No Bull!

Miami has started their season strong, defeating then #6 Notre Dame and handling Bethune-Cookman with ease.

However, entering this week, the story could be quite different. Nobody expected the Canes to upset the Irish. Nobody expected Miami to lose to the Wildcats. In both cases, the good guys won. But going into the South Florida game, the “experts” don’t know what to make of the Bulls. They have come out of nowhere to surprise the nation with two quality wins against ranked opponents.

Are the Bulls that good or are the “experts” that bad with preseason rankings?

"They are not ranked high enough, quite honestly," said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal on The Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM on Monday morning.

USF head coach Alex Golesh, in his third year at the helm of the Bulls, has his program on a positive trajectory. His team is very already competitive and the future of the program is bright.

Coach Cristobal must make sure his team respects South Florida and takes them seriously.

"In college football, every week you play, humility is one week away. Everybody has good players. If you don't prepare, you are going to get your butt kicked.”

South Florida’s offense is centered around dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown. In the Bull first two games, Brown has thrown for 473 yards (65.0%), 1 touchdowns and ran for another 109 yards and 2 more touchdowns. He has thrown an interception since 2023.

"Everybody talks about how athletic their quarterback is, but he hasn't thrown an interception in 240+ attempts, said Cristobal. "He is accurate and gets the ball out on time and knows how to extend plays.”

While Brown is the engine that drives USF’s offense, it’s their defense that puts the brakes on opponents’ offenses.

"They are an active and disruptive defense," said Cristobal. "They carry a large menu with what they do and play multiple fronts and multiple coverage.”

BOTTOM LINE:

South Florida is a dangerous team. Miami had a hard fought battle in 2024 to beat the Bulls. At halftime, the Canes held only a 22-15 lead before pulling away in the second half for a 50-15 win.

“This is as good of a football team as we will play this season and the evidence is all over the tape,” said Cristobal. “We have to get a helluva lot better to accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

Don’t sleep on USF. NO BULL!

GO CANES!