With only 40 days until the 2009 season starts, it's time to learn about the opponent's on Florida State's schedule.  We'll start with the teams Florida State did not play last year, leading off with in-state foe South Florida.   Today we're talking offense, tomorrow will be defense and special teams.

The Bulls went 8-5 in 2008.  They were perfect in the non-conference, with wins over two terrible defensive teams in Kansas and NC State, and an overtime victory against UCF.  In the worst BCS conference, however, they were just 2-5, and their two wins came over UConn and Syracuse.  To say that USF feasted on bad teams would be an understatement.  Yet voters, who often see nothing but a team's record and not the competition they face, had the Bulls as high as #10 at one point.  They would lose 4 of 5 down the stretch to finish unranked.

The Bulls were just 4-5 against BC conference teams and 2-4 against teams ranked inside the Fremeau Efficiency Index Top 40.  Put another way:

S/ F is a combination of S&P + and FEI, the two widely recognized advanced metrics for evaluating college football teams.  The quality of their opponents in wins was far less than that of their opponents in losses.

This year, the Bulls schedule around the 'Noles game looks like this:  

The Bulls have a very easy schedule before facing Florida State.  They essentially play three 1-AA teams (W. Kentucky is a provisional 1A school).  This can help and hurt a team.  Having a month of pre-season assures that the Bulls will be able to work out some kinks, and that they will be healthy (starters playing fewer minutes in blowouts means less opportunity for injury).  It can also hurt, however, because FSU will be the Bulls' first test of the season.  'Nole fans saw this phenomena last year when they lost to Wake Forest after opening the season with two 1AA cupcakes.  

Based on their talent an performance, the Bulls were probably a top 25 team last season, though they were too high early and probably too low late.  They did have three close losses in Big East play, and close wins or losses are a great indicator of a team being lucky or unlucky.

Last season, the Bulls Offense looked something like this:

• Fremeau Efficiency Index: 48th
• Varsity Numbers (aka BeyondTheBoxScore at RockMNation.com, the brainchild of Bill Connelly) S&P+ (measure of ball movement and explosiveness):  21st (34th rushing, 16th passing)
• Forget the fact that South Florida led the Big East in total offense and finished second in scoring. It did most of its damage against lesser opponents, while failing to score more than 20 points in the final five regular season games.
• In conference play, the Bulls had the 6th best offense (of 8 Big East teams), with the 4th best ground game and the 5th best passing attack.  Only UConn and Syracuse were worse (though they were a lot worse).
• USF had an unsustainably high success rate on passing downs (2nd and 8+, 3rd/4th and 5+)  http://footballoutsiders.com/varsity-numbers/2009/varsity-numbers-2008-offensive-buffet  As the article discusses, USF was really goot at converting 3rd and long, compared to their other talents.  That's just not realisticly sustainable.  What team is consistently better on 3rd and long than 3rd and 4?
• USF averaged less than 350 yards and less than 5.4 yards per play in conference games.  (For reference, 400 yard games equal out to about 6.2 yards per play over 65 plays in an average game).  

The Bulls run a spread scheme under new Coordinator Mike Canales, featuring a heavy dose of the zone read game.  They force the opposing defense to account for the QB's legs.  Canales was the Bulls' passing game coordinator last year and stepped into the OC role after Greg Gregory took another job.  

Quarterback

via nationalchamps.net

Matt Grothe has led the Bulls in rushing in each of the past three seasons.  He's also a big risk taker who often struggles to read defenses, possibly because of his 5'11" stature.  He's tossed up 42 picks over three years, while throwing 47 TD's.  He's been consistent in his erratic nature, throwing 14 INT's each year.  More troubling, however, for Bulls fans was the way he ended the Big East season:  Against Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers, UConn, and WVU, Grothe threw 11 Interceptions and just three touchdowns, while being sacked 13 times.  

There's more:  

4 TD 10 INT against Bowl teams?  That's not impressive, and really, none of Grothe's passing numbers stand out.  He is a dangerous runner, of course.    And FSU has been ripped by teams utilizing the mobile quarterback over the past two seasons, particularly out of the shotgun, as USF does.  In fact, Grothe had 117 rushes for 828 yards, which is 7.1 yards per carry.  Simply put, Grothe is a playmaker with his legs.  He runs the zone read play quite well and making him one-dimensional is a primary goal for any team facing USF.  

If he stays healthy, Grothe will surpass Pat White for the conference record in Total Offense, but I have to wonder how much of that record is due solely to playing time?  Almost any 4-year starter with mobility would have a shot at the record.  

If the Bulls lose Grothe, they will probably miss a bowl as there is nobody else on the roster with any experience in a college game.  For that reason, I will not profile the backup quarterbacks.

Running Backs

Mike Ford is a special talent and a likely NFL back.

via www.mikefordonline.org

He was a Five-Star recruit coming out of high school but had terrible grades and had to go to through the preparatory school route.  Last season, Ford battled numerous injury issues and had a disappointing year.  In 2007, however, he was excellent.

This year, he's apparently lost 20lbs, making him 6'2" 210 rather than the 230 he played at last season.  He is apparently quicker and now healthy.  You can bet that USF will not risk injuring him against their cupcake schedule before they play FSU.

Canales has been vocal about trying to throw the ball to the backs more often, but Ford has not shown great hands.  He may catch a few more now that he is at a better weight, but he's really not that type of back.

Mo Plancher represents another option to carry the ball.  At 5'9" and 200lbs, he has surprising quicks, gaining 330 yards on 69 carries last year.

Jamar Taylor is an ex fullback type who tried to carry the load for USF into the bowl season, rushing for 300 yards on 62 carries.  He has the savvy and knows the offense well, so he is often asked to handle blitz pickup duties on 3rd downs.

Richard Kelly is a very versatile back for the Bulls.  At 6' 0" and 250lbs, he is a receiving threat out of the backfield and also an excellent blocker.  Think of him as USF's H-Back.  

USF is very deep at the running back position 

Wide Receiver

Who Left: 

Who Returns:

The bulls really spread the ball around to a number of receivers and they are really, really deep at this position.

Jessie Hester,  is the son of former Florida State great Jessie Hester (1981-84) and is the Bulls best wideout.  He was named Offensive MVP for 2008 after leading the the team with 54 receptions.  He's been named to a few pre-season All-Big East teams.  At 6' 0" 180lbs, he's not a burner but has enough speed to get open and runs very nice routes.

Carlton Mitchell is a 6'4" 215lb Junior who missed a good chunk of 2008 due to injury.  When healthy he can be a redzone threat and is very strong and he had a great freshman season.  Though he is a Junior, Mitchell is very raw.  He's one of the best athletes on the team.  FSU fans might compare him to Jarmon Fortson. 

Dontavia Bogan at 6'1" 185lbs is an explosive threat who had a good spring.  One of several bigtime breakout candidates.  Excellent athlete.

A.J. Love was the Bulls' deep threat before injuring his knee in the Bowl game.  He is expected back for Fall and is making progress with his rehab.  It's anyone's guess as to whether he regains his pre-injury form.

6' 2", 180lb junior Ed Alcin had a very nice spring and could really surprise this year.  Some USF fans believe he is the 2nd best wideout on the team, which is saying something considering his lack of playing time in his first two seasons. 

Theo Wilson could also catch a few balls for the 'bulls.

The Bulls must replace Hill at tight end and will look to Andrew Ketchel who came on strong towards the end of the season and he started the bowl game. At 6'5" 240, he's the best pass-catcher of the tight ends.  Senior workout freak Ben Busbee is primarily a blocking tight end, but he can catch a few balls as well. 

Offensive Line

This is clearly the weak link for the 2009 Bulls.  USF must replace four Senior starters in Left tackle Ryan Schmidt, center Jake Griffin, right guard Matt Huners and right tackle Marc Dile .  Dile and Huners were 2nd team ALL-Big-East players, and the departed quartet accounted for 118 starts (Dile had 36).  The Bulls have a major issue here and will have a very tough time replacing those four.  

That's not to say that the departed players were great- they weren't.  The 'Bulls allowed 7.1% sacks (7.1% of passing plays ended in sacks), which is horrible.  They were a lot better than the current crop and at least had some chemistry, however, something this new group will not have in 2009.

Worse yet, the Bulls were counting on help from the JUCO ranks and at least one big player simply won't be in Tampa this year.  They expected JUCO transfer (and former 'Nole) Daron Rose to come in and start at one of the tackle spots.  Rose didn't qualify, however, and will not be playing for the Bulls.  Additionally, JUCO Tackle Carlos Savala is also ineligible.  The Bulls really needed one of them to come in and take over a tackle position.

This off-season has been a disaster for the offensive line, and Head Coach Leavit said that none of the players were good enough to play on his OLine.  

One position is definitely set.  Junior right guard  Zach Hermann is 6'3" 304lbs and made 13 starts as a freshman and 6 last year before injury struck.  Herman is a pure run blocker and is the typical tough guard.    

At the other guard spot might be 6' 4", 292-pound sophomore Chaz Hine.  He didn't play much last year, but is a blue collar guy who could earn the job despite not being very talented.   

The center position will hinge on a number of factors.  At 6' 5" and 285lbs junior center Jacob Sims has the ability to play a lot of positions.  The bulls are also considering him at tackle, but make no mistake, they want him at center.  He'll play tackle if the potential tackles struggle.  He had off-season finger surgery, but is expected to start somewhere on the line this year, either at Right Tackle, Left Guard, or Center.

At center, there's an experiment going on with former defensive tackle Sampson Genus who is one of the strongest players on the roster.  He has looked good according to some reports.  If Genus doesn't work out at center (and he's the better athlete but needs a lot of work), the Bulls will turn to 6' 2" 304lb Soph Kevin McCaskill.  He's almost running even with Genus and was part of the big class the Bulls brought in after 2007.

The other tackle spot a complete mystery.  One possibility is RsFr Jatavious Jackson, a decent recruit at 6' 4" 270lbs.  He's very green and undersized at this point.  RsFr OT Mark Popek is 6'7" 305 and got a lot of work in spring with Sims out due to injury (remember that the coaches want Sims at center but will move him back to tackle if need be).  He's talented but young and inconsistent.  He could challenge Sims for one of the tackle spots and USF hopes he wins so that Sims can play center.    Pushing Jackson at left tackle is 6' 4" 314lb Soph Jeremiah Warren, who is already struggling in the classroom but does have a good bit of talent.  

And don't count out Jamar Bass who is apparently looking reall good for the Bulls (at Left tackle).

The bottom line here is that the Bulls offensive line is very unsettled and even when it does settle, it will not be very talented.  None of the bulls linemen are getting any press for an All-Conference selection.  This group is definitely set up to run block, which is good considering that the Bulls run more than 60% of the time, but they will likely struggle in pass protection.

Bottom Line

USF's offense will probably struggle this year, particularly against good teams as they did last season.  There is a lot of optimism at the quarterback and skill positions, but I wonder if prognosticators are making the common media error of overlooking line play.  If the Bulls are to have a top 50 offense, they must be able to establish the run.  Despite the new coordinator's background being more pass-happy than USF has seen in recent years, he must stick to the run and play low-risk football, catering to the defense which should be this team's strength.  The Bulls have talked about making more big plays this year, but big plays typically happen because a team is vastly superior to their opponent, or because the defense is cheating to stop something (like the run) and are burned by something else (play action pass).  If USF can't consistently put itself in better situations this year, like 3rd and 4 instead of 3rd and 8, Grothe will be the same old Grothe- taking too many risks and forcing too many passes.  If the offensive line gets it together, the Bulls could have a pretty decent offense as the skill position players are there, but that is a huge if. This is still a team that couldn't get to 350 yards per game in the lousy Big East.  Expect a regression from South Florida's offense and a more conservative gameplan as the season rolls along.