Georgia Tech defensive back Juanyeh Thomas (28) eludes a tackle by Alcorn State tight end Jerimiah Green (84) during last week’s game in Atlanta.TAMPA, Fla. – University of South Florida football coach Charlie Strong is eager to get a better idea of how good his Bulls can be during a rebuilding season.
Saturday’s nationally televised matchup against Georgia Tech figures to provide a better indication of where they stand with newcomer Blake Barnett at quarterback than last week’s season-opening rout of Elon, a Football Championship Subdivision program.
It’s also an opportunity to expand on an impressive stretch of success against members of Power 5 conferences.
The American Athletic Conference’s Bulls have won five of their past six games against such opponents, including bowl victories over South Carolina and Texas Tech. The lone setback was a 55-35 home loss to Florida State in 2016.
“When you get a chance to play a Power 5 team, you have to go play well,” Strong said. “What that does is it opens up people’s eyes. Now all of a sudden they (say): ‘Look at them against Georgia Tech.’ Then you have Illinois coming up next. You need to play well against the Power 5 teams.”
Lately, USF actually has had quite a bit of success, period. The Bulls are 22-4 since the start of 2106, including 11-2 under Strong.
“We’re going to be tested this week,” said Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, whose Yellow Jackets opened with a 41-0 shutout of Alcorn State, another FCS team. “Defensively, we weren’t tested very much. I don’t think they threw more than two balls that went 10 yards down the field, so it’ll be a different deal.”
The biggest challenge Strong faces this season is replacing Quentin Flowers, USF’s career passing leader and one of the top duel-threat quarterbacks in the nation the past three seasons.
Barnett, a former Alabama starter whose collegiate career has been quite the journey, earned the job this summer as a graduate transfer and had an impressive debut, completing 24 of 34 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns against Elon. Barnett left the Crimson Tide less than a month into his redshirt freshman season two years ago, returned to his home state of California and spent time at a junior college before moving to Arizona State, where he was a backup last season.
Georgia Tech amassed 543 yards of offense, including 439 rushing, against Alcorn State. It was the fifth time in 12 games the Jackets topped 400 on the ground. Like Strong, Johnson expects to learn a lot more about his team this week.
“They’ve got some good athletes. They’ve got a good team,” Johnson said of the Bulls. “They won 10 games a year ago, and I think they’re 17-3 in their last 20 games at home. It wouldn’t be my idea to go down there and play them on the road, but we are.”
Strong knows his defense will be tested. The Bulls have been preparing for Tech’s triple-option attack since reporting for preseason camp.
“It’s going to come down to assignment football – who has the quarterback, who has the dive, who has the pitch,” Strong said. “If we can get all three of those things handled, then we’ve got a chance.”