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After the Bay Area escaped major damage from Hurricane Irma over the weekend, the University of South Florida football team will still play the University of Illinois Friday night at Raymond James Stadium.
The USF campus officially opens tomorrow to faculty and staff. Classes won’t resume until Thursday, and professors have been directed to not give quizzes or exams until next week.
Today, the Bulls held their normal Tuesday press conference as head Coach Charlie Strong addressed the media to talk all things Irma and the short week of preparations.
Who’s calling the game?
USF vs Illinois TV crew:
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
Game is on ESPN at 7pm
Dave LaMont (PxP)
Some guy named Mack Brown (Analyst)
Jen Lada (Sideline)
With the way things are going in Austin, maybe this time next year Tom Herman and Mack Brown will call a USF game together and things can get really weird.
.@USFFootball is 0-5 against Big Ten teams
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
The Bulls have been outscored 130-63 in those five games versus Maryland (2014-15), Penn State (2005), Michigan State (2013), and Wisconsin (2014). USF is 2-12 if you include the games they played against Rutgers before the Scarlet Knights joined the league. But I’m pretty sure the Big Ten doesn’t even include them, so why should we?
Strong on Hurricane Irma:
Strong starts out by thanking all the first responders for their time during Hurricane Irma. TECO even gets a shoutout.
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
Things could’ve been much, much worse in Tampa, and the force field that surrounds the city held up again. If it hadn’t, we know the city and area was up to the challenge of taking care of the residents.
Pack Ray Jay:
Strong starts out by thanking all the first responders for their time during Hurricane Irma. TECO even gets a shoutout.
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
Strong also invited all of the first responders and their families to the game Friday night.
UConn game:
Strong said some guys were mad the UConn game was canceled. Strong told them their were more important things going on.
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
#USFTwitter had a field day on Thursday night when it was announced that the game was canceled, but it was absolutely the right call. Hopefully USF can get another game on the schedule.
Real short week of preparations:
Strong said Preparing for a Friday game is like "cramming for an exam"
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
The Bulls will practice tonight, Wednesday night and Thursday morning before facing the Illini Friday. USF will also have a short week next week when they host Temple on Thursday night. Strong mentioned the possibility of playing someone during the November 11 bye week, but that would give them a short week to prepare for Tulsa (scheduled for Thursday, November 16) and he didn’t seem enthused about that.
Players affected?
Strong said about 70% of the team was here yesterday. He'll know more today about players and any damage they sustained.
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) September 12, 2017
Illinois is coming off a 20-7 victory over former USF quarterback Mike White and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, so that’s impressive. But they also needed a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown to beat Ball State in their opener. Who knows what to expect from them on Friday. They’re coached by Lovie Smith, so that probably mitigates the short week form the Bulls.