USF Bounces Back Against Howard
Even after a slow start to the game, USF manages to pull things together in the 2nd half to beat Howard 42-20. USF bounces back in this contest against a Howard squad that seemed to never want to go away. When it came down to business though USF was steadily able to get the job done.
USF’s Balanced Attack
The USF offense showed much better strides in a game that looked way closer than the score could tell. After an early scare due to a thrown pick by Gerry Bohanon the Bulls’ offense took some time to get going, but ultimately took care of business in a good manner.
The Bulls were able to use a steady attack through the air with a couple of receivers to get down the field on a bunch of different drives. When it came to scoring though USF got into the endzone every time by running the ball. The ground game proved to be effective in the red zone for the Bulls tonight.
Bohanon yet again struggled early in this competition but kept composed which led to some well-put-together drives down the stretch. Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn Jr. combined for over 100 yards receiving in this game which was big for the Bulls on some crucial plays. On the ground, Brian Battie seemed to have played with a chip on his shoulder as he ended the game with seven rushing attempts for 105 yards including a 60-yard run late in the game which resulted in a touchdown.
The Bulls Defensive Upbringing
Despite a struggling first game, the USF defense came to play against Howard. USF’s defense looked decent throughout most of the game except during parts of the first half. The Bulls forced two fumbles and recovered both of them during the first half, but also had serious trouble getting off the field.
Quinton Williams had a good first half and managed to keep the Bison in this game up until the fourth quarter. All three Howard drives in the first quarter started well but eventually didn’t end as planned. One of those drives resulted in a touchdown, but the other two resulted in a punt as well as a fumble.
USF’s defense as a whole started to get more in tune with the game as time went on. The Bulls in the 2nd half had a lot of success sustaining pressure against Williams. The defense in total had 3 takeaways which were huge for USF. The takeaways were big keys to USF’s winning this ball game. Furthermore, the defense also did a good late stopping the vertical pass. USF gave Howard no room to throw the football downfield as the game was ending.
Cleaning up to-do
Even though the Bulls won big there’s still a lot of cleaning up for this team to do. USF needed the win, and they got it, but it was in no amazing way. The Bison proved to be a worthy FCS school testing USF early which comes to show their not just positives in a winning game.
The defense looked much better tonight against Howard but a big thing they’ll need to work on is stopping the run. Howard had trouble late in the game getting the run game going, but early on USF didn’t exactly have an answer to the different run looks from Howard. Jarett Hunter and Ian Wheeler both tallied over 70 yards on the ground for the Bison today. USF will need to make sure they hit the line a lot faster and are more prepared for the run game.
The offense for the Bulls looked strong and will have to be for the next upcoming games. Bohanon was able to spread the ball to nine different receivers which was huge for the Bulls. Getting different guys involved was good for the Bulls in this kind of game. Furthermore, The USF offense will have to make sure they are a little more into the game because just like BYU they couldn’t find a rhythm throwing the ball early. Bohanon and the offense will have to be more in sync with the game so they’re not playing from behind in games this season.
The Road Ahead
USF bounces back against Howard and will now head on the road to play the University of Florida in “The Swamp.” UF is going to be a much-needed challenge for the Bulls, especially after the first two weeks. USF will have to tidy up on their mistakes if they would like to have any chance in this contest. UF is now coming off a loss to Kentucky which means Billy Napier is going to have his guys ready for a USF squad that’s going to be put to the test.
