USF Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2017
By Zach Bigalke
The showdown between UConn and USF has been an annual staple on the teams’ respective calendars. The Bulls and Huskies have played one another every year since South Florida entered the Big East in 2005. For the past five years, the Bulls have owned Connecticut in the series. Last year the Bulls won 42-27 in Tampa, taking down the Huskies without much trouble.
UConn went 3-9 in Bob Diaco’s third and final season with the team. Back returns Randy Edsall, who is hoping to restore the Huskies to a place where they can contend for conference titles. In his first stint as Connecticut coach from 1999 to 2010, he helped the team transition from the I-AA ranks and led them to two Big East titles.
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It will be hard for Edsall to turn things around immediately, though. The Huskies do return seven players on each side of the ball, so a bowl game could be feasible in 2017.
PREDICTION: South Florida 41, Connecticut 20 (3-0)
Even though UConn should be better in 2017, they are still likely going to be at least 20 points worse than South Florida. The Bulls are going to control the ball, force the Huskies to make a couple of big mistakes, and run away with a comfortable victory to move to 3-0 ahead of the first of two straight short weeks.