2011 South Florida Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

For a third straight season the South Florida Bulls finished the year with a final record of 8-5. The Bulls ended the season with a 31-26 win over Clemson in the Car Care Bowl, but were just 3-4 in Big East play. Since joining the Big East in 2005, the Bulls haven’t finished with fewer than three wins in conference play, and have posted a losing mark the last three years. The hope is that Skip Holtz will build off his first year as head coach and have the Bulls competing for the Big East Title in 2011.

South Florida has just 11 starters back from last year, but are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. Even though they have a low number of starters returning, 45 of 60 lettermen are back for the upcoming season. To get a better idea of what to expect from the Bulls, here is a quick breakdown of who they will send to the field on both sides of the ball, plus my prediction on where I see them finishing in the Big East.

Offense:

South Florida has to be excited to see what kind of improvements junior quarterback B.J. Daniel has made. After starting the 2010 season with a 4-10 touchdown to interception ratio, Daniels finished with a 7-3 ratio down the stretch and was named the Car Care Bowl MVP. Daniels completed 58.4 % of his passes for 1,685 yards and also rushed for 259 yards and five touchdowns. It should only get better for Daniels and the Bulls offense in the second year under Holtz.

The Bulls lose 2010 leading rusher Moise Plancher, who led the way 793 yards and five touchdowns. Luckily for South Florida they bring in former Colorado running back Darrell Scott, who was considered one of the top high school backs in the country when he signed with the Buffaloes. They also add in Auburn transfer Dontae Aycock and return junior Demetris Murray, who had 542 yards and four touchdowns as the primary backup.

At wide receiver the Bulls lose their top threat from last year in Dontavia Bogan, and will have a bit of a new look to this unit than they finished the year with. Sterling Griffin will likely return to the starting lineup after using his redshirt in 2010. Griffin started 10 games as a true freshman. Senior AJ Love missed all of last year with an ACL injury, but has 19 career starts at USF. The only familiar face in the starting lineup will be junior Evan Landi, who finished second on the team with 28 catches for 390 yards.

Up front the Bulls should have a pretty solid unit on the offensive line. They return two of the top guards in the conference in seniors Chaz Hine and Jeremiah Warren, but will have to find a new starter at the other three spots. Senior center Kevin McCaskill and junior left tackle Mark Popek have each seen plenty of action in their career, and should step in and be solid starters. The only concern coming into the season is at right tackle, where redshirt freshman Quinterrius Eatmon appears to have the edge heading into fall practice.

Defense:

The Bulls only starter back on the defensive line is junior defensive tackle Cory Grissom. One player who should have no trouble making his way to the starting lineup, is sophomore defensive end Ryne Giddins. In 2010 Giddins showed explosive speed to the quarterback and finished with 3.5 sacks. Senior defensive end Patrick Hampton and senior defensive tackle Keith McCaskill will likely join Grissom and Giddins in the starting four.

While South Florida will come in with some questions on the defensive line. their doesn’t figure to be any concerns with the starting trio at linebacker. Sam Barrington finished third on the team with 65 tackles as a sophomore in 2010, and should be even better in his second season as the starter. Curtis Weatherspoon will take over on the strong-side after playing well as a backup last year. The player to watch out for is sophomore weak-side linebacker DeDe Lattimore, who earned First Team Freshmen All-American honors after finishing with 69 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and four tackles for loss.

Three more starters return in the secondary, including senior corner Quenton Washington and junior strong safety Jon Lejiste. Both Washington and Lejiste are two of the top players at their positions in the Big East. Also back is senior free safety Jerrell Young, who had a team best three intercpetions in 2010. Junior corner Kavon Webster has started 10 games in his two years with the Bulls, and should become the full time starter opposite of Washington in 2011.

2011 Prediction; 4th Big East - I had a difficult time picking the Bulls this low, but with just three conference home games I have a hard time seeing them top the likes of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and West Virginia. Coming into the year the Bulls two weakest units are the offensive and defensive line. If they get better than expected play from either one of these units, I could see them possibly winning the Big East.

Big East Football Predictions by Team
Cincinnati Football Predictions	Connecticut Football Predictions
Louisville Football Predictions	Pittsburgh Football Predictions
Rutgers Football Predictions	South Florida Football Predictions
Syracuse Football Predictions	West Virginia Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Prediction

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