South Florida: Beating the Seminoles would have been nice, however a better test of where coach Willie Taggart’s rebuilding job stands is whether they can shrug off the disappointment and contend for a spot in the AAC championship game. “Offensively, defensively, special teams …”
Advertisement
FSU got caught trying to make defensive player changes and then they were out of position for USF running back Marlon Mack’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Flowers rushed for 159 yards for the Bulls, but despite his first completion going for 84 yards, he threw for only 160.
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Cook, and not just an outlier against a hapless South Florida team that is getting a really ticked off Florida State group.
They wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter when ten plays resulted in another field goal attempt for Aguayo. And on the second play, Cook broke loose for 75 yards.
Cook shed any doubt about his health after a slow start to the season by scoring both of his touchdowns in the first quarter.
“We have to finish the games”. They ran roughshod through a very good South Florida defense. Together, they have nearly 30 receptions for over 400 yards and three touchdowns.
“Did what he was supposed to do”. As it turns out, the answer was “nothing the USF defense couldn’t cure”. “I’m not happy with how it ended, but I’m happy to come out with the W”.
Sneakily, this might be one of the more fun games all weekend. He hopes the Seminoles can respond in time for their matchup against defending ACC Coastal Division victor North Carolina in Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.
Not that Fisher prefers one way over the other.
For the Noles, Fisher said the offensive line will see more rotation than in previous games. Respected prognosticator Phil Steele believes this is the year and Tennessee will win by two touchdowns. what we do know is the Gators are going with Austin Appleby at quarterback.
That’s not to say there weren’t any positives.
Four games into his sophomore season, Patrick has rushed for 231 yards on 37 carries with two touchdowns.
Four-yard rushes regularly turned into 40-yard efforts for Cook last season, but he’s yet to break free.
Senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker said his younger teammates on defense need to mature after their defensive lapses.
“I didn’t like it at the end”.
Following those opening scores, USF found themselves in an offensive rut for the first time this season.
When they don’t, it can lead to heartburn for all involved. “When [the team] calls my number I just try to get the job done”. He tried to go for a day or two and it re-swelled a little bit, so we went ahead and did it.
Against FBS competition, he’s 30th in the ACC in yards per carry, while his backup Jacques Patrick ranks eighth.
Advertisement
And left tackle Roderick Johnson – whose unit had perhaps its best game of the season – still saw room for improvement across the board. “We know how to handle adversity”.
