Kickoff time for the USF-Miami game is set, but first comes Southern Miss

The USF football team’s home game against Miami on September 21 will kick off at 7 p.m. and be carried either on ESPN or ESPN2. Either way, it will be the Bulls’ second appearance on national TV in the first four weeks of the season.

They’ll get a third shot on Friday, October 11, when ESPN carries their 7 p.m. home game against Memphis.

The Bulls put on a good show against Alabama, also on ESPN, for 3 ½ quarters before the Crimson Tide broke open a tight game to win 42-16. While they earned some back pats for scaring the bejeebers out of the heavily favored Crimson Tide – it was a one-score game with about six minutes left – the Bulls aren’t looking for that kind of affirmation.

No sir, they want W’s, and the Miami game will be an excellent opportunity to get a program-defining win against a top-tier opponent with a lot of eyeballs watching.

But before considering those hurricanes, this week’s game at Southern Mississippi requires USF’s full attention – and perhaps an actual hurricane might come into play. Hurricane Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s too soon to tell what the storm will do, but forecast models show it heading northeasterly toward Louisiana and perhaps Mississippi.

The big fear so far is flooding.

The Golden Eagles are 1-1 after beating Southeastern 35-10 in their last game. They opened the season with a 31-0 loss at Kentucky.

Tate Rodemaker is the Southern Miss quarterback, and that name should sound familiar. He was a perennial backup during his first four seasons at Florida State until a gruesome injury to starter and Heisman candidate Jordan Travis forced Rodemaker into the lineup.

He was on the field for all 58 points FSU scored against North Alabama after Travis was carted off.

One game later, Rodemaker suffered a concussion against Florida, forcing the Seminoles to turn to third-string quarterback Brock Glenn for the ACC championship game against Louisville. Even though the Seminoles won that game to finish undefeated, they were left out of the College Football Playoff. Rodemaker chose not to play in FSU’s bowl game against Georgia – good decision, as the Bulldogs won 63-3 after most of FSU’s best players opted out of the game.

Rodemaker, who committed to USF out of high school but flipped to FSU, then made the move to Southern Miss.

The results are mixed.

After tossing a pair of interceptions against Kentucky, he threw for two touchdowns against Southeastern.

Southern Miss was picked to finish sixth in the seven-team West Division of the Sun Belt Conference.

Despite the lopsided final score at Alabama, the Bulls’ defense was outstanding for much of the game. They repeatedly harassed Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe and forced him into mistakes.