USF hopes to maintain momentum at Connecticut

TAMPA -- Willie Taggart and his staff don't like to use the word turnaround. They prefer to say the team is making progress.

Coming off the biggest victory in the Taggart era last week against Syracuse, there's cautious optimism within the program.

The Bulls are at UConn in a noon kickoff Saturday and need another victory to sustain momentum and show the college football world this team is not a one-hit wonder.

This is USF's second American Athletic Conference game, and the league has shown it is a lot better than most people thought. It has some high-powered teams and has done well against the Power Five conference schools.

The league is 4-3 against the ACC, with victories over Miami, Louisville, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Against the other FBS conferences, it is 10-1.

"We have a really good conference, You have to come ready to play every single week," Taggart said. "We all know it's hard to win and it's even harder to win consistently. I'm really proud of our players and coaches and the work they put in last week and for our players to go out and perform the way they did."

Both teams had their best offensive production last week. USF defeated Syracuse 45-24 for its biggest victory over an FBS opponent since 2011 and Connecticut topped UCF 40-13.

The Huskies (3-3, 2-1) were averaging 15.8 points per game before the UCF contest and are ranked second in the AAC in total defense and scoring defense (18.7 ppg).

USF (2-3. 0-1) is ranked 10th nationally in tackles for loss (8.2 yards per game), and is third in the conference in total defense (352.8 YPG) and rushing defense (128.3 YPG). The Bulls had 10 tackles for loss against Syracuse.

Perhaps in the Bulls' favor is beating a decent Syracuse team with running back Marlon Mack and quarterback Quinton Flowers showing significant growth.

Flowers completed 15-of 22-passes for a career-high 259 yards against Syracuse with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

"He's calmer, he's confident and when he's playing better it seems like the guys around him are playing better as well,'' Taggart said. "Quinton is starting to take over this football team. He is becoming a leader encouraging all the guys. A lot of the younger guys were waiting for this."

Mack is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and 115.2 yards rushing per game. The sophomore ran for 184 yards against Syracuse with touchdown runs of 25 and 45 yards.

"He loves to compete and loves the game of football," Taggart said. "He's a quiet kid, but he comes to work every single day, just getting after it ... During the off-season he picked up some weight and is running the ball harder. He's now probably starting to run through tackles instead of avoiding them, which is good to see."

The Huskies are big up front in their 3-4 defense and have allowed an average of 15 points per game in their three victories. USF seems to have an edge in skill players, so how it handles that front could determine the outcome.

"We still have to block those big, good guys up front or our skill guys are negated," co-offensive coordinator Danny Hope said.

The last eight games between these teams have been decided by an average of 4.3 points and the home team has won 10 of the last 12. USF leads the series 7-5, but UConn is 4-1 at home against the Bulls.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 12:07 AM with the headline "USF hopes to maintain momentum at Connecticut ."