No. 23 South Florida (5-0, 1-0 American) at Tulsa (1-4, 0-2), Friday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN).
Line: South Florida by 7½.
Series record: South Florida leads 2-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
South Florida wants to challenge No. 10 Central Florida and No. 25 Cincinnati in the AAC and can’t afford to slip against a Tulsa squad that isn’t winning much but has played some games close, including against Texas.
KEY MATCHUP
South Florida QB Blake Barnett vs. Tulsa pass defense. Barnett has passed for 1,308 yards and nine touchdowns to help the Bulls rank 30th nationally with 275 yards per game through the air. Tulsa’s much-improved defense is holding opponents to 173.4 yards passing per game, 15th nationally.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
South Florida: RB Jordan Cronkrite. He ran for a school-record 302 yards and three touchdowns last week in a 58-42 win over UMass. He ranks third nationally in rushing and has 567 yards on the ground his past three games. He averages 151.5 yards per game and 8.8 yards per carry.
Tulsa: QB Seth Boomer. The redshirt freshman made his first career start last week and passed for 227 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Houston. It was the second-most yards for a Tulsa freshman in a debut, but he only completed 13 of 31 passes and looks to be more consistent this week.
FACTS & FIGURES
South Florida enters the week as one of 11 unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS. … South Florida won 38-30 in Tulsa in 2014 and 27-20 at home last year. … Tulsa RB Corey Taylor II had career highs of 152 yards and 33 carries against Houston. … Tulsa LB Cooper Edmiston has three interceptions the past two weeks. … This is Tulsa’s third straight weeknight game.
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