After an impressive 2017 season, USF football returned on Saturday determined to win the American Athletic Conference. Chaveli Guzman | The Oracle
By Alec Arroyo
Fresh off the first back-to-back 10-win season in program history, USF football returned Saturday with a 34-14 victory over Elon University.
Year two under head coach Charlie Strong started off perfectly, with new starter Blake Barnett dazzling in his Bulls debut by going 24-34 with 305 yards and 4 TD’s (1 rushing). The defense also forced two turnovers and held the Phoenix to 234 total yards.
The Bulls lost five starters on offense and six on defense, but have done well with recruiting these past two seasons under Strong and former head coach Willie Taggart. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Randall St. Felix was evidence of that Saturday night, with 7 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown.
The first game of the season gave a glimpse into what can go right for this team if it all begins to click; their offense looked fantastic, and Barnett seems to be filling the shoes of former USF quarterback Quenton Flowers quite nicely after one start.
After being criticized much of last season for ‘conservative’ play calling, offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert seemed to open up his playbook for the first game of the season, giving Barnett and his offense different schemes and packages to work with; resulting in 515 yards of total offense.
There were many signs pointing up for the Bulls, and it was nice to see this team has not skipped a beat, even after losing so many key pieces from a year ago.
The American Athletic Conference is the crown the Bulls are playing for, and they can’t get it without going through their I-4 rival, UCF. Currently ranked No. 21 in the nation, UCF is led by returning Heisman dark horse Mckenzie Milton.
The Bulls will have their hands full contending for the AAC title, and they showed on Saturday night that they have the potential to be a threat in the conference. It is just a matter of putting it all together.
