Sure, it was a loss. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some positives that USF football can take away from the 24-17 defeat to Memphis on Friday night.
The home conference opener at Raymond James Stadium started with a brilliant, 95-yard opening offensive touchdown drive by the Bulls. It was important for the offense to run the ball to control the clock and keep the high scoring Memphis offense off the field. This strategy was also important to allow the defense to rest.
Unfortunately, the strategy only worked in the first half.
Memphis adjusted its defense to control the Bulls’ running attack. The Tigers shut down the running game and the Bulls failed to adjust. When Memphis was putting eight and nine men in the box, you would think that the Bulls’ coaching staff would have called more passing plays to loosen up the defense.
But instead, they stuck to the game plan of running the ball. It didn’t work.
Throughout the game the Bulls had a high level of energy and the defense held the Memphis offense to just 24 points – well below the more than 50 points a game the Tigers had averaged for their first four games.
The Bulls’ offense could not keep their end of the deal, however, and after eight consecutive unproductive offensive possessions during the second half, the defense eventually tired.
One of the most frustrating aspects of the game was the poor special teams kick coverage. The Tigers’ punt returners routinely had big returns that set them up with great field position. Time and time again, the Bulls’ defense had to come up big to stop the Memphis offense with their backs to the wall.
To start the second half, Memphis pulled off a successful onside kick that caught the Bulls sleeping. Although the Tigers didn’t score on the possession, it set the tone for the rest of the game.
In the end, it was a tired defense that allowed one more touchdown than the Bulls offense could muster.
There were a number of plays throughout the game that could have potentially swung the outcome to USF’s favor: a dropped interception that could have killed an eventual Memphis touchdown drive, a few long passes that were just off the hands of Bulls’ receivers, and a fumbled punt by Memphis that was narrowly missed by the Bulls’ punt coverage unit deep in Memphis territory.
The Bulls (now 1-3 and 0-1 in the conference) can strive to make these plays starting this week, with the homecoming game against the Syracuse Orange at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
