magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl
USF Bulls vs. Memphis Tigers
Postgame Notes
USF 41, Memphis 14
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008
Tropicana Field - St. Petersburg, Fla.
Individual Notes
- Captains for the game were Jake Griffin, Brouce Mompremier, Tyrone McKenzie and Marcus Edwards. Griffin is the only player on the team to be a captain every game this season.
- Jerrel Young and Andrew Ketchel each made their first career starts, Young at strong safety and Ketchel at tight end.
- The Bulls came out wearing white helmets for the first time in program history. The helmets feature the iconic "U" and a green stripe down the front and through the back.
- Five current Bulls set the mark for most career games played with 51: Tyller Roberts, Marc Dile, Marcus Edwards, Carlton Williams and Cedric Hill.
- Dontavia Bogan returned the kickoff 56 yards, which is his second longest return of the year, and the fourth-longest play of the season for USF. Against Connecticut, Bogan returned a kickoff 71 yards.
- The first TD of the game was a 26-yard pass from Matt Grothe to Taurus Johnson. The reception is Johnson's sixth touchdown catch of the season. It is the second best single season mark in USF history. In 2003 Elgin Hicks had seven.
- Jamar Taylor began USF's second drive with a 29-yard rush, which is his longest of the season. He had rushed for 25 yards twice this season, once against Syracuse and again vs. Connecticut.
- Ben Busbee's 22-yard catch in the first quarter was the longest reception of his career.
- Ben Williams scored his third touchdown in four games on a 3-yard TD rush in the first quarter.
- In the second quarter, Ben Busbee made his second-career TD reception, a 13-yard catch from Matt Grothe. Busbee's first was a 15-yard TD catch at Louisville earlier this season.
- In the third quarter, Jessie Hester reeled in a catch and extended his streak to 22 consecutive games with a reception. The streak is the school record and the junior will have his senior season to build upon it.
- Matt Grothe hit a wide open Dontavia Bogan for a 24 yard TD pass in the third quarter. It was Bogan's first of the year and Grothe's third of the afternoon. Bogan has two career touchdowns.
- George Selvie had one tackle for two lost yards, increasing his career total to 61, which leads the NCAA.
Grothe Notes
- Junior QB Matt Grothe was selected as the game's most outstanding player. He was 17-24 for 237 yards, the most by any USF QB in a bowl game. He also picked up 82 yards on 15 rushes.
- Grothe surpassed 8,000 career passing yards after collecting 101 yards in the first quarter of the game. Grothe entered the game with 7,921 career passing yards and ended the day with 236 yards .
- Grothe had 140 passing yards and 40 rushing yards in the first half, racing past 10,000 career yards of total offense. He is just the second player in BIG EAST history to achieve that milestone. West Virginia's Pat White is the other.
- Matt Grothe is the new BIG EAST career leader in total offensive yards. He passed Pat White on his 13-yard touchdown pass to Ben Busbee late in the second quarter. Grothe has 10,242 yards of total offense (passing and rushing), while Pat White has 10,142. Pat White has the Meineke Car Care Bowl to add to his total. Grothe has his senior season to add to his total.
- Grothe passed (176 yards), rushed (49 yards), punted (29 yards) and caught (14 yards) in the first half of the game.
- Grothe has passed for three touchdowns on four occasions in his career, including the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl. It is the third time he has done so this season. He also has accomplished the feat against Syracuse (2008), UCF (2008), UCF (2006).
- Grothe's three touchdowns increases his season total to 18, which is a new career high. He is two off tying the school record of 20 by Marquel Blackwell.
- Grothe's three touchdowns is the first time a USF QB has thrown for multiple TDs in a bowl game.
- In the second quarter, Grothe reeled in his second-career reception, a 14-yard pass from Theo Wilson. His first-ever was a 14-yard catch in 2006 against Rutgers.
Team Notes
- The Bulls end the season 8-5 overall.
- USF improves to 3-2 against Memphis, 3-0 in dome stadiums, 2-2 in bowl games and 3-2 at neutral sites.
- Coach Jim Leavitt is now 87-52 overall in his 12th season at USF.
- The Bulls' 24 points was the most scored in a half by USF in a bowl game, and ties the most scored in a game.
- The 2008 senior class won more games than any previous class in USF history. The 2008 Bulls won 32 games in four years (2005-08).
- USF out-rushed Memphis 232-66 and 158 more passing yards (496-238).
- The Bulls only punted once in the first half and went more than 44 yards on all of its five possessions.
- The Bulls held 17:13-12:47 advantage time of possession in the first half.
