College Football Week 2: USF vs. UF In the SWAMP this Saturday!!

Florida, Florida State and Miami the big 3 in the sunshine state of Florida. USF an up and coming school located in Tampa, Florida. The location is more like west central Florida but that name does not have the same ring to it. The University of South Florida, yes that South Florida that beat Florida State last year and the same South Florida that was ranked as high as No. 2 in the polls in 2007. The Bulls went on to get woodshedded by Oregon in the Sun Bowl but that was 07 and a different team. The Bulls and new coach Skip Holtz will once again be in the conversation if they can pull off one of the largest upsets since Appalachian State beat my Wolverines at the Big House a few years back. This team has been around since 1997 beginning in Conference USA and now reside in the Big East.

THE BREAKDOWN
QB
I must say that the Gators looked a bit sluggish with Redhawks of Miami, Ohio. Definitely not what we are accustomed to here in Gator Country. It is safe to say that the Bulls have a chance if they can get pressure on quarterback John Brantley as he lacks the element of escape.
USF Quarterback BJ Daniels must play out of his mind, Florida has an elite secondary in Janoris Jenkins as well as Will "The Thrill" Hill and Ahmad Black. What I say is run the receivers downfield and let BJ run if the seams are not there. Not that easy because USF has no QB depth, their backup QB is wide receiver Evan Landi 3rd on the depth chart is a Freshman from Jesuit High School here in Tampa.

RB
Florida junior Jeff Demps and Emmanuel Moody and Sophomore Mike Gillislee are all fast and averaged over 6 yards per carry last season. Demps' speed will be of focus as the Bulls have to keep in mind not to get too deep in the backfield. USF will need to fill their gaps and bottle up the speedy backs.
USF backs are a different story. They looked mediocre at best against D-1 AA Stony Brook, with one nice run of 63 yards by Marcus Shaw. Mike Ford was let go for brushes with the law in the offseason, he really let down the program. Mo Plancher is the most experienced of the group and all 4 backs on the roster should be used situationally if that is a word.

WR
Since losing Carlton Mitchell to the NFL, USF is a bit green at receiver with the exception of Dontavia Bogan. Evan Landi had 104 yards for the Bulls against a sad Stony Brook secondary.

For UF Chris Rainey could have a field day with USF secondary. I think we will find out early in the 2nd quarter what kind of game he will have. Remember USF is pretty quick on defense so I expect one of the Gator QBs to check down in the 1st quarter and maybe an occasional shot downfield.

DEFENSE
My prediction: Florida's secondary is top notch and should lock down the receiving corp of USF. This will leave QB Daniels to improvise much like he did in Tallahassee last season.
USF's front seven will play a key role in run stopping and if they are successful, the secondary will need to play all-pro to keep the Florida receivers at bay.

Game prediction is Gators 24 USF 17

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