Both South Florida and Uconn are off impressive wins this past week with South Florida being in more impressive fashion, but looking at this match up I like the Huskies to prevail. First of all we can not ignore this South Florida rushing offense which has really looked sharp in every single game. Marlon Mack and this offense runs the ball 63% of the time and Uconn has not done a great job of stopping the run, but I think those stats are a bit misleading for Uconn.
First of all Uconn faced 2 triple option teams, and then they also faced BYU on the road and an SEC team. They have had the more challenging schedule for sure. Uconnâs pass defense is very good which will allow them to put their guys on an island and throw more guys against the run. In years past this has been a very good run defense, and I believe their recent struggles are a bit misleading. I think they will be aided this week facing a team that will struggle to pass the ball. Quintin Flowers QB rating on the road is 90. He played poorly at Maryland, a team ranked 101st in opposing QB rating. Uconnâs secondary is one of the best in the AAC and ranks 33rd overall.
For Uconnâs offense they rely on Bryan Shirreffs to win them most games as they have a 171 QB rating in wins and a 113 in losses. Lucky for him South Florida has really struggled in pass defense this year. They will get their share of tackles for loss or sacks, but overall they rank 97th in opposing QB rating. Maryland has arguably the worse class of QBâs and South Floridaâs defense made them look very good. Overall expect a very close game to the end. I think the home field advantage is worth a lot here in this match up and I like UConnâs ability to keep South Florida out of the red zone and to play better vs. the run than they have in previous weeks.
