College football | Willie Taggart using Saturday's foe Memphis as model for USF resurgence
TAMPA -- In many ways, Saturday's USF at Memphis game presents a glimpse into the kind of football program Willie Taggart is trying to build.
Taggart is in his second year as USF's head football coach after inheriting a program that was in disarray. Memphis head coach Justin Fuente is in his third year after taking over a team that was 5-31 in the three previous seasons.
Fuente struggled his first two years at Memphis, going 7-17, including 3-9 last year. Now he is 7-3 and sitting in first place in the American Athletic Conference with a 5-1 record.
USF is 4-6 and 3-3 in the AAC, needing to win its final two games to become bowl eligible.
The Memphis turnaround has been built on a solid running game. The Tigers lead the league in rushing, averaging 186.6 yards per game.
Taggart is using a similar formula on offense behind freshman Marlon Mack, who leads the conference in rushing (90.7 yards per game).
The Tigers have been stout on defense and rank eighth nationally, allowing 17.5 points
per game. A senior-laden team, the Tigers also lead the league in ball security with only 15 turnovers lost. They are 10th nationally in pass-efficiency defense with a 103.64 mark and are 12th nationally in turnovers gained with 24.
Memphis also has had a few breaks, the biggest one being its schedule. The Tigers don't play UCF and East Carolina, two of the stronger teams in the conference.
One thing Memphis has had this season that USF is lacking is stability at quarterback in 6-foot-7 Patrick Lynch, who has thrown for 2,299 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Taggart has used three quarterbacks this season and has not announced Saturday's starter, though it would be a surprise if he doesn't go with Mike White. The sophomore entered the game last week in the fourth quarter and in his only two possessions guided the Bulls to two touchdowns and a 14-13 victory over SMU. He showed poise in engineering the game-winning drive that took 21 plays and ended on a fourth-down touchdown pass with four seconds left. USF converted on three fourth-down opportunities in the drive.
"That was really impressive because not only did we score, but we didn't leave any time on the clock for them to have a chance to come back and do anything," Taggart said. "That was good for our offense to execute and convert on some fourth downs. There was a lot of pressure in the situation, and guys stepped up and made plays."
White replaced true freshman Quinton Flowers, who was making his first start and struggled. Going against an opportunistic defense like Memphis, White appears to be the logical choice to start. He also led a spirited comeback against Tulsa earlier in the season when he threw three second-half touchdowns in helping the Bulls overcome a 20-point deficit.
"The fourth quarter (against SMU) really showed what this football team can be and the way we want them to play, being competitive, playing with passion, playing with confidence and not wavering," Taggart said.
With an extremely young team, Taggart might be a year away, but if the Bulls can pull off an upset over Memphis they put themselves in position to get their first bowl invitation since 2010.
USF returns all of its top five tacklers next season and four of its top six leaders in sacks. Sophomore linebacker Nigel Harris leads the country (FBS) with five forced fumbles. Mack needs 93 yards to become the fourth USF player to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a season.
Memphis averages 34.4 points per game and ranks third in the conference in total offense (423 yards per game), and Lynch (QB) leads the Tigers with eight rushing touchdowns.
This story was originally published November 22, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "College football | Willie Taggart using Saturday's foe Memphis as model for USF resurgence ."