Strong says USF needs to play its best for Bulls to beat UCF
Where: Spectrum Stadium TV: ABC Weather: 70 degrees, 15 percent rain chance Online: orlandosentinel.com/knights; Twitter
Quick slant: Rivals UCF and USF face off for the most important War on I-4 showdown to date. The winner clinches a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. For the Knights, it would also give them the first undefeated regular season in school history and keep them on track to earn a Peach Bowl bid.
About UCF (10-0, 7-0 AAC): Quarterback McKenzie Milton is coming off a strong game against Temple and directs the nation’s top scoring offense. The defense, meanwhile, has generated key turnovers.
About USF (9-1, 6-1 AAC): Quinton Flowers is closing in on claiming every USF quarterback record. The USF defense has helped offset most offensive miscues. What to watch: Turnovers: Milton has turned the ball over against strong defenses and will be tested by USF’s defense.
Special plays: Every time UCF has sputtered, the special-teams unit has delivered a jolt. The Knights could use some big-time returns today.
Strong kicking: Rivalry games can be closer than expected and kicker Matt Wright’s poise could be the difference.
Iliana Limón Romero @osknights
TAMPA USF coach Charlie Strong didn’t mince words when asked what his Bulls need to do to beat No. 15 UCF on Friday afternoon.
“Right now, they’re playing better than us,” Strong said. “The only way we can beat them is for us to be at our best.”
Easier said than done for a USF (9-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) team that, according to Strong, has yet to play a complete game this season. The Bulls may look flawless for a quarter or even a half, only to struggle to finish strong or in some cases, start well.
Nothing exemplifies that more than last week’s 27-20 win over Tulsa.
USF raced out to a 21-7 first quarter lead over the Golden Hurricane, with the Bulls averaging nearly 11 yards per play while accounting for 229 yards of offense. But as quickly as the offense got started, it vanished with the team only able to muster 192 yards and a 3.7 yards per play average the rest of the way.
The Bulls went through a similar pattern during wins over San Jose State, Stony Brook and East Carolina. It also nipped USF during the team’s only loss to Houston.
Against a team like UCF (10-0, 7-0), which leads the nation in scoring (48.2 points per game) and is fifth in the country in total offense (522.6 yards per game), a slow start or even taking the foot off the gas offensively could be costly.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be a shootout, but we’re going to have to be able to stop them,” Strong said of the potential for a back-andforth type of game Friday. “We’re going to have to get some defensive stops and we’re going to have to get the ball back to our offense.”
“Sometimes it’s like a video game how quickly they get the ball down the field.”
UCF does have an inclination toward big plays. The Knights have had 69 plays of 20 or more yards this season, with 14 of those resulting in touchdowns. For their part, the Bulls have only allowed 37 explosive plays, with 10 of those going for scores.
“We can’t give up the big play. We can’t let one bad play lead to another,” Strong said of his defense.
USF’s offense is no stranger to explosive plays. The Bulls are averaging close to 38 points per game this season and have eclipsed 40 points in four games this season. Much of that success has been predicated on the ground game.
Once again the team is one of the best in the country in rushing offense, with USF averaging nearly 277 yards per game on the ground.
“In any game, you want to be able to run the ball because running the ball shows you’re physical and it allows you to control the clock,” he said.
Senior offensive lineman Cameron Ruff knows establishing the run game will be crucial against an athletic UCF defense.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge and a task for us as an offensive line to grind it out every single play, to move the defensive linemen and to keep up with the speed of the linebackers,” Ruff said.
“We’re trying to be best so we have to beat best.” the the