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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, SEPT. 19, 2014 – USF controlled the line of scrimmage on a rainy Friday night and started American Athletic Conference play with a 17-14 victory over UConn before a crowd of 28,273 at Raymond James Stadium.
True freshman Marlon Mack posted the second 100-yard rushing game of his career by gaining 103 yards on 31 attempts. The Sarasota native's 1-yard touchdown run gave USF a lead in the first four minutes and sophomore Rodney Adams (St. Petersburg) helped the Bulls jump out to a 14-0 advantage with a 30-yard touchdown catch on fourth down late in the first quarter.
“I think one thing about us that's so good is we can kind of go and throw the ball and we can also pound the ball all game like we did today,” said quarterback Mike White, a Fort Lauderdale native, who completed 10 of 18 passes for 113 yards. “We rode the back of our O-line and they performed.”
USF's defense didn't allow the Huskies to cross midfield until their final drive of the game and the Bulls ended up allowing 145 yards of total offense, 75 coming on the Huskies final drive. UConn (1-3) went 0-for-9 on third down and gained 57 rushing yards on 26 attempts while quarterback Chandler Whitmer completed six of 10 passes for 88 yards.
“They were confident in what they were doing and confident in the plan, and they went out and executed,” said head coach Willie Taggart of his defense after UConn was forced to punt eight times.
Special teams also helped the cause in a big way with punter Mattias Ciabatti (Tampa) pinning the Huskies inside their own 20-yard line on five of his six attempts. Ciabatti averaged 41.3 yards per kick and had a 61 yarder land inside the 10 despite dealing with heavy rainfall for most of the game.
“The kid was unbelievable,” Taggart said. “I think tonight Ciabatti showed everyone what he is capable of doing in that condition. He was punting the ball like it was dry.”
USF (2-2) headed into the game ranking second in the FBS with 10 turnovers gained and it took the Bulls less than 2 minutes to come up with No. 11. Senior cornerback Chris Dunkley (Pahokee, Fla.) forced a fumble while sacking Whitmer on the game's first drive and recovered it at the UConn 19.
The Bulls defense has forced a turnover on an opponent's opening drive three times this season after accomplishing the feat against Western Carolina and Maryland.
“Coach (Chuck) Bresnahan was emphasizing getting pressure on the quarterback. He just called the Cat Blitz and I just executed it,” Dunkley said. “It jumpstarted us and it set the tone.”
The Bulls took the lead four plays later with a 1-yard touchdown run by Mack with 11:22 remaining in the opening quarter. The scoring run marked Mack's fifth of the season after he racked up four against Western Carolina in the season opener.
USF finished with 158 rushing yards on 53 attempts, which helped the Bulls control finish with a time of possession advantage of 18 minutes.
“It was good to see our guys run the football and be successful running it and we needed to in these conditions that we had tonight,” Taggart said. “We said that was something we needed to do and if we can get back to running the football good things will happen for our football team.”
USF forced UConn to punt on its second drive and the Bulls pumped their lead up to 14-0 with a gutsy play on fourth-and-10 at the Huskies' 30-yard line. White stood patiently in the pocket and connected with Adams for a touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 80-yard drive. White went 3-for-4 for 60 yards on the drive that included a 24-yard reception for Adams, who hauled in his first-career touchdown with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter.
“It was wet and we didn't think we could kick it from that far,” said Taggart of going for it on fourth down. “I told our football team before they went out there we believe in them. We weren't going to sit back and hold back and be conservative. We wanted to go at them and we wanted to show them we could do that.”
USF had a chance to add to its lead just before halftime but a dropped pass turned into a 70-yard interception return by Byron Jones with 5 seconds remaining.
“In the past we would get down on ourselves and not get out of that funk. Our guys didn't get down, they stayed upbeat,” Taggart said. “The guys got together in the locker room at halftime and said they we were going to finish it. They were going to do the things that it was going to take, they weren't going to fold this time and they didn't.”
Despite the mishap, the Bulls headed into the locker room with confidence after their defense dominated in the opening half. USF outgained UConn, 162-41, while Whitmer went 0-for-2 through the air and the Huskies went 0-for-5 on third-down conversion attempts.
The score stayed at 14-7 until more than midway through the fourth quarter when senior Marvin Kloss (Naples, Fla.) connected on a 19-yard field goal attempt with 6:03 remaining. USF started the 11-play, 40-yard drive at the UConn 41 following the Huskies' seventh punt of the game.
Kloss' kick wound up making the difference after Whitmer tightened things up by throwing a 32-yard touchdown pass to Geremy Davis with 1:19 remaining. USF held UConn to 13 yards passing and 70 yards of total offense before the Huskies' final drive.
USF won its American Athletic Conference opener for the second consecutive season and finished a four-game home stand with the momentum it was looking for heading into test at No. 19 Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 27.
“This is a stepping stone to where we're trying to get,” Dunkley said.
Kickoff for USF-Wisconsin is set for noon and the Bulls' second game against a Big Ten opponent this season will air nationally on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
USF football season ticket renewals are available. Members may renew their tickets today online, by calling 1-800-GoBulls, or in person at the Ticket Sales and Service Center in the Sun Dome administrative offices (Gate B).
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