Miami Beach Bowl Pick & Prediction: Western Kentucky vs. South Florida

South Florida needs to take advantage of Western Kentucky’s average run defense and just do what the Bulls do best.

Taggart interviewed for the SC head-coaching position on December 4, but the following day, USF announced a contract agreement had been reached.

South Florida has one of the best rushing offenses in the country and Western Kentucky has one of the top passing attacks.

Western Kentucky is having a solid season as well, winning 11 games and the Conference-USA title game. Taggart was a four-year starter at quarterback, highlighted by an All-American senior season, for the Hilltoppers and went 14-10 the final two of his three years as coach at Western Kentucky before moving on to USF in 2013. The Miami Beach Bowl will mark the seventh time that Western Kentucky and USF will face off. The Bulls hold a 4-2 edge in the series and have won four straight games over the Hilltoppers.

Taggart and USF athletic director Mark Harlan said they began talking about a contract extension following USF’s regular-season finale. This one is about Taggart, who planted the seeds for what Western Kentucky is now and seems to be on a similar path now at USF. South Florida is 8-4 on the year, 9-2-1 against the spread and 6-5-1 with the under. They are fantastic on defense. Brando Doughty was a special talent for WKY as he completed almost 72% of his throws for nearly 4,600 yards and 45 touchdowns versus seven picks. We’re going to have to do some things that are a little unorthodox…. Few do. However, the Bulls will reduce Western Kentucky’s number of possessions and explosive plays with a combination of the ground game and a defense that flies to the ball. “Our guys are growing up and they see I have a great staff and how close we are, and they’re all in”. “Really in bowl games like this, when the two teams are pretty evenly matched, it’s about who wants it the most, who is willing to fight for it, who is going to compete for it, and that’s really going to be the plan to win”, Brohm said. It’s a crusade for Western Kentucky. Tight end Tyler Higbee, a first team All-C-USA selection, is not expected to play after injuring his knee in the conference title game against Southern Miss. According to the Tampa Tribune, Taggart’s base salary will jump from $1.2 million in 2015 to $1.7 million in 2016, then increase annually from there throughout the agreement.