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Today I bring you several key statistics and points of emphasis for the 7 PM ESPN Friday Night AAC East showdown between USF (6-1, 3-0) and Temple (4-3, 2-1) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Tomorrow night could be the biggest victory in USF Football history, albeit for record purposes only, with the Bulls’ sights honed in on the first-ever 7-1 start in program history.
USF’s 6-1 start to the 2016 season has equaled the program-best start to a season, a watermark the Bulls’ have not reached since way back in 2007 and 2008 under Jim Leavitt. USF’s 6-1 start also landed the Bulls’ 108 points in the Coaches Poll, earning the No. 27 spot just outside of the Top-25 and nearing USF’s first ranking since the Bulls’ were No. 14/16 Week 5 2011.
Turn on your televisions Friday night, flip to ESPN at 7 PM, and watch the Bulls move one game closer to being the #BeastOfTheEast in the AAC and zero in on the goal of an American Athletic Conference Championship. Folks, this is the best USF Football team since 2010 and all of Bulls Nation should be LIT!! 🔥🔥 #BeatTemple #USFvsTEMPLE!!
✏️ In Friday night games USF holds an 8-9 overall record, curb stomping Cincinnati in the last one 65-27 (2015) at Raymond James Stadium. Though, Friday night is in Philadelphia and USF’s last Friday night win on the road dates all the way back to Syracuse (37-17) in 2011.
✏️ #BeastOfTheEast – USF has beaten nine straight AAC East Division opponents, finished 2015 6-0, and has been the victor in a school-record seven consecutive conference contests that dates all the way back to the loss in Annapolis to Navy in 2015. USF faces Navy next week on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium.
✏️ Marlon Mack posted his 17th career 100-yard game vs. UConn and became just the 17th 3,000-yard collegiate rusher in Florida state history. Mack heads into the Friday night showdown against Temple boasting three straight games with over 100 rushing yards.
✏️ Against UConn last week Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack both rushed for more than 100 yards and the Bulls’ rushing attack posted more than 300 yards on the ground for the second consecutive game. In USF’s 44-27 win over Saturday night the Bulls’ Gulf Coast Offense averaged 6.7 yards per carry, dashed for four scores, posted four touchdown drives of less than 1:27, and utilized the overall team speed to break off scoring plays of 54 yards, 34 yards, 29 yards, and 26 yards.
✏️ USF Head Coach Willie ‘#Swaggart‘ Taggart’s Gulf Coast Offense leads the nation in several offensive streaks: (1) consecutive 200 yard rushing games (12), games with at least 35 points (11), and games with more than 440 total offensive yards (11). When USF posts more than 200 rushing yards under Coach Willie Taggart, the Bulls’ have a record of 15-4. The Bulls’ 44.1 points per game in 2016 lands USF ranked 8th in the nation in scoring offense and has the Bulls’ ranked first in the AAC. USF’s 44.1 points per game would bulldoze the 1998 program record of 36.5 points per game, and the torrent pace projected puts the Bulls’ on track to produce approximately 600 points in 2016 which would shatter the 2007 school record of 451. #GulfCoastOffense
✏️ USF is 15th nationally with 506.4 offensive yards per game and ranks 8th nationally (1st in the AAC) with 268.4 rushing yards per game in 2016. The Bulls’ are also ranked 4th nationally in total points scored with a whopping 309. Explosive is a severe understatement. Last week against UConn USF, the Bulls’ finished four touchdown drives in less than two minutes and have 24 touchdown drives of two minutes or less on the year. Quarterback Quinton Flowers’ 312.9 total offensive yards per game ranks 18th nationally and the Miami native’s 120 points responsible for lands him in the 12th national. Running back Marlon ‘#MackAttack‘ Mack’s 7.05 yards per carry in 2016 lands the Sarasota product in the 12th national spot.
✏️ Since Nov. 14, 2015 — a space of football weekends that encompasses the length of a regular season — USF has scored 66 total touchdowns. Only one other team IN THE NATION has scored more during that span – No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Alabama, which has 70 total touchdowns during that span. However, Alabama scored its 70 total touchdowns in 13 games, while USF scored its 66 total touchdowns in just 11.
by Matthew Manuri
Publisher & Editor, SoFloBulls.com | @Mcknurkle
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