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USF Football: Is 2019 a make-or-break year for Charlie Strong?

By Dante Pryor

TAMPA, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls enters the field before kickoff against the UCF Knights at Raymond James Stadium on November 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls enters the field before kickoff against the UCF Knights at Raymond James Stadium on November 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 20: head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls paces during warm-up before the game against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on December 20, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 20: head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls paces during warm-up before the game against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on December 20, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

How will Bulls fare in 2019?

  • Week 1: vs. Wisconsin (Aug. 30)
  • Week 2: at Georgia Tech (Sept. 7)
  • Week 3: vs. South Carolina State (Sept. 14)
  • Week 4: BYE
  • Week 5: vs. SMU (Sept. 28)
  • Week 6: at UConn (Oct. 5)
  • Week 7: vs. BYU (Oct. 12)
  • Week 8: at Navy (Oct. 19)
  • Week 9: at East Carolina (Oct. 26)
  • Week 10: BYE
  • Week 11: vs. Temple (Nov. 7)
  • Week 12: vs. Cincinnati (Nov. 16)
  • Week 13: vs. Memphis (Nov. 23)
  • Week 14: at UCF (Nov. 29)

This is an important season for Charlie Strong and the Bulls — they need to be more consistent. He’s changed offensive coordinators to bring more firepower to the offense. If the defense is as bad as it was last season, they might be bringing in a new defensive coordinator.

Football isn’t a complex game; you must score more than your opponent. The Bulls didn’t do that last season and the result was a six-game losing streak. Maybe they won the other games with smoke and mirrors. This season will let us know who they really are as their schedule is interesting.

They are on the road against a rebuilding Georgia Tech team which should be an interesting matchup. We’ll see how much progress Geoff Collins has made installing a pro-style system in Atlanta.

They host Jonathan Taylor and the Wisconsin Badgers at Raymond-James. We’ll see if they’ve made any improvements to that run defense right out of the gate.

Next. Top 30 skill position players for 2019. dark

Prediction: 7-6, 5-3 AAC

The back half of their schedule is brutal. The Bulls get three important games at home against Temple, Cincinnati and Memphis, but play rival UCF on the road. They’ll be better this year, and will have a different spin on a 7-6 season.

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