As Florida recovers from Hurricane Irma, it would be nice for life to get back to normal as quickly as possible, and maybe a football game in Tampa can be a step in the right direction. Friday night is when No. 22 South Florida will host Illinois. It's an important game for the Bulls if they want to stay alive in the race for the Group of Five's spot in the New Year's Six. Illinois isn't a top-tier Big Ten team, but a win over a Power Five squad looks good on the resume.
Viewing information
Date: Friday, Sept. 15 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium -- Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN | Live stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
South Florida: The Bulls enter this game with a 2-0 record, but they've looked a bit rusty in their first two games. They fell behind San Jose State 16-0 in their opener before putting their foot on the gas and cruising to a 42-22 win. The next week, Charlie Strong's team found itself tied 17-17 with Stony Brook in the fourth quarter before finally getting its act together. South Florida is still a talented team, but it's had trouble finding the consistency it showed last year when Quinton Flowers was leading one of the most potent offenses in the country.
See which side of this game the pros at SportsLine are on here.
Illinois: It hasn't been pretty, but the Illini enter this game with a 2-0 record thanks to wins over Ball State and Western Kentucky. This game serves as a homecoming of sorts for coach Lovie Smith, who came to Illinois after being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. Smith's team is young, as most of its key players to this point have been freshmen. As you'd expect from a Lovie Smith team, the Illini have shown to be strong on defense to this point, but haven't found much success on offense. This will be the toughest test Illinois has faced so far this year.
Prediction
Even with the slow start to the season for the Bulls, it's hard to imagine they're going to lose this game against an Illini team that hasn't been lighting the world on fire itself. Still, with the way the lives of the Bulls and all Floridians have been disrupted this past week, it wouldn't surprise me if South Florida is a bit off-kilter. Combine that with an impressive Illini defense, and I think the Bulls win, but the Illini cover. Pick: Illinois +16.5
