USF football: 3 bold predictions for AAC opener vs. Temple

1. Logan Marchi won’t stay perfect as USF snags his first interceptions

As a freshman, Logan Marchi threw just six passes last season as he backed up Phillip Walker. Now that Walker has graduated, Marchi stepped up into the starting quarterback position and has been solid so far as a sophomore. His completion percentage has improved with each week, and he is ahead of his veteran counterpart Quinton Flowers in most conference quarterback stats. That includes completion rate and yards per game.

While Flowers has thrown three more touchdown passes than Marchi, he has also tossed two interceptions. Marchi, on the other hand, has yet to throw an interception this season — or his college career, for that matter. The Owls sophomore has gone 107 attempts and counting without throwing the ball to the other team. But that is going to change in a big way on Thursday night, as USF fields one of the nation’s most lethal secondaries.

The Bulls have allowed opponents to gain yards through the air, as they rank 71st in the FBS with an average of 234 passing yards given up per game. But the defensive backs have also come up with huge stops to crush offensive momentum for those opponents as well. After three weeks, USF is second nationally with eight interceptions. They will get at least two more on Thursday night as Marchi’s streak ends in Tampa.