Gators’ fans have felt every emotion humanly possible through the first two weeks of college football. An upset victory in week one launched the Gators into the spotlight, rising to 12th in the AP Poll. A week later the Gators failed to execute offensively, dropping an ugly game to Kentucky.
The Gators sit at 18th in the AP Poll ahead of their week three clash with South Florida. The Bulls are 1-1 on the season, losing to BYU in week one and beating Howard in week two.
The Gators played USF last season, winning 42-20 in Tampa. Gators’ fans got their first real glimpse of Anthony Richardson during that game. Richardson connected on all three of his pass attempts for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball four times for 115 yards and a score.
Richardson and the Gators will play against some unfamiliar faces this time around. South Florida’s head coach Jeff Scott added 15 players via the transfer portal this offseason, including their starting QB, Gerry Bohanon.
USF ranks 127th in the country in run defense, giving up 240 yards per game on the ground. With the Gators’ inability to effectively pass the ball at this point in the season, you can expect the Gators to lean on the run game early on.
Richardson needs to find his rhythm in the pass game this week. If the Gators travel to Knoxville next week without Richardson able to keep Tennessee honest with the passing attack, things could get really ugly.
EXECUTION
This week is about execution for the Gators. Every unit on the offensive side of the ball needs to improve against the Bulls. Richardson wasn’t the only player with a poor performance against Kentucky. Receivers need to find ways to create separation and catch the football when they do. Richardson needs to be more accurate, putting his receivers in position to succeed.
Richardson leads the SEC in inaccurate passes and turnover worthy plays, according to SECStatCat. This is something that’s going to have to improve if the Gators want a successful season.
I would like to see more designed runs from Richardson. Even with a successful rushing attack against Utah, I felt that Richardson should have run the ball more. Richardson is a physically gifted athlete; Napier needs to use that to his advantage when calling plays.
USF OFFENSE
When the Bulls have had success on offense this year, it’s been on the ground. There are only seven teams in the country without a touchdown pass on the season, two of them are set to clash in Gainesville this week.
USF has run for 312 yards and eight touchdowns through two games. The Bulls rotate several different players in the game at running back. You’ll see Jaren Mangham, Brian Battie, Michel Dukes, and Mychael Hamilton all touch the football. The Bulls had eight different players run the ball in their win over Howard last week.
USF’s QB, Gerry Bohanon, transferred from Baylor to take over for the Bulls. Bohanon’s had a rough start to the season, completing just 58% of his passes for 391 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Bohanon was a rushing threat in his final season at Baylor, scoring nine touchdowns on the ground. He’s yet to find the endzone this season, mustering just 37 yards of rushing through two games.
INJURIES
The Gators are going to be without starting LB Ventrell Miller and RT Michael Tarquin this week.
Austin Barber will fill in for Tarquin at right tackle. I want to see Barber consistently be a dominant force on the right side of the line.
Scooby Williams is slated to start in Miller’s spot this week. Napier said when he was thinking about a replacement for Miller, he was looking for someone that’s very vocal. I expect Shemar James to play a big role against USF as well.
Miller and Tarquin could both miss multiple weeks. It’s critical the backups step up to the plate for the Gators.
PREDICTION
The Gators should dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball on Saturday night.
The Gators will lean on the run-game early, gaining this team’s confidence back. Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne continue their success, both rushing for 100 yards against the Bulls. I think Napier will try and get Richardson in a rhythm at some point in this game. I would love for the Gators to score as many points as possible, but I just don’t see that happening.
The Gators’ defense will impress again in week three. The Bulls offense has been fairly one-sided to this point and Patrick Toney will make Gerry Bohanon uncomfortable in the pocket. A garbage time TD for the Bulls to cover the 24-point spread.
34-13 Gators.