#60 South Florida Bulls Preview

Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview.

#60 – South Florida Bulls 6-6 SU; 6-5 ATS

Fargo’s Take Defense wins championships and that will have to be the adage for South Florida this season. The Bulls were 79th in the country in both scoring and total offense a season ago and must replace more essential players than they have coming back. The leader in that departed class is running back Andre Hall, who rushed for 1,374 yards on 5.1 ypc while scoring 13 touchdowns. He was also the leading receiver in both receptions and yardage so replacing him will be next to impossible. The offense scored 13 or fewer points in five of their 12 games including getting shutout in their bowl game against NC State. The defense made up for things, ranking 17th in total defense and 14th in scoring defense and those rankings might have to be repeated to make it to the postseason once again. There are some excellent prospects on this team so depth could be a huge asset late in the season.

Returning Starters on Offense – 7 Usually, the return of a senior quarterback can make up for the loss of an all-conference running back but that is not the case for South Florida. Hall was just that good and quarterback Pat Julmiste is just that bad. He completed only 49.2 percent of his passes last season while throwing for only 1,489 yards and six touchdowns while tossing 11 interceptions. He came into spring as the number two quarterback but Carlton Hill, who was supposed to take over, did not perform well at all and Julmiste regained the top spot. Along with a new running back, three offensive linemen need to be replaced as well so the running game, the strength last season, could struggle early on. The receivers are the most experienced and deepest unit but getting them the ball will be problematic similar to last season. The offense could actually digress in 2006.

Returning Starters on Defense – 7 The reason the Bulls are ranked as high as they are is due to the defense that should be the top unit in the Big East this season. Seven players are back including six from the back seven but that actually increases to eight with the return of safety Danny Verpaele who was a freshman All-American but missed all of last season with a foot injury. The passing defense was 6th in the entire country and 16th in the more important passing efficiency defense category. ¾ of the defensive line needs to be replaced but there is some excellent experience coming in and the best linebacking corps in the conference makes the rushing defense very strong once again. The Bulls allowed 16 points or fewer in seven games last year including four of its last five which should provide great momentum heading into the new season.

Schedule Whatever lack of offense the Bulls have is made up for with a schedule that can get the Bulls back into the postseason. They start the season with two non-conference home games against McNeese St. and Florida International before traveling to revenge minded Central Florida and then to Kansas. South Florida then starts the Big East slate with back-to-back home games against Rutgers and Connecticut before traveling to North Carolina for its final non-conference game. After a trip to Cincinnati, the Bulls host their final two home conference games against Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The final two games are the main reason South Florida won’t win the Big East as they have to travel to Louisville and West Virginia to close the year. An upset in one of those could change that but isn’t likely.

You can bet on… The talent rich state of Florida has been very good to the Bulls as they have gone 34-21 since becoming a 1-A program in 2001 and have had just one losing season in that span. The defense is good enough to carry this team to yet another winning record and a second straight bowl appearance but the offense does need to do its part along the way. South Florida is 12-5 ATS in its short history against non-conference teams including a perfect 3-0 mark last season. Three of the four lined non-conference games are on the road this season where the Bulls are just 13-21 ATS. The defenses they will be facing in those games will be very good so the offense definitely needs to put something together in order to keep the non-conference run against the number going.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Matt Fargo is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at www.procappers.com/Matt_Fargo.htm.

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