Tulane routs USF; Cincinnati rolls
TAMPA — Darius Bradwell scored a touchdown for the seventh straight game and led a 364-yard rushing attack that carried Tulane to a surprising 41-15 rout of South Florida on Saturday.
The Green Wave (4-5, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) won in the state of Florida for the first time since 1977, ending a 13-game skid with a dominating performance against an opponent suddenly reeling after spending three weeks ranked in the Top 25.
Bradwell rambled 73 yards untouched to put Tulane up 34-3 late in the third quarter and finished with 134 yards on 15 carries. Corey Dauphine rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and graduate transfer Justin McMillan ran for his third TD in two starts as the Green Wave quarterback.
South Florida (7-2, 3-2) has dropped two straight for the first time since 2015. The Bulls tumbled from the Top 25 following a 57-36 loss at Houston and were thoroughly outplayed Saturday in falling behind 27-3 at halftime.
Tulane kept USF’s potent offense out of the end zone until Johnny Ford scored on a 5-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter. Blake Barnett’s fourthquarter TD run pulled the Bulls within 34-15.
The Green Wave outgained the Bulls 255 yards to 126 in the opening half, despite only having the ball for seven snaps.
McMillan, who transferred to Tulane from LSU, only attempted 11 passes, completing four for 61 yards without an interception. He scored on a 33-yard run in the first quarter, taking up where he left the previous week in rushing for two TDs in 24-17 victory over Tulsa.
Barnett, meanwhile, was 29 of 49 for 343 yards, one touchdown and one interception for USF, which saw its nation-best streak of scoring at least 20 points end at 38 games. The graduate transfer from Arizona State also led the Bulls with 44 yards rushing. more offensive
CINCINNATI CRUISES: After Navy trampled the Bearcats with their option offense last season, Cincinnati was determined it wouldn’t happen again.
The Bearcats changed their defense for the rematch, adding a linebacker to put eight players up front, and they overpowered Navy’s running game while pulling away to a 42-0 victory on Saturday.
A 42-32 loss at Annapolis last year stuck with them all offseason. Coach Luke Fickell started preparing Cincinnati (8-1, 4-1 American Athletic) to face the option during spring and fall practice.
“Last year’s game against them was an eye-opener,” Fickell said.
Fickell ran the scout team during fast, physical practices during the week.
“You had four linebackers just giving everything they’ve got,” said tackle Cortez Broughton, who had a career-high 10 tackles. “The drills we did in practice — I thought somebody was going to get hurt. We needed that to take it to the next level.”
The Bearcats controlled the game with the conference’s stingiest defense, limiting Navy to 57 first-half yards despite a quarterback change . The Midshipmen (2-7, 1-4) dropped their sixth straight and were blanked for the first time since 2012.
“Getting shut out was embarrassing,” said quarterback Zach Abey, who made his first start of the season.
Desmond Ridder ran for a touchdown and handed off to Michael Warren II for two more before twisting his right leg while getting tackled. He limped off, and Hayden Moore took over and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Ridder returned for the start of the second half and threw a 55-yard TD pass on Cincinnati’s opening drive, then was on the sideline the rest of the way. He finished 13 of 17 for 178 yards, and he ran seven times for 66 yards.
Navy switched quarterbacks after its 44-22 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame last week. It didn’t make a difference as Navy’s blockers got pushed around by a defense that ranks 11th nationally against the run. Abey was sacked all three times he tried to throw in the first half when Navy managed 57 yards rushing.
“I started Zach just trying to get a spark,” coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We needed to get something going.”
Navy’s last shutout loss was 12-0 to San Jose State on Sept. 29, 2012. The Midshipmen will next face No. 12 UCF Saturday at Spectrum Stadium.
ELSEWHERE: Darrell Henderson rushed for two touchdowns, helping Memphis (5-4, 2-3) pull away for a 59-41 win over East Carolina (2-6, 0-5).