College Football Playoff: Which Top 25 teams are contenders, pretenders?
USF’s 11-2 record in 2016 caused fans and pundits alike to take notice. So much so, that their head coach, Willie Taggart, was actually poached by the Oregon Ducks to fill their vacant head coaching job. Without their fearless leader, how could senior quarterback Quinton Flowers and company build on the foundation they built in 2016?
Well, after hiring former University of Texas head coach Charlie Strong to fill their vacant coaching position, the Bulls haven’t missed a step on either side of the ball.
After fielding the 11th ranked offense in the nation last season behind their dynamic dual-threat quarterback Quinton Flowers, who passed for 2,812 yards and rushed for 1,530 yards last season, the team has been able to remain in the Top 25 in 2017 by recording 20 offensive touchdowns, and averaging 496.5 per game under Charlie Strong’s 21st ranked offense.
However, the biggest difference from South Florida’s 2016 squad to their 2017 squad has been their sudden emergence as a defensive juggernaut. After fielding the 120th ranked defense in the nation in 2016, USF currently boast the 13th ranked defense in the nation, a whopping 107 spot increase in less than a year.
Without a single ranked opponent left on the Bulls schedule in 2017, it is not outside the realm of possibility to expect USF to finish the season with another double-digit, and maybe even go undefeated.
However, since USF has also failed to face a single ranked opponent in 2017, it’s incredibly unlikely that they would have found themselves in the college football playoffs, regardless of record.
If coach Strong is able to continue to build upon the foundation he has set in 2017, it could continue to raise the Bulls’ national profile, and could lead to big things for everyone involved down the road.