This Saturday, the Hilltoppers will be hosting the Bulls of South Florida, as the green and gold come to the Hill with the hopes of knocking off the Conference USA Championship favorites.
The Bulls will be led by first-year head coach Alex Golesh, by way of Tennessee. Golesh, a 2022 Broyles Award Finalist, was the offensive coordinator and play caller for the Volunteers. The Vols offense ranked first nationally in scoring (47.3 points per game), yards per game (538.1), points per possession (3.24!), and yards per play (7.35).
The Vols finished 7-6 in 2021 before jumping to 11-2 and finishing ranked sixth in the nation in 2022.
The Offense
The Bulls offense will be spearheaded by offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon. Gordon spent 2016 through 2022 at Iowa State, earning the quarterbacks coaching role in 2018 before adding passing game coordinator to his title in 2019. Gordon played a significant role in mentoring quarterback Brock Purdy, the current San Francisco 49ers starter, a four-time All-Big 12 performer, and the most decorated quarterback in Cyclones history.
Matt Merritt - the associate head coach, run game coordinator, and running backs coach - will play a huge role in the offense as well. In 2022, Merritt was the running backs coach for Georgia Southern, where Jalen White rushed for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns. Before that, he was a senior offensive analyst at Tennessee in 2021 after making stops at schools like Ohio State and James Madison since the start of his coaching career in 2010.
Quarterback Gerry Bohanon is the favorite to get the starting nod on Saturday, and he absolutely should - in 2022, Bohanon completed more than half of his passes for 1,070 yards, six touchdowns, and six interceptions while adding 386 yards and three scores on the ground. Entering his sixth season of college football, Bohanon is who Golesh and Co. will rely on leading the offensive efforts.
Surrounding Bohanon is a thin sheet of talent, but a healthy amount of potential. Running back Nay’Quan Wright will lead the way for the Bulls on the ground after transferring in from Florida, where the graduate put up 190 yards and two scores. Senior Kelley Joiner Jr. will also be a part of the effort.
Wide receivers Naiem Simmons, Sean Atkins, and Michael Brown-Stephens will likely be the top three targets, excluding tight end Gunnar Greenwald.
The offensive line has a lot of upside, which will prove to be crucial for the Bulls in 2023. From left to right - graduate Donovan Jennings, sophomore Andrew Kilfoyl, sophomore (fourth year) Mike Lofton, sophomore Zach Perkins, and (Tennessee transfer) junior RJ Perry.
The Defense
The well-traveled Todd Orlando will serve as the defensive coordinator for the Bulls, now in his 30th year of coaching.
Orlando spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic where his units were rather average, finishing 64th nationally in 2022 and 59th in 2021. He's made stops at USC, Texas, Houston, and more in the same capacity, having served as the defensive coordinator in every stop since 2005(!). He's had several top-25 units in recent years, and is known for really start-jumping defenses. In 2011, his Florida International unit jumped 31 spots in total defense. In 2017, his Texas unit jumped 53 spots. His 2016 Houston defense ranked fourth nationally.
There are several key players on this defense. Linebackers Jason Vaughn, DJ Gordon, and Jamie Pettway, cornerback Amaris Brown, and defensive linemen Doug Blue Eli, Logan Tramel, Jonathan Ross, and Immanuel Hickman will make significant impacts on the defense.
The defensive backs corps may falter a lot of the team's performance. Aside from Brown, there is a severe lack of talent in the defensive backfield. Safety Will Jones II, cornerback Braxton Clark, safety Jaelen Stokes, and cornerback Ben Knox are the next most talented and they will have to step up.
The linebacking corps, on the other hand, is fairly deep. Vaughn, Gordon, and Pettway will the lead the effort primarily. Watch out for Utah transfer Andrew Mata'afa, senior Jahlyn Shuler, Florida-transfer Lloyd Summerall (who will also see time at defensive end), and fourth-year sophomore Mac Harris to make impacts as well.
Finally, the defensive line - it's fairly impressive. As I said before, Blue-Eli (a former NJCAA All-American), Tramel, Ross, and Hickman will be very significant performers. Harris and Summerall will come down and play as speedy, defensive ends as needed.
Needless to say, the box in this Bulls defense is going to be nasty. The defensive backs room must step up and match their level of play.
THE VERDICT? Austin Reed and Malachi Corley will likely torch the South Florida defense. The running game won't fare well, but the Toppers won't need to rely on it in this time around. The Topper's defensive unit will be challenged by Golesh and his scheme.
Score Prediction: 49 - 28, Hilltoppers victory!
