Where To Watch USF vs. Syracuse | Gameday Central: Syracuse
TAMPA - The USF football team has been named the
Tositos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
The Bulls upset No. 18/25 Florida State at Doak Campbell Field last weekend and along the way, further established themselves as one of the true power program in Florida.
Although this was the first meeting between USF and Florida State, the Bulls have now won seven straight games vs. teams from Florida. The win also extended USF's non-conference regular-season winning streak to 15 games.
"It changes history," USF head coach Jim Leavitt said after the game. "You have to beat them to get talked about. Now I can say we should be talked about."
It's the third time USF has earned the FWAA National Team of the Week award and the third honor of the day for the Bulls.
USF was the FWAA weekly award after wins over Auburn in 2007 and Louisville in 2005.
Jason Pierre-Paul was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, while B.J. Daniels earned honorable mention acclaim from the league.
Playing in just his fourth game for USF, the junior defensive end led the USF defensive line that dominated Florida State in route to a 17-7 win.
Pierre-Paul had one forced fumble, one sack and three tackles for loss against the Seminoles. His forced fumble came late in the fourth quarter and killed a final comeback attempt FSU.
The USF defensive tallied five force fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 12 tackles for loss and five sacks.
In his first career start and in his hometown, Daniels led USF to the win over No. 18/25 Florida State.
Daniels accounted for 341 of the Bulls 368 yards of total offense. He threw for 215 yards and two passing touchdowns, including two completions for 70-plus yards.
Daniels also ran for 126 yards, becoming the first quarterback since 1986 to run for 100 yards against the Seminoles.
His 341 yards was more than the entire Florida State team accounted for in the game.
Pierre-Paul was also named the College Football Performance Awards defensive end of the week, while Daniels earned honorable mention at quarterback from the same outlet.
