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South Florida Football: 3 takeaways from win over ECU

By Andrew Miller

TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 15: Running back Darius Tice #6 of the South Florida Bulls celebrates in the end zone after scoring the team's touchdown against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Raymond James Stadium on September 15, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr. /Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 15: Running back Darius Tice #6 of the South Florida Bulls celebrates in the end zone after scoring the team's touchdown against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Raymond James Stadium on September 15, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr. /Getty Images) /
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South Florida football won its fifth game of the season in Week 5 against the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

The East Carolina Pirates were coming off their first win of the season. Last week they defeated the UConn Huskies. Yet, aside from that, ECU has had a tough time getting anything going in any of their matchups before beating UConn.

Meanwhile, the South Florida Bulls entered this game as heavy favorites as the only Group of Five team in the country that is ranked. It was a difficult task for the Bulls to pull away from ECU for much of the game, but they were finally able to get some separation in the second half. USF ended up winning by a 30-point margin with a final result of 61-31.

This is the second American Athletic Conference game for both ECU and USF. Last week, ECU claimed a three-point victory over UConn, by the final score of 41-38. Meanwhile, USF defeated the Temple Owls in a convincing 43-7 win over a quality opponent.

ECU head coach Scottie Montgomery has his seat heating up very quick after a 3-9 record last year. Ever since former head coach Ruffin McNeill was fired a few years ago, the Pirates have been on a steady decline. Another three win season could be on the horizon.

USF head coach Charlie Strong is trying to prove that he is actually making a positive difference with the Bulls. Each game that USF has played has seen them get off to a very slow start just to pretty much demolish their opponent in the second half. The trend continued in Week 5.

Now, let’s take a look at three takeaways from the South Florida victory over East Carolina in Week 5.

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