Grissom, and Watson are all monsters up front and have done a solid job and now they face a stationary quarterback compared to Fajardo back in Nevada.  They will have a great opportunity to cause problems in the backfield and get the Knights off the field quickly.
5. Senior Leaders – 24 seniors.  For those 24, this is the last time they will take the field for a Big East opener and with the title still eluding

Five Ways USF Loses this Game

1. Thursday Night – Face the facts, the Bulls have never won on Thursday night and oh, look at this, we are playing on Thursday night.  Hopefully the team is able to break the losing streak, but you never know and the football gods don’t seem to be in our favor on a school night.
2. Short Week – After traveling 5 hours across the country, dealing with jet lag, the Bulls will have just 4 short days to prepare for RU.  A short week means exhaustion could be an issue, a short amount of time to cram for RU, and the possibility of not being 100% ready for the game. 
3. Facing Rutgers – For those who don’t know or for those who would like to forget, USF and RU have a bit of history.  Back in 2007, the Bulls were ranked 2^nd in the country (briefly).  They made a trip up to New Jersey where the bag of tricks was pulled out on them and they suffered one of the most gut-wrenching defeats any fan has seen.  Since then, both sides have slugged it out, each one knowing the other and making a big play late to decide the game.  The Bulls can’t let the familiarity the Knights have with us to allow them to stay in the game late.
4. Khaseem Greene and the Defense – Khaseem is a monster in the middle and leads one of the best defenses in the conference.  The Bulls cannot allow RU to make it a 3 and out game and give the Knight offense more chances to score against us.  USF has to control the clock and not allow Greene and company to dictate what they can do all night.
5. Turnovers – Going to repeat it over and over this season.  The Bulls lost a lot of games late last season on dumb plays and turnovers that cost the team down the stretch.  If they want to beat RU, a team that matches up with them very well, they have to hold onto the ball and make smart decisions (looking at you Daniels).  Any mistakes in a close game could be the undoing for USF.