TAMPA, Fla. – During his weekly press conference Tuesday, USF coach Alex Golesh noted his North Texas counterpart, Eric Morris, has “the entire program humming at a high clip.”
He’s not kidding. The Mean Green enter Friday night’s matchup against the visiting Bulls (ESPN2, 7:30) having scored at least 33 points in each of their five games while averaging 44.8 points to rank 10th nationally. Their redshirt freshman quarterback, Drew Mestemaker, has thrown 11 touchdown passes without an interception.
“They make you cover the entire width of the field,” said Golesh, of the challenge that awaits the Bulls’ defense. “(Mestemaker) is a dual threat; he can move, he can run, he creates with his feet a bunch. Most of the year he has not looked like a young guy who is a redshirt freshman.”
Thanks in very large part to Mestemaker, the Mean Green (5-0/1-0 American) enter undefeated and having worked their way into the conversation that pertains to the Group of Five representative at the playoff table. The No. 24 Bulls (4-1/1-0), with wins over Boise State and Florida in as many weeks to open the season, are in the thick of that topic. That is what makes Friday night’s game in Denton, 40 miles north of downtown Dallas, all the more appealing.
“The part that I am really confident about, is we have been battle-tested pretty good on the road to this point,” said Golesh. “We have played in tough environments, we have executed in tough environments, and we have had to learn from mistakes in tough environments. I am really excited to go into Friday night and see where we are because I think it will be an exciting next step for us.”
READ: Sweet Potato Aside, USF’s Chase Leon Has Assimilated Nicely As A College Punter
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