By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA – The Bulls have been busy in opponents' backfields all season and they plan to keep the trend going the next time out Saturday, Nov. 16 against Memphis at Raymond James Stadium.
The USF defense has risen to 19th in the nation with 7.3 tackles for loss per game and the Bulls have come up with at least nine in four consecutive games.
Senior defensive tackle Luke Sager leads the Bulls with 8.0 tackles for loss, followed by senior end Ryne Giddins (6.5), senior linebacker DeDe Lattimore (5.0) and sophomore defensive tackle James Hamilton (5.0).
The Bulls have 59 overall tackles for loss this season and one more big game would move the group past last year's total of 64.
“Going into the season we expected a lot out of this group and for us to be able to go out there and perform like we know we can is a great feeling,” defensive end Tevin Mims said. “We expect to continue to build on that.”
Dunkley Gets It Done on Special Teams
USF has been looking for a dangerous kick returner all season and may have found its man Oct. 31 at Houston.
Chris Dunkley racked up 111 yards on four kick returns and his 41-yard punt return in the first quarter was the longest by a USF player since Terrence Mitchell had a 67-yard return against Western Kentucky in 2010.
“It was something we hadn't had all year and it was good to see both on punt return and kick return. We'll have Chris there more often,” Taggart said.
Dunkley, a redshirt junior from Pahokee, Fla., really wowed Taggart with his aggressive approach that helped the Bulls start with great position while setting a season high with 364 yards of total offense.
“The beauty about Chris is he got the ball and just took off and ran without really thinking. That was good to see,” Taggart said. “There wasn't a lot of hesitation. It was catch the ball and get north and south, and he got some big yardage for us.”
Davis Moving Up the Charts
Andre Davis extended his USF record catch streak to 26 games against Houston and the junior receiver is steadily moving up in other categories on the program's receiving charts.
The Tampa native has moved up to eighth in the USF record books in career receptions (97) and ninth in receiving yards (1,218). The USF record for receptions belongs to Hugh Smith (131, 1999-2002) and Carlton Mitchell owns the program record for career receiving yards with 1,646 (2007-09).
Davis moved up the charts against Houston by posted his second-career 100-yard receiving game with a season-high nine catches for 134 yards.
“It's definitely positive moving forward and we see that we can do big things. We have to stay consistent,” Davis said.
More on USF-Memphis
USF-Memphis is set for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Raymond James Stadium. The game can be seen online on ESPN3 and fans can purchase tickets HERE.
