It’s a non-conference matchup on the gridiron when the AAC tangles with the ACC up in the Bluegrass State. The South Florida Bulls are on the road as they make the trip to face the Louisville Cardinals Saturday afternoon. South Florida battled hard on the road but ended up falling 31-28 on the road to #18 Florida last Saturday night. Louisville wound up falling 35-31 at home by Florida State in their most recent game last Friday. In the all-time series between the programs, Louisville owns a 6-5 advantage and has won the last three meetings. That includes a 34-3 road victory in the most recent meeting on October 26, 2013.
South Florida went right down to the wire against #18 Florida on the road in the swamp but failed to come up with a victory. The Bulls dropped to 1-2 overall on the season and look to even their record with a road upset in this one. Against Florida, South Florida trailed 24-10 at the half before rallying to lead 28-24 in the fourth quarter. The Bulls turned the ball over to set up the go-ahead score with 5:05 to play and then a botched snap on a potential tying field goal doomed their chances at a win. South Florida owned a 402-329 advantage in total offense, held a 23-17 edge in first downs and dominated time of possession by a 36:19 to 23:41 margin yet still lost. They turned the ball over three times while forcing a pair of turnovers. Their giveaways led to 17 Florida points, helped by a pick-six, and sunk their chances.
On the season, the Bulls are 112th in the nation in passing offen se with 169 yards per game while they are 45th in rushing offense with 199.3 yards per contest. South Florida is 80th in the FBS in scoring offense with 30.3 points per game while they are 107th in scoring defense by allowing 33.7 points per contest. Gerry Bohanon, the former Baylor QB, runs the offense for South Florida: he is 46 of 86 passing for 507 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. He is second on the team with 21 carries for 139 yards plus a score. Brian Battie leads the team with 27 carries for 269 yards plus three scores while Jaren Mangham contributes 22 carries for 100 yards and three scores as the second back. Michel Dukes (15 carries, 69 yards, three TD) is a solid third back in the system. Xavier Weaver is the top receiving threat as he has 20 catches for 252 yards: no other player has more than four receptions on the year. Spencer Shrader has hit all 11 extra point attempts but is two of four on field goal attempts with a long of 49 this season.