UCONN
vs.
South Florida
College Football Pick
10/15/16
By Jason Green
South Florida is sitting at 5-1 and their only loss on the season came against a ranked Florida State team. They have a high scoring offense ranking 6th in the nation in points per Game led by a ground Game that ranks 12th in rushing yards per Game. The Bulls are atop the AAC East Division and they are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 Games facing UCONN.
UCONN had lost 2 straight before a solid win over their last Game facing Cincinnati where they only gave up 9 points. The Huskies have to rely on their D to win, as they only rank 118th in the nation averaging 19.8 ppg.
UCONN was at home in their last Game beating Cincinnati 20-9 and covering as a 3-point underdog. South Florida was also at home in their last Game where they easily handled East Carolina winning 38-22 and covering as a 14-point favorite.
UCONN used a balanced attack in the win over Cincy with 224 passing yards and 188 rushing yards. QB Bryant Shirreffs passed for 2 TD, but he was also picked off twice and while he rushed for 52 yards he only averaged 2.9 yards per carry. Arkeel Newsome is the lead back for the Huskies and he was the main guy on offense in the Cincy win with 116 rushing yards.
While the Bulls have a legit offense their D only ranks 75th in the nation in pass defense and 102nd in run defense.
To contain the Bulls’ dynamic offense is to contain duel threat QB Quinton Flowers, who has passed for 1,322 yards with 11 TD and only 3 INT and he is also the team’s leading rusher. To say he had a solid Game in the win over East Carolina would be an understatement, as he passed for 250 yards with 3 TD and 0 INT and also rushed for 115 yards.
UCONN is a Jeckyl and Hyde on the defensive side of the ball ranking a solid 11th against the run, but only122nd against the run. Even in the win over Cincinnati they gave up 315 passing yards.
UCONN is only e 6-21-1 ATS in their last 28 road Games, 1-4 ATS vs. a team with a winning record, and in their last 12 Games the posted total has gone Under 9 times.
USF is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 Conference Games, 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 home Games, and in their last 7 home Games the posted total has gone Over 6 times.
South Florida good on both sides of the ball while UCONN struggles offensively. Simply don’t dee the Huskies going toe to toe here. This Game opened SFla -17. At -17 or better we’d side with South Florida. But at the current number of -19, we can just do a lean. South Florida -19