ILLINI OUTCLASSED IN SLOPPY GAME
QB Flowers accounts for five touchdowns in Bulls’ rout of Illini
TAMPA, Fla. — Quinton Flowers threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 22 South Florida returned from a Hurricane Irma- imposed layoff to rout Illinois 47- 23 on Friday.
Flowers moved ahead of Matt Grothe and B. J. Daniels into second place on the Bulls’ all- time list for touchdown passes with 53. The 2016 American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year also scored the 32nd rushing touchdown of his college career, tying Marlon Mack’s school record.
South Florida ( 3- 0) beat a Big Ten opponent for the first time on a night it honored first responders who worked during the last week to help victims of the massive storm that affected the entire state.
‘‘ We felt like we had a chance to give back . . . provide some relief for our communities, if only for a few hours,’’ Bulls coach Charlie Strong said. ‘‘ I was really proud of how our team responded.’’
He said the leadership Flowers provided was one of the keys to the dominating performance.
‘‘ He goes about his work, and guys follow,’’ Strong said.
The Fighting Illini ( 2- 1) stumbled in what also was a homecoming of sorts for coach Lovie Smith, who returned to the stadium where he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons before being fired and accepting the challenge of rebuilding Illinois.
Illini freshman Mike Epstein scored on a 46- yard run and on a 21- yard pass from Jeff George Jr., who replaced starter Chayce Crouch in the second half.
‘‘ A total breakdown, but, of course, it counts one game,’’ Smith said. ‘‘ The good part about it is we’re going to leave our nonconference schedule and get to Big Ten play.’’
Flowers completed 15 of 25 passes, including touchdown throws of 39 yards to Deangelo Antoine, 17 yards to Marquez Valdes- Scantling, 17 yards to D’Ernest Johnson and 13 yards to Tyre McCants. Flowers also scored on a six- yard run on the last play of the first half and finished with a team- best 106 of the Bulls’ 376 yards rushing.
Johnson and Darius Tice joined Flowers in topping 100 yards rushing, and South Florida amassed 680 yards of total offense to Illinois’ 354.
The takeaway
Illinois: The Illini played like a young team that will struggle against strong competition. They committed 12 penalties for 110 yards in the first half alone. Epstein continues to be a reason to feel good about Illinois’ future, finishing with 56 yards rushing and 27 yards receiving.
South Florida: Despite being 3- 0, the Bulls have yet to play a complete game. They’ve hurt themselves with penalties and breakdowns on special teams in every game, and the offense had difficulty finishing drives early. With Flowers accounting for 81 yards, South Florida outgained the Illini 184- 21 in the first quarter but led only 9- 2. Illinois kept it close by blocking a field goal, turning another block into a defensive extra point and intercepting Flowers in the end zone.
Thank you
The Bulls gave first responders who attended the game up to four free tickets apiece.
Strong also offered every high school team in the state free admission to the nationally televised game. The school said more than 80 high school teams, many of them idle because their games were canceled in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, accepted the invitation.
Attendance was announced as 35,404 in the 65,000- seat stadium.