Charlie Strong takes little comfort in the fact that South Florida is 2-4 coming into the upcoming football game against the University of Louisville.

Every game against a Florida team is a rivalry game for UofL, which has more than 30 players from the Sunshine State, many of them from the Miami area. No lack of incentive to play well against Louisville.

“South Florida has about 22 to 23 seniors and they will be up for this game,” said Strong, during his Monday press conference. “They are exactly where we were at this time last season. It’s all about them coming together, playing together.”

Asked whether USF may have some major issues, having won only one Big East game in its last eight tries, Strong responded: “I can’t answer that. All I know is I don’t want those kinds of issues here.”

Strong said he doesn’t think having an unbeaten team at this point in the season is going to his players’ heads and they’re not looking past South Florida. “We’ve got some pretty smart players. They know we’ve haven’t played well at times.

“We’re fortunate to be where we are. We can’t be satisfied and full of ourselves. We’re not thinking about Cincinnati. The only team we need to worry about is us.”

Notes:

  • As for all the high-scoring games in the college ranks this season, he said “It’s all about mismatches. If coaches can exploit mismatches, you’re going to have high-scoring games.”
  • As for UofL’s defense allowing 21 points per game: “Our players understand that’s not acceptable. They know they need to play better.”
  • Dominique Brown is set on a red shirt season unless he is absolutely needed. “Dominique is okay with that. If we need him, he’s okay with that, too.”
  • Senior linebacker Daniel Brown is still nursing an injury and could miss two or three game.
  • Sophomore tackle Johnathan Miller missed the last practice, and is on a day-to-day basis.
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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.