South Florida Bulls 2010 Review

2010 Record: 8-5 (3-4), Tied 5th Big East
Bowl Game: Meineke Bowl, Defeated Clemson 31-26
2010 Schedule/Results
Stony Brook, W 59-14
@ Florida, L 38-14
Western Kentucky, W 24-12
Florida Atlantic, W 31-3
Syracuse, L 13-9
@ West Virginia, L 20-6
@ Cincinnati, W 38-30
Rutgers, W 28-27
@ Louisville, W 24-21
Pittsburgh, L 17-10
@ Miami, W 23-20
UConn, L 19-16
Clemson, W 31-26

REVIEW

     BJ Daniels had shown some solid flashes as a freshman after Matt Grothe had been injured, and gave Bulls fans huge hopes for more in 2010. Daniels actually showed signs of regression in 2010, as he only managed to pass for 1685 on the season with 11 TDs to 13 picks, only averaging 140 yards per game. Daniels did manage to rush for 5 TDs, but only ran for 259 yards on the season.
     Moise Plancher and Demetris Murray shared the load at RB, and Plancher rushed for 793 yards and 5 TDs, while Murray rushed for 533 yards and 4 more scores. Murray should be the primary back in 2011, with Plancher moving on, but young Marcus Shaw could push him as a sophomore.
     Dontavia Bogan was the only semi-productive receiver, as he caught 46 passes for 673 yards and 6 TDs, which was 3 times more than any other receiver. If Daniels is going to progress any more than he has, someone is going to have to step up and give him multiple targets to get the ball to.
     One thing that was rather surprising is that the Bulls defense, normally a strong point, was rather weak in 2010. Jacquian Williams, Devekeyan Lattimore, and Sam Barrington, all LBs, were the top 3 tacklers on the club, but none of them registered 80 tackles or more. Williams was the leader with 71. Williams was the only player on the team that registered double digits with 11.5 TFLs on the year, and one of the sack leaders, Jon Lejiste, was a DB. Not promising.
     When you look at USF's defense, they looked solid statistically, but when it came to actually making plays, they were strangely lacking.
     Mistral Raymond broke up 7 passes on the season, but nobody had more than 3 picks. It really just never made sense, and defensive successes could be more atributed to a weak schedule, than actual talent and productivity.
     Maikon Bonani was solid at PK, and due to the underwhelming offense, he was extremely important. Bonani nailed 17 of his 21 FG attempts on the season, and made 18 of 19 extra points. Eric Schwartz also did some kicking, but only hit on 1 of 5 FGs. He did hit all 15 of his PATs. The punting game was a mess. Justin Brockhaus-Kann averaged only 37.59 yards per punt. He was only a sophomore, so improvement is possible, but it's a good idea to get someone to push him if possible.

FINAL NOTES

Skip Holtz had a mess to clean up when he showed up at South Florida after the only coach ever at USF, Jim Leavitt, had been fired for player abuse. Holtz had to change the culture, and put his own stamp on a relatively young program. It was a struggle in season one. USF bumped their way to 8 wins and a bowl game, but that fact is muted some by the overall weakness of the conference and the non-conference schedule that included dates against Stony Brook, western Kentucky, and Florida Atlantic. Year two should bring more changes, specifically to the offense, but Holtz will have to find a QB that is a better passer than Daniels has been so far to really run the offense that he has run previously at East Carolina. The Bulls have never been more than a middle of the pack team in a weak conference and it will be the job of Holtz to elevate this program, and quite frankly, toughen it up some.