2. The Bulls defense will let South Florida fans down at least once
Last year South Florida lost just twice. Both times, the offense scored 30 or more points. In mist circumstances, that would be enough to prevail. Against Florida State and Temple, though, the defense fell flat.
The Seminoles held the ball for over 40 minutes, racked up nearly 500 rushing yards, and put 55 points on the Raymond James Stadium scoreboard. Temple rushed for over 300 yards, Phillip Walker outdueled Quinton Flowers, and the Owls won by 16 to claim the AAC East. In both cases, the defense was unable to get critical stops that might have allowed their offense chances to pull out victories.
Overall, South Florida’s opponents averaged nearly 200 rushing yards and over 285 passing yards per game. There was little bite in the Bulls defense. In addition to the FSU and Temple losses, they also nearly coughed up late leads to Navy and Memphis in league play and against South Carolina in their bowl game.
The Bulls return almost all of their starters on both sides of the ball. That isn’t necessarily a positive thing. Because the offense scored so frequently and prolifically, it allowed the defense to be somewhat complacent on the field. If that mentality carries over into 2017, it could really stink for South Florida.