Another week, another round of predictions from the staff at Cougar Sports Insider. # 15 BYU is unbeaten and is riding a hot streak resulting from three straight wins against PAC-12 opponents. Now they are playing their first non-PAC-12 game of the season, welcoming the University of South Florida to Provo, UT. The Bulls rarely travel west of Texas and even less often play games in the mountain time zone. But they are here this weekend and hope to create a big surprise against a rated team. Here we see how things get out of hand.
Coach Corley Ward
USF is terrible in rush defense and BYU is going to overrun them everywhere. Jeff noted that there can be some injuries that some great BYU players can take, but I don’t think they’re going to miss a blow offensively or defensively. In fact, I think Baylor Romney is about to play himself in a quarterback controversy. USF will go all out to stop the run and leave Gunner, Neil and the Nacua out for big punches. When Baylor ends up passing more than 300 yards, BYU fans will wonder, “Could we have beaten Utah at 30 if we had a better passing QB like Romney?” Then BYU and Utah held a Rising vs. Romney game to see if backups were better than starters. Okay, that got weird, but this game shouldn’t be tight. BYU’s youngsters are stepping in for some veterans and they easily cover up
BYU 42 –USF 10
Sir Jake Welch
BYU has gone through the P5 wave of games at the start of the season and is now entering the G5 wave with South Florida, a game they will absolutely win. However, I’m not sure how crucial this win will be for the Cougars. South Florida preparation will be all business, but I could imagine a scenario where we see a limited playbook on offense and lots of different instances on defense. Winning the game is of the utmost importance, but at the same time this could be an opportunity to rest some players and gain game time for those asked to step up. USF’s offense has some momentum, but not nearly enough to make up for its soft defense. This should be a fast paced game with limited possessions and a lower score. The Cougars don’t have a farewell week until November 13th and their only real cupcake game is the week before. This is a good place to relax before two regional games.
BYU 28 –USF 17
Jeff Hansen
In Provo, rumors of injuries are circulating. BYU will likely do without starting quarterback Jaren Hall in this game. You could do without players like Autnaisa Mahe, Tyler Batty, and Isaiah Herron in this game. Clearly, the Cougars are a little understaffed when it comes to that.
But USF isn’t exactly at full strength itself, and they’re starting a true freshman quarterback in Timmy McClain who will make his debut as a starter. The Bulls were a runner-up disaster and struggled to score – hence the quarterback move.
In my eyes, this is all equivalent to an ugly soccer game on both sides of the ball. I think BYU wins and it never feels like a particularly close game, but I think USF covers the spread and keeps things closer than most BYU fans would like to admit. In the end I see Tyler Allgeier, who leads the way for the cougars and has a monster game. While it is running there will be the second half as well, which limits the chances of both teams’ chances of scoring big goals.
BYU 34 –USF 17
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