It’s Ford time

To be sure, USF s defense has been anchored by senior leaders who were at the heart of the Bulls 55-17 drubbing of Louisville on Saturday night in their final game at Raymond James Stadium. The offense, however, is getting younger and younger, with freshman playing large roles in the past two victories. We had so many freshmen out there making plays, coach Jim Leavitt said. We had a lot of young guys out there.

That starts with running back Mike Ford, who carried the load offensively for the second game in a row, resetting his season high with 140 yards on 24 carries. Ford had 72 yards on the opening drive, which he finished with the first of two touchdowns. He s been huge. He s really stepped up, quarterback Matt Grothe said. If we need a yard or 2, he gets it. He s just going to keep getting better. That s the crazy thing.

Some of Grothe s best targets continue to be first-year players, especially redshirt freshman Carlton Mitchell, who set USF s freshman records for receiving yards (497) and touchdown receptions (four). The Bulls final score came when redshirt freshman A.J. Love caught a 34-yard pass, fumbled on the 1 and had it recovered by freshman Dontavia Bogan. Redshirt freshman Jason Sherman got his first career catch for 16 yards on a third-down play.

The youth extends to the offensive line, where redshirt freshman Zach Hermann is the only offensive lineman to start all 11 games at the same position. And while freshmen haven t made a big impact on the senior-laden defense, they did in the closing minutes Saturday. Down 38 points, Louisville called a timeout with 12 seconds left and the ball on the USF 1. Freshman defensive tackle Terrell McClain stepped up and stuffed running back Bilal Powell for a 6-yard loss.