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Syracuse vs. USF: Orange Look to Limit Bulls' Rushing Attack

Michael Burke/WAER Sports

Through four games in the 2015 season, one of Syracuse's most consistent strengths has been its ability to stop the run. SU has allowed only 102 rushing yards per game, good enough for 17th-best in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision series. 

But when the Orange (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) travels to Tampa Bay on Saturday for a meeting with South Florida, the Bulls (1-3, 0-1 American Athletic) will likely look to challenge SU's stout rush defense. USF's biggest strength offensively is its rush attack; the Bulls rank 28th in college football in rushing yards per game. 

"They're a run team," Syracuse defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said of South Florida's offense. "When you look at all their down and distances, everything is run, run, run."

When the Bulls run, the running back they most frequently use is sophomore Marlon Mack. In four games, he has rushed for 392 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Both Bullough and SU head coach Scott Shafer praised him throughout the week.

But South Florida uses other running backs, too. Junior running back Darius Tice is averaging 6.4 yards per carry and leads the team's running backs with two rushing touchdowns, while sophomore running back D'Ernest Johnson has also seen game action.

"They're all three really good backs," Bullough said. 

As far as how South Florida will attack Syracuse with all of those backs, Shafer said the Orange will have to be prepared for a number of strategies.

"Now, South Florida ran a lot of power this last game. They had about a dozen plays that were power plays against Memphis, so we have to be prepared and ready for that. But they also do a nice job running some misdirection, one-back spread offensive plays, more than just the zone read family. So that's been impressive when I look at Coach Taggart's team. They've run some multiple looks that we'll have to be prepared for."

But if there is one defensive unit that is primed to stop Mack and the other running backs, it might be SU's. The Orange's front seven has spent most of the season making life difficult on opposing running backs.

Syracuse allowed LSU running back Leonard Fournette to rush for 244 yards on 26 carries in Week 4, but that was an exception to the rule for the Orange's defense. In SU's first three games of the season, opposing offenses averaged just 46.7 yards on the ground. 

Syracuse's strategy has been to stack the box with its linebackers and defensive linemen and have its cornerbacks sag off receivers. This forces teams to beat SU through the air. At times, this was costly for the Orange against Wake Forest and Central Michigan. In those games, quarterbacks John Wofford and Cooper Rush threw for 373 and 430 yards, respectively, as there was plenty of open space to work with over the middle of the field. 

But the strategy could be more effective against South Florida and sophomore quarterback Quinton Flowers. Flowers hasn't been all that efficient or successful with his passes this season. He's completed 60 percent of his throws and has tossed six touchdown passes, but he's also thrown four interceptions and has averaged just 6.2 yards per pass attempt.

So the Orange will want to challenge Flowers to beat them with his arm. But to do that, SU must first stop the run. And if Shafer's crew can do that, it should be in good position to come away with its first win of the season.

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