South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Promising start goes for naught
Bulls’ losing streak reaches 6, but Scott stresses the positive
A promising first half ultimately gaveway to familiar defeat for USF on Saturday afternoon in Memphis.
After a huge defensive stand in Memphis’ red zone to end the second quarter put the Bulls 3-for-3 on fourth-down stops — and preserved a 14-point lead — the Tigers found their footing in the final four minutes of thegame.
Astellar defense turned to mush late and Noah Johnson’s steady guidance of the offense wasn’t enough to pull out the win for USF, which fell 34-33. It is the sixth straight defeat for the Bulls, their longest skid since 2018.
Coach Jeff Scott said he obviously wasn’t happy with the outcome, but this was USF’s best game of the year.
“I would say you could probably look around the country, I don’t know how many 1-5 teams would come out and play theway thatwe played today for the first 3 ½ quarters,” Scott said.
USF held Memphis (4-2, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) to under 100 yards rushing, but quarterback Brady White ultimately regained the hoth and, with 437 yards and four touchdowns on 30-for-50 passing. He did so despite the Bulls defense stepping up on the later downs and sacking White twice (the most sacks they have recorded in a game this season). The Tigers were 10-for19 on third downs and 1-for-4 on fourth.
“I think our defense really did a good job of playing the run, well, pretty much all day,” Scott said. “I felt like early on we had them playing behind the chains and doing some things we really wanted to do going into the game.”
The Bulls (1-6,0-5) were limited at cornerback with Ben Knox unavailable, and Scott said that hurt them late. The final touchdown drives for Memphis covered
72 and 76 yards, respectively. “[White] did a good job of finding those windows and delivering the ball with the only place that it could be to be completed,” Scott said.
Johnson, who made his first start of the season, didn’t have a perfect first quarter, but he found some rhythm during the second. Loss aside, Johnson’s efforts translated into USF’s most wellrounded game of the season.
“I thought we moved the ball really well,” said Johnson, who played the entire game. “I know there’s been a big emphasis on the passing game, and I felt like that was there ... I just feel like as an offense, we did some really good things and some things that we have to clean up.”
The Alcorn State graduate transfer finished with 217 yards on 20-for-29 passing, the secondbest passing performance of the season behind the 306 yards that USF notched against East Carolina on Oct. 10.
After both teams exchanged a pair of field goals, USF gained momentum with a 51-yard picksix from Daquan Evans early in the second quarter. On USF’s next offensive series, Johnson connected with Kelley Join er Jr. on a 75-yard touchdown, then capped a seven-play drive before the half with a 5-yard touchdown toss to Mitch Brinkman.
The second half didn’t have the same offensive burst for the Bulls, but another pair of field goals from Spencer Shrader was enough to keep the Bulls ahead — until Memphis’ final touchdown with a minute remaining.
Shrader went 4-for-4 on field goals, making him the first Bulls kicker since Emilio Nadelman (against Cincinnati on Oct. 14,
2017) to connect for that many in a single game.
“[His play] definitely gave us a shot,” Scott said. “It put us in a position to be able to win the game.”
But the Bulls ultimately were “out-executed,” Scott said.
“We’re going to learn,” he said. “We’re on a journey.”