LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Dabo Swinney coaching tree planted Brent Venables at Oklahoma and Tony Elliott at Virginia this season. But neither was the first guy to leave the security of Clemson for a more difficult challenge.
Jeff Scott jumped from the Tigers to South Florida after the 2019 season and he has not fixed the mess that he was left by Charlie Strong (the former University of Louisville head coach who now coaches linebackers for the Miami Hurricanes).
Scott is 4-20 in two-plus seasons as the USF coach, including an 0-12 record on the road. No wonder Scott currently ranks No. 1 on the list at CoachesHotSeat.com, just ahead of David Shaw of Stanford and Karl Dorrell of Colorado.
Scott will bring his squad to town Saturday. Both the Bulls and the Louisville Cardinals need to avoid a 1-3 start as well as additional fan unhappiness.
Since 2020, these are the four programs that USF has defeated: The Citadel (FCS); Florida A&M (FCS); Temple (FBS) and Howard (FCS).
TIME: Saturday, noon; Cardinal Stadium.
WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN: TV — Bally Sports Network (Bob Rathbun, play by play); Charles Arbuckle, analyst; Lyndsay Rowley, sidelines); RADIO — Louisville Sports Network, 93.9 FM in Louisville (Paul Rogers, play by play; Jody Demling, analyst; Preston Brown, sidelines).
THE LINE: Point spread — Louisville by 14.5 at Bally Sports at 2 p.m. Wednesday; Over/Under total points 63 1/2.
THE LAST TIME: The Cardinals defeated the Bulls, 34-3, in 2013 when both programs competed in the American Athletic Conference.
THE SERIES: Louisville leads, 6-5.
THE RECORDS: Both teams are 1-2. The Cards beat UCF while losing to Syracuse and Florida State. The Bulls beat Howard with losses to BYU and Florida.
THE PLAYER TO WATCH USF: Halfback Brian Battle ranks third in the AAC in rushing with 269 yards and three touchdowns in three games. Battle ran for 150 yards Saturday against Florida and is averaging nearly 10 yards per carry. He has run for 100 yards in consecutive games. He ran for only 324 yards last season.
THE PLAYER TO WATCH LOUISVILLE: Receiver Jaelin Carter figures to earn more snaps with teammate Dee Wiggins out for the season with a toe injury. Carter is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and 202 pounds. A product of Manual High School as well as a transfer from Eastern Kentucky University, Carter has not caught a pass since the 2019 season with EKU.
SIDELINE STORYLINES: USF's overall road losing streak is 13 games. The Bulls last road victory was Oct. 26, 2019, at East Carolina. USF has 30 transfers on its roster, including 24 on its two-deep depth chart. The Bulls play their home games at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but have announced plans to try to build an on-campus facility that is scheduled to open in 2026. Louisville ran for a season-high 252 yards against Florida State last Friday, without halfback Tiyon Evans, who is scheduled to return Saturday. Quarterback Malik Cunningham ran for 127 yards, the ninth 100-yard rushing game of his career. Receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce ranks 21st nationally and fourth in the ACC in average yards per reception at 20.63.
THE QUOTE: U of L coach Scott Satterfield, discussing the USF offense: “Their o-line is really good. I think probably this is the best line we've played this year, out of the first four opponents. They're athletic, they can move, they get after it and they're aggressive.”
THE PICK: Louisville 31, USF 21.
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