USF Bulls: A Review of the 2022 Spring Game

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The USF Bulls had what is the end of spring practice by having their annual spring game. This was the first time I believe that it was under the lights at Raymond James Stadium. This was a good move by the team to allow more fans to come and watch. It was a rather cool spring night in Tampa, Florida. The temperature was in the lower 60s which I know is not cold for northerners. For the people that call Florida home all year round it was cooler than we are used to. The turnout was what I would describe as okay. I know why there were not many people at the game. The major reason is that the USF Bulls have only won three games in the last two years. Hopefully, head coach Jeff Scott can get this team to a four-to-six-win season in 2022.

The teams for the USF Bulls spring game were split up between team green and team white. In my opinion, the teams were evenly split. I got a chance to talk to some of the fans in the stands that thought that the teams were split where one team was the starters and the other team is the backups. That was not the case. One of the coolest aspects is seeing Jeff Scott always behind the offense watching to see how both teams react. The first quarter was rather bland it ended with just 10 points. The white team got a field goal on their opening drive. The green team would take two drives to get their first points, a touchdown. To me, it was not an exciting first quarter. The press box was not that impressed with how it turned out after the first quarter.

The second quarter was not much better for the USF Bulls spring game. The green team scored a touchdown and took a 14-3 lead into the half. At the half, the USF Bulls alumni starred in a flag football game. It was a back-and-forth contest between the two teams. It was cool to see all the past Bulls players. The fans that were in the stands were excited to see the players that they loved from their past. Many of the players that played in the flag football game were part of the winning years of USF. The second half was different from the game clock. During this half, the clock continues to run unless there is an incomplete pass or timeout called. The plays were faster because of the clock. I saw this as when a team is at the end of the game or in a two-minute drive.

In the third quarter, the white team scored a touchdown and pulled the score to 14-10. I saw both teams try long pass plays. I am hoping that once the season starts, they can hit these plays. Most of them were overthrown by many yards. What I did like is that there were trick plays on both sides I am hoping we see some of these during the season. The plays were the end of rounds which, if run efficiently, could lead to big yard gains or scoring plays. The USF Bulls’ offense will have to be more efficient than it was in 2021. The white team got another touchdown to take a 17-14 lead. All they had to do was hold the green team from scoring. The green team had a chance to tie the game with the last few seconds on the clock. They missed both field-goal attempts.

The game ended with the white team defeating the green team 17-14. Had the white team not called a time out on the green team’s first field goal attempt the game would have been over. Even on the second attempt, the field goal was wide right. What this means is if anything happens to Spencer Shrader the Bulls are in trouble. I do not tend to be hard, but the game had some sloppy plays. The Bulls committed back-to-back interceptions on back-to-back plays. The defense was better with tackling which was a big problem in 2021. The offense all goes through Timmy McClain if he can limit his mistakes the offense will be good in 2022. Special teams were on display in the field goal and punts, but the kick return team was limited. The USF Bulls will be a better team in 2022 let’s see how it comes out.