By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA – The first win of the Willie Taggart era is in the books thanks to an all-around effort by the Bulls in Saturday's American Athletic Conference opener.

Marvin Kloss kicked a career-high four field goals, while USF scored touchdowns on special teams and defense in a 26-20 victory over Cincinnati before a crowd of 31,077 at Raymond James Stadium.

“We've been saying for the longest, 'We know our guys can do it.' It was just a matter of getting it done together for four quarters and making some winning plays,” Taggart said.

Freshman Nate Godwin (Tampa) got the scoring started with a 75-yard return on a blocked field goal early in the first quarter and the winning plays Taggart talked about kept coming. Senior linebacker DeDe Lattimore (Athens, Ga.) spotted USF a 20-6 lead midway through the second quarter with a 10-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and the USF defense finished with four turnovers for the second consecutive game.

USF won its inaugural game in a conference for the third time. The Bulls beat Louisville in their first Big East game in 2005 and defeated Army in their first Conference USA game in 2003.

USF's win did come with some losses of key players because of injuries. Starting quarterback Steven Bench and leading rusher Marcus Shaw exited in the first half with leg injuries and did not return.  Shaw came into the game ranked 10th in the FBS and second in the AAC in rushing yards per game (131.3) and 12th nationally in total yards (525).

Stepping up in Bench's place was senior and Tampa native Bobby Eveld, who went 10-for-16 for 122 yards and did not turn the ball over.  Junior back Michael Pierre (Winter Garden, Fla.) rushed for a career-high 64 yards on a career-high 16 carries.

“We always talk about the next guy up. We don't sit around and pout about someone going down,” Taggart said. “We still have all of our guys on scholarship and guys stepped up and made plays. Bobby could have easily called it quits when he wasn't playing anymore and he didn't. He came in with a great attitude at practice and it paid off for them.”

The short-handed Bulls reached a new season high in points by halftime and headed to the locker room with a 23-6 lead after getting solid production in all three phases of the game.

A Shaw fumble on the second play from scrimmage gave the Bearcats the ball at the USF 24, but the Bulls' special teams found a way to grab the momentum back. Mike McFarland blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt by Tony Miliano and Godwin jetted 75 yards to put the Bulls ahead with 2 minutes, 3 seconds into the game.

“We talk about keeping the game close for us guys to have a chance. We hadn't done that all year long and it was great for our guys to go out and do it,” Taggart said. “It's because we didn't fold when we did fumble the ball. Our guys stayed upbeat and continued to play football.”

The Bulls' defense came up with the next big play of the game when senior safety Mark Joyce intercepted Brendon Kay and returned it 15 yards to the Cincinnati 28. The Bulls took a 10-0 lead eight plays later on a 25-yard field goal by Kloss with 7:55 to go in the opening period.

Bench was injured scrambling on the scoring drive, but the Bulls continued to keep pushing forward. Kloss' career-long 52-yard field goal with 13:45 to go before halftime gave USF a 13-0 lead and it marked the third-longest kick in program history.

“Sure enough on the long field goal he looked at me and said, 'Coach, I got this.' Sure enough he answered the bell,” Taggart said.

Cincinnati answered back on its next drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kay to Mekale McKay with 10:04 remaining in the second quarter, but Miliano missed the extra point attempt.

The USF defense got into the scoring act less than 3 minutes later with a 10-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Lattimore on a forced fumble in the backfield by senior defensive end Julius Forte. The clutch play came a week after Forte returned an interception 11 yards for a score against Miami.

“Big plays set the tone and we won by six. They were crucial,” Lattimore said.

Kloss padded the lead to 23-6 with his third field of the half from 24 yards out as time expired.  Eveld went 3-for-4 for 40 yards on the 74-yard drive, including an 18-yarder to Andre Davis, who passed the career 1,000-yard mark with the reception. Davis, a junior, set a new USF record earlier on with a catch in his 23rd consecutive game and finished with three receptions for 56 yards.

“Milestones are always good, but milestones when you're winning are so much better,” Davis said. “I worked hard, Bobby did a good job of getting me the ball and coach did a good job with the game plan.”

Eveld helped the Bulls march 55 yards downfield on their first drive of the second half that was capped off with a 40-yard field goal from Kloss with 8:32 to go in the third quarter.

And just like the first half, the USF defense stepped up with another clutch turnover when Joyce made a diving interception to set the Bulls up at the Cincinnati 44 after Kloss' fourth field goal. Joyce's two-interception performance was USF's first since Nate Allen had two picks against Syracuse in 2009.

The USF defense shut Cincinnati out in the third quarter, but the Bearcats chipped away at the deficit with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Kay to Tampa native Chris Moore with 14:19 remaining in the game. Moore was teammates with USF's Davis on Tampa's Thomas Jefferson High School team that went undefeated and captured a 3A state title in 2010.

Despite the touchdown, the USF defense hung tough before members of the team finally got to give Taggart the celebratory Powerade bath.

Down 26-13 early in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati (3-2, 0-1) faced a fourth-and-1 at the USF 9 when defensive end Ryne Giddins (Seffner, Fla.) stuffed Tion Green for a loss of two yards with 6:45 remaining. The Bearcats came in averaging 228 rushing yards and were held to 110 yards on 33 carries.

“Right before the play coach said, 'Ryne, I'm going to put you in this short (situation) now. You know what that means. You can shoot the gap and take the gap. You need to,'” Giddins said. “I said, 'Alright coach I'm going to get it.' I came off the tackle and I was just right there to make the play.”

Cincinnati kept things close with a 15-yard touchdown catch from McKay with 2:03 remaining, but USF shut the door on the comeback on the game's final drive. Cincinnati completed a pass deep in their own territory and Lattimore put the finishing touches on the victory by recovering a fumble at the Bearcats' 29. Lattimore also had two fumble recoveries the week before against the Hurricanes.

USF (1-4, 1-0) looks to continue to build momentum in conference play Saturday, Oct. 12 at UConn. Kickoff is set for noon and the game can be seen online at ESPN3.com.

“We have a goal and we said it from the beginning. We want to be the first team to win this conference,” Taggart said. “That's our goal and we're not going to back down from that.”