| |
|
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| Passing Leaders |
| Player |
COMP
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ATT
|
|
|
|
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| WC - Allen |
3
|
9
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|
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| USF - Grothe |
19
|
23
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| Rushing Leaders |
| Player |
ATT
|
|
|
|
| WC - Breitenstein |
13
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|
|
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| USF - Plancher |
12
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| Receiving Leaders |
| Player |
#
|
|
|
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| WC - Bersin |
2
|
|
|
|
| USF - Mitchell |
6
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| Defensive Leaders |
| Player |
Tackles
|
|
|
|
| WC - Niam |
11
|
|
|
|
| USF - Allen |
10
|
1
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|
|
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TAMPA (AP) -- Moise Plancher ran for two touchdowns and Matt Grothe moved closer to becoming the Big East's career total offense leader Saturday night, leading South Florida to a season-opening 40-7 rout of Wofford.
Plancher scored on runs of 4 and 9 yards and finished with 78 yards rushing on 12 carries. Grothe threw a second-quarter touchdown pass to Theo Wilson and had 155 yards passing and 44 rushing to increase his four-year total to 10,441 yards -- 88 shy of Pat White's Big East record.
USF overcame a slow start, snapping a 7-7 tie on Grothe's touchdown pass to Theo Wilson and adding a safety to make it 16-7 before halftime. Plancher scored his second touchdown early in the third quarter, and the Bulls rolled from there.
Wofford's wingbone offense was effective early, and the Terriers wound up rushing for 177 yards on 50 attempts. Fullback Eric Breitenstein gained 121 yards on 13 carries and scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter.
USF coach Jim Leavitt insisted that opening against Wofford, which won nine games and participated in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs each of the past two years, would be a good test for a young, but talented team that expects to contend for the Bulls' first Big East title.
Wofford played South Carolina tough a year ago, losing 23-13 but drawing a glowing review from Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier, who saluted the team's effort level. For most of the first half, the Terriers gave USF all it could handle, too.
Sophomore quarterback Mitch Allen, making his first college start, answered Grothe's game-opening touchdown drive with an impressive march of his own. The Terriers moved 69 yards in 13 plays, tying the game 7-all on Breitenstein's 2-yard run.
Wofford turned back one USF threat with Tommy Irvin's end zone interception of Grothe, whose 39-yard run got the Bulls inside the 10-yard line. Four plays later, the Terriers began unraveling.
An errant snap on a punt set up Grothe's 6-yard scoring pass to Theo Wilson with 36 seconds left in the opening half. A second bad snap that sailed over Chris Tommie's head resulted in a safety, making it 16-7, when the Wofford punter ran down the loose ball and kicked it through the end zone with one second remaining.
If Tommie had picked up the ball -- instead of kicking it intentionally -- just inside the 20, the final seconds of the half likely would have run out.
Plancher's second TD run and Delbert Alvarado's 30-yard field goal extended USF's lead to 26-7 in the third quarter.
Lindsey Lamar scored on a 13-yard run and Grothe's backup, B.J. Daniel, threw a 22-yard TD pass to Jeffrey Wilson in the fourth quarter.
Postgame Notes
-USF improves its record in season openers to 9-4 all-time with tonight's 40-7 win over Wofford ... The victory was the Bulls' fourth straight and the fifth in the last six openers ... The four-win stretch is USF's longest winning streak in season opener's , and includes victories over McNeese State (41-10) in 2006, Elon (28-13) in 2007 and Tennessee-Martin (56-7) last year, in addition to tonight's triumph.
-USF improves its record to 9-0 in openers at home.
-The Bulls continue to be perfect against NCAA Football Championship Series (FCS) (formerly NCAA I-AA) teams since joining the NCAA Football Bowl Series (FBS) (formerly NCAA I-A) in 2001 ... USF improved it's record to 12-0 against FCS foes, with all 12 wins coming at Raymond James Stadium.
-Following tonight's win, USF has evened its all-time record against team's from the Southern Conference at 4-4 ... The Bulls have only faced three team's prior to tonight from the conference with those being Elon (2-1), The Citadel (1-1) and Georgia Southern (0-2) ... Elon was the last team from the Southern Conference - prior to this season - that the Bulls faced, handing the Phoenix a 28-13 loss at Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 1, 2007 ... The Citadel was the first opponent USF ever faced at Raymond James Stadium... the Bulls handed the Bulldogs a 45-6 loss on Oct. 3, 1998.
-This season USF will honor former player Keeley Dorsey by wearing his No. 10 jersey ... Tonight, senior defensive lineman Aaron Harris was the first player to don the jersey ... Dorsey passed away after a team conditioning workout on Jan. 17, 2007 ... This season would have been his senior year.
-USF also held a moment of silence prior to tonight's game for alum Will Bleakley (2004-06), Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, and NFL free agent Corey Smith, who all passed away on a boating expedition this spring ... Former USF walk-on Nick Schuyler survived the expedition and in the last month, has spoken for the first time since the incident.
-Tonight's attendance of 40,360 marks the 11th straight game that the Bulls have played in front of a crowd of 40,000 or more at Raymond James Stadium.
-Through tonight's game, USF's season ticket total stands at 24,103.
-USF recorded its first safety since Sept. 27, 2008 at North Carolina State.
Individual Notes
- QB Matt Grothe broke the USF school record for total offense with 199 yards combined (19-23, 155 yards passing & 7-44 rushing) on the night. He currently has 10,441 yards and surpassed Marquel Blackwell, who had 10,343 from 1999-02.
-QB Matt Grothe came into tonight's game with 10,242 total yards (passing and rushing) for his career trailing former WVU QB Pat White by 287 yards (10,529) for the all-time BIG EAST Conference lead ... Tonight, Grothe recorded 199 total yards and will go into the Western Kentucky game next Saturday needing just 88 yards to surpass White.
-QB Matt Grothe, DE George Selvie, LB Kion Wilson and RB Mo Plancher were USF's captains for tonight's season opener ... Captains will be announced throughout the season by coach Jim Leavitt on a game-by-game basis.
-Tonight's offensive starters were: WR Carlton Mitchell, WR Dontavia Bogan, LT Jeremiah Warren, LG Chaz Hine, C Sampson Genus, RG Zach Hermann, RT Jake Sims, TE Ben Busbee, WR Sterling Griffin, QB Matt Grothe, RB Mo Plancher.
-Tonight's defensive starters were: LE Craig Marshall, NT Terrell McClain, NT Cory Grissom, RE George Selvie, LB Sabbath Joseph, LB Kion Wilson, LC Quenton Washington, SS Jerrell Young, FS Nate Allen, RC Kayvon Webster, CB Jerome Murphy.
-True-freshmen RC Kayvon Webster and WR Sterling Griffin, and redshirt freshman NT Cory Grissom got their first career starts tonight.
-QB Matt Grothe started his 39th consecutive game out of a possible 40 career outings.
-RB Mo Plancher scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and the seventh of his career on a four-yard run with 9:46 left in the first quarter.
-Plancher would follow up his first half touchdown with his second of the game and the eighth of his career on a nine-yard run with 10:47 left in the third quarter ... It is Plancher's second multiple touchdown game of his career ... He also accomplished the feat on Aug. 30, 2008 vs. Tennessee-Martin when he ran for two TD's.
-QB Matt Grothe threw his first touchdown pass of the year, and the 48th of his career, with 36 seconds left in the first half ... The strike was a six-yard pass to WR Theo Wilson.
-WR Theo Wilson's first half touchdown reception from QB Matt Grothe was his first of the season and the first of his career.
-QB Evan Landi pulled in his first career reception on QB Matt Grothe's third pass completion of the night.
-CB Quentin Washington recovered his second career fumble with 9:49 left on the clock in the third quarter.
-K Delbert Alvarado kicked his 26th career field goal of his career connecting on a 30-yard boot with 5:51 left in the third quarter.
-CB Jerome Murphy forced his third career fumble with 4:52 left in the third quarter ... The fumble was recovered by CB Tyson Butler for his first career fumble recovery.
-RB Lindsey Lamar scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 13-yard scamper with 8:18 left in the game.
-WR Jeffrey Wilson caught his first career touchdown reception on a 22-yard pass from QB B.J. Daniels with just over five minutes left in the game ... The pass from Daniels was his first career TD pass.
-DE George Selvie recorded his first sack of the year (26.5 for his career) doing so with 1:14 left in the second quarter.
