TAMPA – South Florida Coach Alex Golesh was talking about this week’s matchup with Memphis, a game that will have a major impact on both teams and a game whose outcome will create a ripple effect throughout the American Conference and beyond.
That’s because the winner of this game will establish itself as one of the favorites to win the championship in the American and the team that wins the championship in the American will be an odds-on favorite to be the Group of Five representative in the College Football Playoff.
Golesh doesn’t want his team thinking that way, though. He wants his players zeroed in on the things that have gotten them to this point, what they can do to get better and not what it all means and what it might lead to.
“If we don’t take care of business right now, there’s nothing to look forward to,” Golesh said. “I think you can either put pressure on yourself in that regard or you can just go to work and worry about being the best version of yourself and then there is no pressure because all you can do is be the best you can be.
“I think elite teams, that’s how they operate,” he continued. “The really good football teams I’ve been a part of operate on a day-to-day basis regardless of the opponent, regardless of any sort of situation and what better proof do you need than what the team we’re playing went through last week.”
Which brings us to Memphis. Like the Bulls, the Tigers are 6-1. Unlike the Bulls, whose only loss is to powerful Miami, Memphis, then a top 25 team, lost to UAB, a constant back marker in the American with only two wins, one over a nondescript Akron team and the other over Alabama State from the FCS, a division below the American.
The loss follows a pattern in college football this fall, where top teams are unexpectedly ambushed be lesser opponents and brought to their knees. “You can say what you want,” Golesh said. “UAB played high level football last week and was able to win a game against a team that was in the top 25.”
Then Golesh issued what might be construed as a warning to his own team. “Is Memphis a worse team because they got beat by UAB?” Golesh asked. “I mean they’re still the same team, they’re still the same players. It truly is a mindset that you have to take care of your business today and only today matters,” Golesh added.
USF has been on a roll recently, averaging 57 points a game over the last four weeks. That includes a 63-36 win over a good North Texas team and a 54-26 shellacking of Charlotte.
But hidden in those stats is the fact that the Bulls allowed 62 points in those two games, which means the defense wasn’t exactly stellar. And it’s things like that Golesh wants his team honing in on, not how important this game might be and its ramifications over the long run.
“It’s about us,” he declared. “It’s about our process and our daily habits and creating a sense of confidence through our preparation as we go through the week.”
And the defense can play better. If you throw out the North Texas and Charlotte games, USF is giving up an average of just 12.4 points per game. That would be sixth best in the country.
But as UAB proved, you have to be at your best all the time, every game, or bad things can happen, as Memphis has found out. And now, with one unexpected conference loss, Memphis has its back to the wall.
“It’s just like I said in the past,” Memphis Coach Ryan Silverfield commented according to the school’s football website. “Whether it’s a big win that one big win can’t define our season and that one loss certainly can’t define our season.
“All our hopes, goals and dreams are still in front of us, right?” Silverfield remarked. “When we started the season the goal wasn’t to be 7-0 or 6-1. It was to win the conference championship and that’s still out there in front of us.
“We’ve just got to stay focused, dialed in and find ways to execute at a higher level. One loss will not define our season,” he emphasized. Maybe not. But two could.
PAT’S PICKS
USF over Memphis: This is a good South Florida football team. And it’s not slowing down for Memphis.
Miami over Stanford: This is a “beware” game. Beware of what Stanford did to FSU.
Florida, FSU and UCF off.
Last week: 3-2. For the season, 25-9, .735.
