Maybe USF was cocky a year ago against UAB, but the Bulls sure aren't now

A little more than a year ago, USF football was confident and maybe even a little cocky as the Bulls headed to UAB.

USF was coming off two wins to start the American Athletic Conference season after playing Alabama to the wire before losing 17-3. The Blazers didn’t appear to be a threat to the Bulls, either.

UAB had lost four straight games, and none of them were close. When Byrum Brown ran 60 yards for a USF touchdown 1:25 just into the game, the rout was on, right?

Well, it was a rout, all right.

The Blazers embarrassed the Bulls on that afternoon in Birmingham, rolling up 35 first-half points en route to a 56-35 shellacking. They were gashed for 608 total yards that day.

The chance to make amends for USF comes Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.

“You know, we went up there a year ago after being a really confident football team after a couple of wins and got absolutely embarrassed. That stuck with me, I think, and certainly has stuck with our players. We played as bad as you can imagine,” Golesh said.

UAB is 1-5 and playing with a backup quarterback after starter Jacob Zeno injured his non-throwing shoulder in UAB's loss to Navy. There is no update on his availability for Saturday.

Former Florida Gator quarterback Jaylen Kitna has been starting in his place and hasn’t been very good. He has two touchdowns and five interceptions, averaging only six yards per completion.

The Blazers also lost running back and team captain Isaiah Jacobs for the season with an injury.

UAB coach called the loss of Jacobs “devastating.”

Don’t expect the Bulls to be lulled into any false security. While the Blazers’ record is poor, their schedule – much like USF’s – has been demanding. Their five FBS opponents have a combined 24-5 record. They’ve already played AAC co-leaders Army and Navy (both losses), and got smothered 70-21 by Tulane.

In case you’re curious, according to ESPN, USF’s first six opponents combined to give the Bulls the eight-toughest strength of schedule in the country. The UAB game starts a softer portion of the slate. The Bulls' last six opponents combine for a SOS of 126.

Pro tip: Don’t try to sell that “softer schedule” thing to Golesh, not after the last three weeks.

“You got to go play Army and Navy in the first six weeks, which are two really good football teams but are both also incredibly physical football teams,” he said.

“And they've played a gauntlet of Arkansas, Tulane, and a (Louisiana) Monroe team that's apparently played really good ball.”

Let’s not sugarcoat it, though.

While USF took on the challenge of Alabama, Miami, Tulane (wow, they’re good!), and Memphis in the first six weeks, the Bulls are also just 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

Winning Saturday, while a must, won’t cure everything.

But losing Saturday could send the season into a spiral that is unrecoverable.