Box Score
 |
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
| Memphis |
0 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
24 |
| USF |
7 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
17 |
|
| |
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, OCT. 2, 2015 – USF jumped out to a 10-0 lead but couldn't end Memphis' perfect run in a 24-17 loss Friday night at Raymond James Stadium.
Marlon Mack opened conference play by registering his sixth-career 100-yard rushing game with 107 yards on 20 carries. The Bulls rushed for 178 total yards while quarterback Quinton Flowers completed 17-of-26 passes for a career-high 199 yards and a touchdown.
Sean Price set a new USF career record for receptions by a tight end (61) by finishing with two catches for team-high 66 yards, while linebacker Auggie Sanchez posted a career-best 12 tackles to lead the Bulls.
“I felt like our guys got better from the last game against a really good football team,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “We just didn't do some of the things we needed to do to close the deal on this team.”
Memphis is 5-0 for the first time since 1961 after getting 305 passing yards and two touchdown tosses from Paxton Lynch. The Tigers have now won 12 straight games dating to last season. Despite Lynch's success, the USF defense totaled 6.0 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and held Memphis to well under its 53.8 point per game average that ranked third nationally entering the game.
“I thought our defense played with fanatical effort and they did a great job of getting to the ball,” Taggart said. “They did a great job of getting to Paxton Lynch and I thought that was a big key. He wasn't as comfortable as he's been all season.”
Solid play from the “Bull Sharks” defense and 147 rushing yards helped USF take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
USF forced a Memphis punt to open the game and continued to build momentum with a 12-play, 95-yard scoring drive that was capped off by Darius Tice's 1-yard touchdown plunge.
Price (Citra, Fla.) tied the program record for career receptions by a tight end (60) with a 27-yard catch that took the Bulls to the Memphis 2-yard line. The Bulls did most of their work during the scoring drive on the ground by rushing for 54 yards on 10 carries. Tice (Miami) gained 26 yards on seven attempts and posted the second TD run of his career with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter.
Jake Elliott missed a 36-yard field goal attempt at the end of Memphis' second drive and the Bulls added to their lead with Emilio Nadelman's 31-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. USF ran the ball eight times for 47 yards on the 11-play, 67-yard drive and totaled 101 rushing yards in the first quarter. Mack set up the score with a 29-yard run down to the Memphis 33-yard line.
Memphis bounced back on its third drive of the game with Lynch's 20-yard touchdown pass to Sam Craft with 12:58 remaining in the second quarter. USF's defense responded by forcing three punts the rest of the half while the Tigers totaled just 37 rushing yards in the first two quarters.
On the other hand, Mack was on the way to his sixth-career 100-yard rushing game with 87 yards on 11 carries in the first half. The sophomore from Sarasota rushed for 102 yards in USF's meeting at Memphis last season.
Memphis started the scoring in the second half with a 49-yard field goal by Elliott with 9:37 remaining in the third quarter. Memphis opened the drive on its own 48, but the Bulls got a big play from linebacker Tashon Whitehurst, who sacked Lynch for a 14-yard loss on first-and-10 at the USF 29.
The Tigers took a 17-10 lead on their next drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Lynch with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter. Memphis extended its lead to 24-10 with Lynch's 55-yard touchdown pass to Doroland Dorceus with 10:39 to go in the fourth quarter.
USF kept its comeback hopes alive with a one-handed, 23-yard touchdown grab by Elkanah Dillon with 1:49 remaining. Dillon, a redshirt freshman from Ocala, now has two career TD catches after missing USF's last game against Maryland with a head injury.
Following Dillon's highlight-reel catch, the Bulls' onside kick attempt rolled out of bounds and Memphis held on for its seven straight road victory.
USF had one last drive to tie the game, but Flowers' deep pass to Rodney Adams was intercepted by Reggis Ball at the Memphis 31 with 32 seconds remaining.
“We'll continue to work and continue to get better. As we continue to get better, those wins will come,” Taggart said.
Taggart was encouraged by what he saw defensively against Memphis' potent offense that finished 145 yards short of its prior season average of 570 yards per game, which ranked eighth nationally. Sanchez (St. Petersburg) led the way with a game-high 12 tackles (eight solo), Jamie Byrd (Dade City) added nine and Whitehurst finished with 1.5 sacks and six tackles.
The Bulls finish up a two-game home stand with an ACC test against Syracuse on Saturday, Oct. 10. USF's homecoming game is set for a 3:30 p.m. start at Raymond James Stadium. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
The USF Football program is in its 19th season overall and 16th at the FBS level. The Bulls have made six bowl appearances, including every season between 2005-10, and have four bowl game victories. USF has produced 14 All-America selections, 25 NFL Draft picks and reached the No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Poll in 2007.
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