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No. 21 South Florida looks to remain undefeated vs Houston
No. 21 South Florida (7-0, 3-0 American) at Houston (6-1, 3-0), 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN2).
Line: Houston by 7½.
Series record: Houston leads 3-2.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
South Florida is looking to set the record for best start in school history (8-0), while also staying at the top of the American's East Division title and a possible spot as the Group of Five representative in the New Year's Six bowls. Houston is looking to remain atop the American's West Division.
KEY MATCHUP
South Florida's rushing attack against Houston's run defense. RBs Jordan Cronkite and Johnny Ford lead a running game that has rushed for over 1,800 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Houston's rushing defense has allowed 148.6 yards a game, good for third in the American but Navy rushed for 344 yards and four touchdowns against the Cougars last week.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
South Florida: QB Blake Barnett has thrown for 1,815 yards and 10 touchdowns and has rushed for another 222 yards and seven touchdowns this season. His favorite targets are WR Tyre McCants, who has 40 receptions for 440 yards and two touchdowns and TE Mitchel Wilcox, who has 354 yards and one touchdown on 26 catches.
Houston: QB D'Eriq King leads the nation with 194 points responsible for this season. King ranks fifth nationally with 23 touchdown passes and eighth nationally with nine touchdown runs. King leads the American with 1,984 yards passing. He is eighth nationally with an average of 323.6 yards of total offense per game. King has been well-protected this season, with Houston's offensive line allowing only four sacks through seven games this season.
FACTS & FIGURES
South Florida is one of five undefeated teams left in the country and has won eight straight dating back to last season. South Florida started 7-0 last season. ... Cronkite has five straight 100-yard games, which ties the record set by Marlon Mack in 2015 and matched by Quinton Flowers in 2016. ... Houston, which has won three straight games in the series, has started the season scoring at least 40 points in each of the first seven games. ... The Cougars are the only school to rank in the top 20 nationally in both passing offense and rushing offense.
