Francois Sr. hint towards resting players in USF's regular season finale against the Knights
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles
The University of South Florida and head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. spoke with the media on Wednesday and let it be known that while quarterback Jared Chavis and Dionte McCarthy have been practicing, both players will be game time decisions this Friday against UCF.
According to Francois Sr, Chavis suffered an upper body injury in the win against Penn State and while the injury wasn't serious enough to take him out of the game, USF is considering giving him an extra week to get ready before the playoffs. McCarthy has been playing with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss two games earlier in the season.
"They're progressing really well," Francois Sr. said of Chavis and McCarthy, "We'll see on Friday how it goes but not just with them, you have to assess the situation based on how they're feeling, the team and the position we're at at this point of the season. Everyone's a little banged up so whenever you get a chance to refuel, reload and get ready for a tough stretch, you have to consider it."
If Chavis doesn't play/start, true freshman Jet Millines could be in line for his first career start with sophomore Charlie Cooke currently away from the team due to undisclosed personal reasons.
The War on I-4 has hardly been a rivalry as of late with the Bulls winning eight consecutive games since the Knights upset win over No. 2 USF in 2028. The loss cost the Bulls a shot to be in the BCS National Championship Game but with the playoffs now implemented, USF's spot is now guaranteed and even with a loss, they would still be able to compete for that top seed in the Champions Division Championship against Oregon.
Last edited by Soapy on 06 Nov 2022, 10:57, edited 1 time in total.
Week 14 Preview: vs. Central Florida Knights
Record: 9-2, 7-2 Rising Division
Head Coach: Bob Diaco (36-26 at UCF, 5th year, 103-128)
Offensive Coordinator: Morris Carter (Pro)
Defensive Coordinator: Terry Edwards (3-4 Multiple D)
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 13th
Total Offense: 10th
Rushing Offense: 122nd
Passing Offense: 1st
Total Defense: 116th
Rushing Defense: 70th
Passing Defense: 119th
Turnover Differential: 14th
Team Schedule
vs. Idaho: W 49-7
vs. Indiana: W 28-26
vs. #19 Florida State: W 56-52
vs. #14 Georgia: W 38-31
at Army: W 24-10
at Oklahoma State: L 34-24
at Kentucky: W 42-41
at South Carolina: L 52-35
vs. Duke: W 41-17
vs. West Virginia: W 37-34 OT
at Auburn: W 28-24
Manning goes off for 239 yards in Bulls win over Knights
There's plenty of talent at the University of South Florida, especially at the wide receiver position so when D.J. Manning arrived on campus, he found himself without a definitive role despite being a five-star talent.
Manning, like many other players during the transfer portal era of college football, might have been tempted to go elsewhere and play right away but instead he stuck around as a backup for two seasons at USF where he caught fifteen passes for 151 yards during that time.
He eclipsed those numbers on Friday night alone, leading the way for the Bulls with 239 receiving yards and four touchdowns in USF's 55-38 win over rival UCF to finish the regular season undefeated after a close call.
Manning helped turn the game around for the Bulls after USF had jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. Manning responded with back to back touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to tie the game up.
After both teams swapped the lead, Manning scored his third touchdown right before the end of the half to give USF the 31-24 edge entering halftime. He would score once more in response to UCF tying the game on a 8-yard touchdown to Chuck Henderson on a 32-yard touchdown from Jared Chavis to take the brief lead with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter.
Chavis finished with 449 yards passing and 90 rushing yards with six total touchdowns. He was initially supposed to only play in the first half according to head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. but after backup quarterback Jet Millines threw an interception to set up Brandon Bryant's game tying touchdown in the third quarter, Chavis returned to throw another touchdown to Maurice Bennett.
Terrell Dodds and the Knights offense eventually ran out of steam in the fourth quarter with a missed field goal, being forced to punt and then failing to convert on a 4th down in the red zone which allowed USF to bleed out the clock before Millines popped a 27-yard touchdown run as time expired for the nail in the coffin.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[UCF] T. Dodds, 35 Yd run (7:07)
[UCF] J. Riggs, 5 Yd pass from T. Dodds (6:18)
[USF] D. Manning, 14 Yd pass from J. Chavis (3:20)
[USF] D. Manning, 75 Yd pass from J. Chavis (2:40)
[UCF] K. Porter, 17 Yd pass from T. Dodds (1:18)
Quarter 2
[USF] J. Chavis, 17 Yd run (7:34)
[USF] M. Pleasant, 23 Yd FG (4:16)
[UCF] M. Bertrando, 47 Yd FG (2:06)
[USF] D. Manning, 15 Yd pass from J. Chavis (1:12)
Quarter 3
[UCF] C. Henderson, 8 Yd pass from T. Dodds (6:41)
[USF] D. Manning, 32 Yd pass from J. Chavis (3:35)
[UCF] B. Bryant, 9 Yd run (1:13)
Quarter 4
[USF] M. Bennett, 5 Yd pass from J. Chavis (6:11)
[USF] M. Pleasant, 43 Yd FG (2:44)
[USF] J. Millines, 27 Yd run (0:00)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #1 South Florida Bulls
QB Jared Chavis: 30 of 41, 449 yards, 5 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, sacked 2 times, 18 carries, 90 yards, touchdown
QB Jet Millines: 0 of 1, interception, 4 carries, 62 yards, touchdown
HB William Sapp: 12 carries, 73 yards
WR D.J. Manning: 11 receptions, 239 yards, 4 touchdowns
WR Jarod Green: 5 receptions, 67 yards
WR Maurice Bennett: 5 receptions, 30 yards, touchdown
WR Alston Marks: 2 receptions, 56 yards
CB K.J. Waters: 9 tackles
S Michael Robinson: 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
DT Michael Williams: 4 tackles, tackle for loss, sack
LB Brian Robinson: 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
DE Jordan Odom: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
Central Florida Knights
QB Terrell Dodds: 29 of 36, 357 yards, 3 touchdowns, sacked 3 times, 8 carries, 19 yards, touchdown
HB Brandon Bryant: 19 carries, 72 yards, touchdown
WR Jonathan Riggs: 10 receptions, 95 yards, touchdown
WR Chuck Henderson: 5 receptions, 107 yards, touchdown
WR Kris Porter: 5 receptions, 76 yards, touchdown
WR Lance Espinosa: 3 receptions, 42 yards
S Nick Alston: 13 tackles, tackle for loss
S Tim Woods: 12 tackles, tackle for loss, 2 interceptions
LB Shane McIntyre: 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack
S Gary Manning: 6 tackles, interception
Week 14 Top Stories
1. USC notches a Champions Division win against Notre Dame thanks to Nash
2. Wake Forest can't get it going offensively, loses American game to Navy
3. Middle Tennessee State squeaks by Southern Miss in conference play
4. Oregon State upsets rival Oregon 34-29
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 14 Champions Division Results
TEX 31 - MSU 21 | USC 59 - ND 40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Champions Division and College Football Playoffs Guidelines
- The top four seeds from the Champions Division will be awarded an automatic bid into the College Football Playoffs
- Champions Division Championship competed at the end of the regular season to determine the top seed
- The fifth seed in the CFP will be awarded to the Contenders Division Champion
- Remaining three seeds of the CFP will be selected based on committee rankings and can contain non ANAC members
- 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th seed of Champions Division are relegated to the Contenders Division
- 12th seed of the Champions Division vs. 5th seed of the Contenders Division play in a play-in game following the regular season
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Champions Division Standings
1. USF, 12-0, 9-0 (East Region Champion)
2. Penn State, 10-2, 7-2
3. Alabama, 10-2, 7-2
4. Oregon, 7-5, 6-3 (West Region Champion)
5. USC, 9-3, 6-3
6. Ole Miss, 8-4, 6-3
7. Stanford, 7-5, 4-5
8. Texas, 6-6, 4-5
9. Notre Dame, 7-5, 4-5
10. Florida, 5-7, 4-5
11. Michigan State, 6-6, 4-5
12. Tennessee, 4-8, 4-5 (Promotional Bowl)
13. Georgia Tech, 6-6, 3-6 (relegated)
14. LSU, 5-7, 2-7 (relegated)
15. Missouri, 4-8, 1-8 (relegated)
16. Clemson, 2-10, 1-8 (relegated)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contenders Division Standings
1. Michigan, 11-1, 9-0 (East Region Champion) (promoted)
2. Miami, 8-4, 7-2 (promoted)
3. Purdue, 10-2, 7-2 (West Region Champion) (promoted)
4. Oklahoma, 9-3, 7-2 (promoted)
5. Minnesota, 7-5, 6-3 (Promotional Bowl)
6. Ohio State, 7-5, 6-3
7. Kansas State, 7-5, 5-4
8. Arkansas, 5-7, 5-4
9. Virginia Tech, 6-6, 4-5 (relegated)
10. Texas A&M, 5-7, 4-5 (relegated)
11. Kansas, 6-6, 3-6 (relegated)
12. North Carolina, 4-8, 3-6 (relegated)
13. Pittsburgh, 4-8, 2-7 (relegated)
14. Iowa, 2-10, 2-7 (relegated)
15. Colorado, 3-9, 2-7 (relegated)
16. NC State, 2-10, 0-9 (relegated)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rising Division Standings
1. Washington, 11-1, 8-1 (West Region Champion) (promoted)
2. Florida State, 9-3, 8-1 (East Region Champion) (promoted)
3. UCF, 9-3, 7-2 (promoted)
4. Georgia, 10-2, 7-2 (promoted)
5. BYU, 8-4, 6-3 (promoted)
6. Mississippi State, 7-5, 6-3 (promoted)
7. South Carolina, 8-4, 5-4 (promoted)
8. Oklahoma State, 7-5, 5-4 (promoted)
9. Wisconsin, 7-5, 4-5
10. Kentucky, 5-7, 4-5
11. Auburn, 5-7, 3-6
12. Indiana, 5-7, 3-6
13. Duke, 3-9, 2-7
14. West Virginia, 3-9, 2-7
15. UCLA, 2-10, 2-7
16. Nebraska, 3-9, 0-9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Championship Schedule Champions Division Final
#24 Oregon (7-5, 6-3)
#1 USF (12-0, 9-0)
'Tis the season of mayhem: the return of the playoffs brings back an intriguing conference championship week
Jessica West -- SI.com
Without the reimplementation of the playoffs, a 7-5 Oregon team would be competing for the National Championship while the likes of Penn State (10-2), Alabama (10-2), Miami University (11-1) and Washington (11-1) wouldn't even have a crack at it despite thoroughly outplaying the Ducks throughout the season.
With the return of the playoffs and the implementation of the new automatic bidding system, the Ducks can either play themselves into the top seed of the playoffs or find themselves outside of it with a loss to the undefeated USF Bulls.
If Oregon were to lose, it would place them outside of the top four of the Champions Division final standings with the automatic bids going to USF (1), Penn State (2), Alabama (3) and USC (4). The Ducks would theoretically still have a shot at making the playoffs but would need to be voted in by the committee in one of the final three slots but those would likely go to Miami University, Washington, Oklahoma, South Alabama, Miami, Rutgers or Georgia. There's also the loser of the Michigan vs. Purdue game who could potentially leap frog Oregon as well.
If the rankings stay put from last week, the final three seeds would be Miami University, Washington and Oklahoma. With USF having already beat both Miami and South Alabama, it's tough to imagine a scenario where the committee would give either of them the eight seed to then play USF at home in the first round.
Perhaps the more interesting twist is if Oregon, with losses to unranked Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Michigan State and 18th ranked Oregon State, were to somehow pull of the upset. It would grant them the top seed, slot USF into the second seed with the third and fourth seeds going to Penn State and Alabama. USC would be the favorite to be the sixth seed followed by Miami U, Washington and Oklahoma.
The wild card in all of this might be Rutgers who face Florida Atlantic in the AAC Championship game with a chance to notch their first ranked win to their resume. If the point of the playoffs is inclusion, it would be a bold statement from the committee upon their return if they include two non-ANAC teams in Miami University and Rutgers.
Champions Division Final Preview: vs. #24 Oregon Ducks
Record: 7-5, 6-3 Champions Division
Head Coach: Mark Helfrich (241-108 at Oregon, 26th)
Offensive Coordinator: Kyle Roland (Spread)
Defensive Coordinator: Wendell Brooks (4-3 D)
Team Leaders
Passing: Edward Downing (1967 yards, 23 TD, 7 INT, 170.1 rating)
Rushing: Dustin Brown (1427 yards, 6.3 ypc, 18 TD)
Receiving: Michael King (52 receptions, 794 yards, 6 TD)
Defense: Darrell Lester (55 tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 3 INT, 10 PBU)
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 29th
Total Offense: 17th
Rushing Offense: 15th
Passing Offense: 55th
Total Defense: 115th
Rushing Defense: 52nd
Passing Defense: 119th
Turnover Differential: 63rd
Team Schedule
at Tennessee: L 49-35
vs. Eastern Washington: W 38-14
vs. #17 Ole Miss: W 24-17
vs. Pittsburgh: L 38-35
vs. Georgia Tech: L 31-13
vs. Missouri: W 35-31
vs. #2 USC: W 48-47
at #22 Stanford: W 48-45 OT
at Michigan State: L 55-52 OT
at Texas: W 20-14
vs. Notre Dame: W 24-21
at #18 Oregon State: L 34-29
Nice to see Oklahoma get the automatic promotion. How is Tulsa doing?
Oklahoma has an outside shot at the playoffs and we could play them in the first round with a win. Tulsa finished 5-7 this season in the AAC, won eleven games a few seasons but have been trash under their new coach (4-8, 4-8 and 5-7)
