There are genuine reasons to believe that the USF football program will find its bearings under head coach Jeff Scott. USF’s 2021 season opener, unfortunately, provided absolutely none of those reasons, as the Bulls were thoroughly flattened by NC State, 45-0.
There were some not-terrible things. True freshman Timmy McClain took over in the first half for an extremely ineffective Cade Fortin and was entertaining, if not effective. McClain finished 7 of 13 passing for 126 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions (though in fairness, both of them occurred on third down plays in the red zone where he understandably tried to force the ball).