Red zone defense key vs. Bearcats

Posted Oct 19, 2011 by Adam Adkins

Updated Oct 19, 2011 at 09:10 PM

USF defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said one of the biggest keys for his squad against Cincinnati is to play good red zone defense, which has been tough for teams to do thus far against the Bearcats.

Behind quarterback Zach Collaros, Cincinnati has converted 70 percent of its trips into the red zone for touchdowns (21 of 30), while scoring on 26 of 30 possessions overall.

“They do a really good job of hitting the open spots,” Snyder said. “(Collaros is) very smart. He knows exactly where the windows are, and the ball is out before the receiver even makes his break. His feet (also) create problems down there in the red zone, as we’ve seen B.J. (Daniels) do. You can stop it all over the place and all of the sudden there goes B.J. and he’s in the end zone. Collaros can do the same thing.”

The Bulls did a good job against Connecticut, limiting the Huskies to field goals in each of their three trips into the red zone. USF ranks second in the Big East in red zone defense, allowing just a 50 percent success rate (10 of 20) for touchdowns.