East Carolina @ South Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 30, 2017 ) South Florida 61, East Carolina 31

South Florida hopes to avoid needing another fourth-quarter comeback and remain unbeaten when it hosts well-rested East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday. USF has scored 39 unanswered points in the final quarter of the last two contests, rallying from 10 down to beat Georgia Tech at home before scoring 18 points in the final 15 minutes to beat Illinois 25-19 in Chicago last week.

“We can’t keep putting (ourselves) in this situation,” Bulls quarterback Blake Barnett told the Tampa Bay Times after throwing two touchdown passes in the final 14:53 last Saturday. “Obviously everyone’s ecstatic and over the top, it was a very dramatic and emotional game. But we have to come out stronger at the start of the game so we don’t put ourselves in a hole.” USF coach Charlie Strong told reporters he likes the resiliency of his players and East Carolina will have to show the same type of fight after a difficult few weeks following a stunning 41-19 win over North Carolina. The Pirates, who had last weekend’s game at Virginia Tech postponed as Hurricane Florence crashed into the East Coast, moved their camp to Orlando, Fla. to prepare for the matchup against the Bulls. “We’re playing with a lot of confidence, we’re practicing with a lot of confidence,” East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery told reporters. “We’re really excited to be able to play again. … When the lights come on, our guys will be ready to play.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPNews. LINE: South Florida -22

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (1-1): The Pirates rebounded from a season-opening loss to North Carolina A&T by registering 510 yards of offense against the Tar Heels, including 290 through the air from sophomore quarterback Reid Herring. Senior Trevon Brown had 90 of his team-leading 147 receiving yards versus North Carolina and is among four Pirates with at least 10 receptions in the early going while Herring has completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 599 yards. Senior Anthony Scott leads the team with 107 yards rushing to go along with a TD and senior defensive end Nate Harvey has 5.5 tackles for loss (1.5 sacks) in the first two games.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (3-0): Barnett is averaging 306 yards passing while accounting for 10 touchdowns (seven passing) and boasts a stable of four players with at least 182 receiving yards in the three wins. Freshman Randall St. Felix leads that group with 286 yards and senior Tyre McCants has a team-best 19 receptions for another 207 - needing 94 yards to move from seventh to fourth on the school’s all-time list. Junior Jordan Cronkrite leads the ground attack with 175 yards and freshman Duran Bell Jr. (69) is questionable again due to an ankle injury while senior linebacker Khalid McGee is on a torrid pace with a team-best 34 tackles.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Bulls can become the fastest FBS team in Florida to reach 150 victories in program history Saturday.

2. South Florida has won seven of the eight previous matchups with the Pirates, including a 61-31 triumph at East Carolina in 2017.

3. The Pirates have lost their last four road openers after falling 56-20 at West Virginia last season.

PREDICTION: USF 42, East Carolina 21