By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Bulls handled Notre Dame history, hype and a huge crowd in Saturday's season opener that will be remembered for several reasons.
The turnover happy USF defense pitched a shutout in the first half and B.J. Daniels threw a key touchdown pass to Evan Landi in the fourth quarter to help the Bulls hold onto a 23-20 victory over the No. 16 Irish before a sold-out crowd of 80,795.
"I think it speaks volumes about these players and the way they have bought in and competed their tails off when so many people on the outside wouldn't believe in them," USF head coach Skip Holtz said.
Mother Nature also made history in the process.
A severe thunderstorm warning at halftime postponed action for 2 hours, 10 minutes with USF holding a 16-0 lead. Notre Dame acknowledged it never had a weather delay in its 123 years at home or on the road before Saturday.
That was only the half of it as well.
USF led, 23-13, with 4:21 remaining in the game when referees sent both teams back to the locker room at 8:41 p.m. because lightning showed back up, which resulted in a 43-minute stoppage of play.
Lots of time was wasted because of delays, but USF didn't waste any grabbing a lead.
The Bulls' defense has stressed forcing turnovers all offseason and it came up huge twice in the first half.
Notre Dame marched from its 20 all the way down to the USF 1 on the game's opening drive when Irish running back Jonas Gray neared the goal line. Charging Bulls safety Jerrell Young stripped the ball behind the line of scrimmage and Kayvon Webster jetted to the end zone for a 96-yard touchdown.
Webster's scoop and score marked the longest defensive touchdown in USF history and the longest fumble return by any Irish opponent.
"Kayvon did a good job of just picking it up on the bounce and taking it all the way," Young said.
The run also silenced a Notre Dame crowd that saw its team favored by more than 10 points before kickoff.
Silence turned into boos by the end of the half.
The second Bulls turnover also prevented a Notre Dame score inside the USF 10 in the second quarter. Linebacker DeDe Lattimore stepped in front of Dayne Crist's pass intended for Theo Riddick on a third-and-goal from the 7 to ruin another Irish drive.
Sandwich in two Maikon Bonani field goals between Webster's score and Lattimore's pick and you had a 13-0 Bulls lead. Bonani's first kick went for 49 yards, which tied his career long.
Bonani's second, a 17-yarder, came at an interesting time. The Bulls faced a fourth-and-goal at the Irish 1 when the coaching staff opted for the points.
Bonani had an opportunity to surpass his own personal best with 7:18 to go before the break, but he pushed a 52-yarder wide.
He didn't have to stew about the miss long, however.
The Lake Wales native redeemed himself with a 36-yarder to put the Bulls ahead, 16-0, about three minutes later thanks to another big Notre Dame mistake. Riddick muffed a USF punt at the Irish 20 three plays before Bonani's boot.
Defense ruled the half as both teams combined to go 1-for-15 on third down and Notre Dame really had to be kicking itself.
The Irish held a slight edge in yards, 191-144, but clearly were out of sync with Crist completing less than 50 percent of his 15 throws for 95 yards. Michael Floyd, considered a top-10 draft prospect, only had 37 receiving yards at the break for Notre Dame.
Credit an opportunistic Bulls defense that got a monster first half from Lattimore (seven tackles, INT) and Young (six tackles, forced fumble).
Fast-forward to after 7 p.m. and the game finally resumed. Obviously the big question was how each team would respond after the long delay.
USF wound up flinching first, but it ended up paying off.
After the Bulls punted to open up the half, Notre Dame faced a fourth-and-1 deep in USF territory and decided to try a 43-yard field goal. USF's Ryne Giddins jumped offsides to give the Irish a first down and Notre Dame drove it all the way down to the Bulls' 5.
Luck wasn't on the Irish's side again in the red zone as Tommy Rees' pass deflected off T.J. Jones' helmet and into the hands of USF linebacker Michael Lanaris at the 4.
Notre Dame decided to go with Rees over Crist during the marathon halftime break.
Rees bounced back on Notre Dame's next drive with a 37-yard pass to tight end Tyler Eifert to the USF 29. Two plays later, the Irish got on the scoreboard with a 24-yard pass to Floyd with 7:12 left in the third quarter.
Notre Dame had a chance to cut its deficit to six, but fortunes stayed on USF's side in its own territory. David Ruffer missed a 30-yard field goal attempt and USF responded with a drive that will be remembered for a long time.
Daniels showed the poise and leadership USF fans have been hoping for all offseason by directing a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ate 5 minutes, 2 seconds off the clock.
What made it extra special was how it was completed.
Daniels held steady in the pocket, pump faked in front of a defensive lineman and somehow got the ball past a defender who was all over Landi for a 2-yard touchdown.
Notre Dame Stadium again was silenced as Bonani's extra point made the scoreboard read USF 23, Notre Dame 7 with 11:05 left.
Daniels' clutch touchdown pass proved to be valuable against a team that gained momentum in the second half.
Cierre Wood capped off Notre Dame's next drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 7:35 remaining to cut its deficit to 23-13. The Irish had two attempts for a two-point conversion but both failed.
Young, who started off the Bulls' turnover party, sealed the deal when he picked off Rees in Notre Dame territory with 4:08 to play for USF's fifth takeaway of the day/night.
Floyd struck again for an 8-yard TD reception with 21 seconds left, but it was too little too late.
USF recovered the onsides kick and wrapped up a memorable return to South Bend for Holtz.
"We really wanted this win for the program. You know coach Holtz really wanted it and we had his back," Young said.
NOTES
- USF receiver Sterling Griffin set single-game career highs in receptions (8) and yards (75). His previous high in catches (4) came against Louisville in 2009 and his previous top mark in yards (73) came against FSU also in 2009.
- Griffin and fellow receiver A.J. Love made their first catches since the International Bowl on Jan. 3, 2010 in a game that finished off the Bulls' 2009 season. Both players missed all of last season with various injuries.
