USF Football: 5 reasons Bulls will win 2017 national title

5. Charlie Strong is a better coach than his Texas record indicates

Last season, Charlie Strong was unceremoniously fired by the University of Texas after he went 16-21 in three seasons in Austin. The Longhorns failed to go to a bowl game each of the past two seasons. They have been lapped not just by Oklahoma but also by teams like TCU and Baylor in the Big 12. Strong certainly deserves some blame for that downswing.

But Strong also walked into a situation that was already trending downward in Austin. The program stagnated in its last few years under Mack Brown, but he was still a beloved championship-winning coach. In three recruiting cycles led by Strong, the Longhorns put together classes that ranked 17th, 10th, and seventh nationally.

It isn’t like he suddenly forgot how to coach when he arrived in Texas. At Louisville he led the Cardinals to victory in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. Before that he was Urban Meyer’s defensive coordinator as the Florida Gators won two national championships. Strong can still recruit and manage a college program despite the results with the Longhorns.

As long as Strong doesn’t try to tweak too much from last season, South Florida should be just fine. Even marginal improvements from an already-loaded team would be enough to do that, and Strong will through those wrinkles into the system with the new staff.