South Florida @ Louisville preview
Cardinal Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2009 ) Louisville 22, South Florida 34
Two Big East Conference teams with bowl game aspirations clash Saturday when Louisville plays host to South Florida.
The Cardinals (5-4) got a road win last Saturday at Syracuse and are now 2-2 in the Conference. South Florida has won two consecutive conference games – beating Cincinnati and Rutgers – and is 6-3 overall and also 2-2 in the Big East.
The Bulls won their 100th game last week, defeating Rutgers 28-27. Offensive tackle Jacob Sims recovered a fourth-quarter fumble in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown as South Florida ended a four-game losing streak to the Scarlet Knights.
Coach Skip Holtz’s offense has finally come alive after a midseason slump when the Bulls went eight quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels has completed 59 percent of his passes but has also been intercepted 11 times. Moise Plancher, the Bulls’ leading rusher, had a career-high 135 yards against Rutgers. Dontavia Bogan is Daniels’ favorite target, having caught 29 passes for 432 yards.
Under first-year coach Charlie Strong, the Cardinals are averaging 398 yards of total offense per game. A 27-year coaching veteran, Strong has been an assistant for three head coaches that have won national championships – Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.
He was named head coach last December coming from Florida, where he served as defensive coordinator for eight seasons. After losing to Pittsburgh two weeks ago, Louisville upset the Orange 28-20 last Saturday.
The Cardinals are led by workhorse running back Bilal Powell, who has rushed for 1,067 yards - an average of 133.4 per game. He ranks fifth nationally.
Senior quarterback Adam Froman, a transfer from Santa Rosa Junior College, has completed 132 of 218 passes for 11 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Wide receiver Doug Beaumont leads the team in both receptions and punt returns. He also ranks fifth in the nation in punt returns, averaging 19 yards per return.
The winner of Saturday’s game will take a big step toward bowl eligibility.
The outcome could revolve around two things: Can South Florida’s defense keep Powell and Beaumont out of the end zone, and can the Cardinals’ defense stop Daniels and the Bulls’ offense?