South Florida Bulls quarterback Timmy McClain (9) runs away from Brigham Young Cougars defensive lineman Fisher Jackson (53) as BYU and USF play a college football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. BYU won 35-27.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
After then-freshman quarterback Timmy McClain passed for 186 yards and ran for 55 more in South Florida’s 35-27 loss to BYU last September, many Cougar fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium went away thinking a more seasoned McClain would give BYU fits this year in the rematch in Tampa, Florida.
The good news for the BYU defense is that McClain won’t suit up for the Bulls this Saturday in the season opener for both clubs at Raymond James Stadium (2 p.m. MDT, ESPNU) because he transferred to UCF, moving on after losing the starting job in 2022.
The bad news is McClain lost the QB derby to a signal-caller who actually did beat the Cougars last year — former Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon. In a scenario that sums up the state of college football these days, Bohanon — who threw for 231 yards against the Cougars — transferred to USF after Blake Shapen was named the Bears’ starter out of spring camp by coach Dave Aranda.
Bohanon “is a very, very good quarterback,” said BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki. “We saw that last year.”
South Florida was picked to finish ninth in the 2022 American Athletic Conference football preseason media poll released in July. But the Bulls return 10 starters on offense and nine on defense, as well as their starting punter and kicker. According to Bill Connelly of ESPN, 86% of USF’s production in 2021 returns in 2022.
“They will be ready to play us. Everybody is undefeated right now. (Playing in) the first game is going to bring a lot of excitement,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “They have some new bodies and some new players. They have a lot of talent. I think they have a really, really good coaching staff. They will have their guys ready. We have to be ready and make sure we are performing at our best.”
South Florida students began classes last Monday and the Bulls were given the day off. They began game-week type preparations for BYU on Tuesday. The Cougars wrapped up fall camp Tuesday, took Wednesday off for some team activities and started focusing solely on USF on Thursday.
Aside from the on-field storylines, such as BYU QB Jaren Hall returning to the site of his first college start, last year’s shootout in Provo and the Bohanon transfer, a theme that has emerged since the 4 p.m. EDT kickoff time was amounted in late May has been the expected heat and humidity on Sept. 3 in Tampa.
“The heat will be different (for the Cougars), but we have to be ready for it, too,” USF coach Jeff Scott told gousfbulls.com. “Even though we are in it every day, that doesn’t make it easy. We have to execute at a very high level. I promise you it is going to be hot and humid at 4 o’clock on (Saturday).”
However, according to a 10-day forecast on Weather.com, there could be some scattered afternoon thunderstorms after a rainy morning.
“I think we will be in a really good spot going into the game, and going into that humidity,” Sitake said. “It helped that we had some really high record temperatures in the state of Utah this summer and even leading up to now. There was a lot of heat, but the humidity is a different story. I think our guys will be ready for it.”
Sitake said BYU’s trainers and sports scientists have been working on a plan regarding hydration and nutrition to help the players avoid fatigue and cramping.
“We are sick of playing against each other. We want to play against somebody else and this is the right moment to end camp,” Sitake said Tuesday. “Let’s start putting all of our energy and our focus on playing South Florida.”
The Bulls averaged fewer than 22,000 fans per game at 75,000-seat Raymond James Stadium last year, according to The Oracle, but Scott is predicting a “great crowd” and a “great student section” for the opener.
“And they have a chance to have an impact on the game,” Scott said.
BYU will travel to Tampa on Thursday, as it always does for Saturday games in the Eastern Time Zone.
BYU’s Hall said the Cougars are ready to get the season going.
“Everything is installed (on the offensive side),” he said. “Of course, when you get to game week, depending on your opponent, what you think you can utilize, you might add some things, tweak some things here and there. That just comes with those first practices leading up to that first game.”
BYU running back Lopini Katoa said the Cougars are as prepared for an opener as he can remember in his five years in the program.
“You are grinding out the first few weeks of fall camp and just working hard to get on the same page as everybody and look like a good team,” Katoa said. “Now it is time to settle in and get ready to play in the game.”
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