USF Bulls 2017: Reviewing the Preview

When projecting an upcoming season, many publications or individuals fail to go back and see how they did in projecting the season once all is done. We are still heading into bowl season, but it is safe to look back at this point, and see how I did in projecting the conference races last summer. First, we take a look at my AAC projections for 2017. You will first see my final assessment of my preview, followed by an explanation of what actually happened during the season. Here we go!


USF Bulls

Final Overview
USF, in my eyes, is in the best position of any G5 school in 2017 to break into the NY6 bowl lineup. The talent level is loaded, and USF is the absolute favorite to win the AAC. Of course, Houston was in a similar position last fall, and failed, but the Bulls are not dealing with a coach who may or may not be leaving any minute as they begin the Charlie Strong era. The hiring of Strong to replace Willie Taggart was a major move for the Bulls, and the needle is pointing straight up. USF looks like an easy 10 or 11 game winner this fall, and could be favored in all 12 games on the schedule.

What really happened
I was not too far off. USF finished second in the AAC East to UCF, so I was one spot off. USF was favored in every game they played in 2017, up until the season finale, when they were a seven point dog to the Knights. Charlie Strong did indeed stick around for year two heading into 2018, so there will be no late distraction there. The only thing stopping the Bulls from my projected double digit win total was a cancelled game against U Mass that led to rescheduling U Conn due to a hurricane, otherwise, we would have been close to calling this one an overall win.