Kansas @ South Florida (USF) football preview

Last season, the Kansas Jayhawks were scrutinized for not beating anyone, as they had four so-called “cupcakes” on their non-conference schedule, and the only strong conference game they played was against Mizzou at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, which they lost. Their critics will not be able to use that argument this year.

Friday night, the Jayhawks will be nationally broadcasted on ESPN as they take on another surprise from last season, the South Florida Bulls. Both squads bring a 2-0 record and a national ranking to the table. The Bulls captured some Friday night magic last year as they upended fifth ranked West Virginia University at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida 21-13.

The Bulls would eventually get ranked as high as second in the AP poll and third in the coaches’ poll before falling at Rutgers, Connecticut, and at home to Cincinnati in three straight contests. All three of these losses were decided by a touchdown or less. The Bulls rallied to win their last three of the regular season to finish 9-3, before being blown out by the Oregon Ducks 56-21 in the Sun Bowl.

This was the second straight year that the Bulls finished with a 9-4 record, which ties a team high in wins (which was also accomplished in 2002). The program is really flourishing now, especially considering that is just over a decade old, beginning in 1997. Head Coach Jim Leavitt has built the program from the ground up, and his now seeing the fruits of his labors.

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The Jayhawks have a similar story. Head Coach Mark Mangino has been with the program since 2002, but has coached for Big 12 Conference schools since 1991 (K-State joined the Big 12 when it formed in 1996) when he was hired as an assistant at Kansas State University, and Oklahoma University as offensive coordinator in 1999.

Although Mangino has led the Jayhawks to three bowl games (2-1) since being hired, the program hadn’t been viewed as a national power until last season, which was reflected by a fan’s sign which read,“ Kansas football, a tradition since September.” The Jayhawks finished last season with a 24-21 win over Virginia Tech University for an Orange Bowl win, in their first ever BCS berth.

The Jayhawks will enter Raymond James Stadium ranked 13th in the AP poll and 11th in the coaches’ poll, where as the Bulls are listed as 19 th and 18 th respectively. The game won’t be nearly as loose for the offenses, which are both averaging well over 30 points per game so far this season.

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The game will likely be decided by quarterback play, as the starters Todd Reesing for KU and Matt Grothe for S. Florida have combined for 11 touchdown passes and just 3 interceptions this year. Both schools also rank among the top 25 in passing yards. It will be interesting to see how the Jayhawks defense plays against its first real test of the year. The Bulls survived a close game last week winning 31-24 in overtime to open conference play at the University of Central Florida, and may be better off because of it.

Since 2001, the Bulls are 9-8 in games decided by a TD or less, where as the Jayhawks are a bit worse at 9-11. One would figure that a tight game would favor the Bulls due to their close game last week, their slightly better record in tight games in recent years, and the fact that they’re at home. S. Florida went 5-1 at Raymond James last year, with the Jayhawks suffering their only loss of last year at a neutral site.

If the Jayhawks allow the Bulls to get a lead, or at least to hang tight, KU might consider going to the bakery for more cupcakes next season.

By Ryan Turner
Big 12 Fans Guest Writer

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