CINCINNATI, Ohio(Oct 22, 2010) –  Daniels' about-face ended one of the Big East's longest winning streaks.

The struggling sophomore quarterback had a breakout game, throwing for two touchdowns and running for two more, and South Florida got its first significant win under coach Skip Holtz, knocking off two-time defending Big East champion Cincinnati 38-30 on Friday night.

South Florida (4-3, 1-2) hadn't scored a touchdown on offense in its last two games, done in by Daniels' five interceptions. He had 10 interceptions overall.

No flubs in this one.

''It clicked pretty well on offense,'' Daniels said. ''To get that monkey off our backs was good. That touchdown was big, the first one we scored.''

He got the Bulls going by completing one long pass after another against Cincinnati's inexperienced defense. The Bearcats (3-4, 1-1) have the youngest defense in the BCS with eight sophomore starters.

It showed.

''That's pretty much the story with us on defense - we made little mistakes that led to big problems,'' middle linebacker J.K. Schaffer said. ''We were a little frustrated because of all the big plays.''

Daniels' 64-yard completion to Dontavia Bogan set up a third-quarter touchdown, and his 70-yard pass to Faron Hornes put the Bulls up 31-16 late in the third quarter.

The Bearcats had won 13 straight Big East games, tied for third-longest streak in league history. They hadn't lost at Nippert Stadium since 2008.

They had a chance to keep the streak going in the closing minutes.

Zach Collaros threw three touchdown passes, going 30 of 53 - both career highs - for 463 yards with an interception. He took a hard hit late in the fourth quarter, leaving him with a stiff leg.

He was on the sideline for Cincinnati's final drive, which ended with Chazz Anderson's incompletion from the Bulls 15-yard line with 7 seconds remaining.

Collaros' injury was being evaluated.

''He may be fine after treatments,'' coach Butch Jones said. ''We'll know more later in the week.''

The Bearcats self-destructed with a half-dozen dropped throws and 12 penalties for 115 yards.

Daniels was a dual-threat quarterback as a freshman, leading the Bulls in rushing. He had struggled this season in a transition to pocket passer, forcing throws while under pressure. Against Cincinnati, he went 13 of 16 for 286 yards without an interception.

Cincinnati's inexperienced defense had only two interceptions all season and was looking for a breakout game against Daniels. Sophomore safety Drew Frey stepped in front of a receiver on Daniels' first pass, but lost the ball as he hit the ground.

Given a reprieve, Daniels got his act together.

He directed a 13-play, 86-yard drive that ended the touchdown drought, going 3 yards on a draw for a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. Daniels threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Evan Landis on his next play, then went to the sideline and waved a white towel.

''B.J. was focused and dialed in,'' Holtz said. ''We felt that if we could get people open in space, we had a chance. B.J. did a good job finding them.''

South Florida's defense made a pivotal stop, stopping Collaros on a fourth-and-1 from the Bulls 30-yard line late in the third quarter. Daniels then connected with Hornes, who darted through the defense for his 70-yard reception and a 31-16 lead.

Collaros' 15-yard touchdown pass to Armon Binns cut it to 38-30 with 5:35 left. Collaros was hit hard while scrambling on the previous play, causing the leg injury.

The Bearcats got the ball back at their 29-yard line with 3:25 remaining and drove to the 15, where Anderson threw one away while getting sacked on fourth down.

USF 38, at Cincinnati 30
Post Game Notes
Nippert Stadium
Friday, Oct. 22, 2010

Team

- The USF defense held the Bearcats to 78 rushing yards, the second lowest total of the season, behind 72 yards against FAU.

- In the second quarter at Cincinnati, USF scored its first offensive touchdown since the fourth quarter of the game against FAU on Oct. 2 in Tampa.

- USF has an all-time record of 99-60.

- USF has gone 36-20 after a loss in the program's 14-year history. Since joining the BIG EAST in 2005, the Bulls are 14-11 in games following a loss. As a head coach, Skip Holtz has posted a 29-17 record in games following a loss. He's 1-1 this season, was 15-9 (.625) at East Carolina and 13-7 (.650) at UConn.

- USF is heading into the second game of a two-game road trip when it travels to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats. The Bulls have dealt with two-game road trips nine times in the program's history and gone 10-9 in those games. USF won both games twice, lost both twice and split five times. In the splits, the Bulls lost the first game, but came back to win the second game four times.

- USF has posted a 30-38 record in true road games during the program's 14-year history.

- Overall, USF is 26-28 in seven years as a conference member. The Bulls have gone 18-20 in the BIG EAST.

Individual

- Captains for the game against Cincinnati were Sampson Genus, Mistral Raymond, Jacquian Williams and Maikon Bonani.

- Offensive starters for the game were WR Dontavia Bogan, LT Jamar Bass, LG Jeremiah Warren, C Sampson Genus, RG Chaz Hine, RT Jake Sims, TE Kevin Gidrey, FL Evan Landi, QB B.J. Daniels, RB Mo Plancher, FB Richard Kelly.

- Defensive starters for the game were LE Craig Marshall, NT Cory Grissom, DT Terrell McClain, RE David Bedford, SLB Jacquian Williams, MLB Sam Barrington, WLB DeDe Lattimore, LC Mistral Raymond, SS Jon Lejiste, FS Jerrell Young, RC Quenton Washington.

- Previously listed as a cornerback, but mostly contributing on special teams, Terrence Mitchell made his first appearance on the offensive side of the ball in the third quarter against the Bearcats.

- For the first time in his career, QB BJ Daniels scored a pair of rushing TDs and threw for two TDs in the game.

- In the second quarter, WR Evan Landi scored his first career TD on a 31-yard pass from Daniels. The TD was Daniels' fifth of the season and 19th of his career.

- TE Kevin Gidrey made his first catch in a Bulls uniform in the second quarter, a 14-yard reception from Daniels.

- Early in the third quarter, LC Mistral Raymond intercepted a pass by Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros. The INT was Raymond's second of his career and first of the season.

- Raymond ended the game with 10 tackles, passing his career high of seven, which he set at West Virginia last week.

- In the third quarter Daniels had a pair of long passes to WR Dontavia Bogan (64 yards) and WR Faron Hornes (70 yards). Daniels connected with Bogan on a 64-yard pass, the longest passing play of the season to that point, to set up a touchdown. One series later, Daniels connected with Hornes on a 70-yard pass for a TD, the 11th longest reception in school history. The previous longest passing play of the season was a 59-yard TD hookup from Daniels to Bogan against Stony Brook.

- WR Dontavia Bogan totaled 85 receiving yards against Cincinnati moving him into seventh on USF's career receiving yards list. Bogan started the game with 1,178 yards, passing Jessie Hester's 1,226 yards. Bogan now trails No. 6 DeAndrew Rubin's 1,306 yards.

- LB Sam Barrington collected nine tackles in the game, setting a new career high. His previous high was eight, which he collected twice.

- LB Jacquian Williams recorded his first sack of his USF career, a 15-yard setback for the Bearcats. He also had six tackles, two for loss, and one pass break up.

- LB Sabbath Joseph also recorded his first and second career sacks, for a total of 16 yards. Heso had four tackles and one pass break up.

- DB Quenton Washington tied his career high of seven tackles, which he set at West Virginia last week.