10 Football Foundation Wins: Sixth Edition
July 10, 2015 | Football
Over the years, the stories have been told, the game stats analyzed, the memories shared and celebrated. USF Football beats Florida State. Miami. Notre Dame. West Virginia. Louisville.
Great days indeed, but the list of landmark wins for the Bulls doesn't end there. As we approach the 19th season of USF Football, some very good and very memorable wins from USF Football's first dozen seasons helped take the program to the next level.
This summer we take a look back at 10 USF Football foundation wins. They are not the greatest Bulls games of all time, and some of the opponents are far from national powerhouses, but the story lines for each are intriguing. And these games, maybe as much as the blockbuster wins we all remember, show how the meteoric climb of USF Football began.
By JIM LOUK
Voice of the Bulls
USF 38, East Carolina 37 (2 OT)
Greenville, N.C.
Nov. 8, 2003
Not all memorable wins are pretty, and this one certainly wasn't. But this late-season 2003 road win helped the Bulls to a 7-4 overall record, and a winning season in their first year in Conference USA.
The Bulls entered this game 5-3, fresh off a home win over Cincinnati. This was the era for overtime USF wins; the Cincinnati win had been in two overtimes, as had an early season victory against Louisville. East Carolina was just 1-8, and especially in light of how this game started, few thought the Bulls would need more overtime magic to get through the day.
USF opened the scoring with 2 minutes to go in the first quarter on a Pat Julmiste to Elgin Hicks touchdown pass. Then, just over a minute later, the Bulls picked up a fumble and ran it in for a 50-yard score. When the Bulls added their third touchdown in less than 5 minutes (an 11-yard Vince Brewer run), it was USF 21, East Carolina 0 and it felt like game over.
Little did we know.
East Carolina came back with two second quarter touchdowns and the Bulls' halftime lead was knocked down to seven points.
Then, in the first minute of the third quarter, the Pirates ran a fumble in for a score and suddenly we were tied at 21-21.
Later, Hicks caught another touchdown pass, this time from Ronnie Banks, and the Bulls nursed their 28-21 lead until the final minute when East Carolina scored to force overtime.
The teams traded field goals on their first overtime possessions, and then there was Hicks again, catching his third touchdown pass of the day to put the Bulls up, 38-31.
East Carolina responded again, scoring on a short touchdown run. But the Bulls' special teams made the game-winning play, as 6-foot-5 wide receiver Huey Whittaker partially blocked the extra point attempt, forcing it to careen in to the upright. Just eight days earlier, Whittaker had blocked a field goal attempt to save the day against Cincinnati.
At last it was over in cold and gray Greenville. 38-37 Bulls, the third double overtime win of the season.
Had them all the way.
How fortunate were the Bulls? East Carolina not only missed the game-tying extra point, it also missed three field goal attempts. The Bulls were outgained by more than 100 yards, fumbled five times, and allowed East Carolina to convert 12 of its 24 third-down plays. East Carolina ran 34 more plays than the Bulls, and had 14 minutes more possession time.
Sometimes stats only get you so far in telling a game story.
The 2003 USF team had a knack for finding a way to win. Its debut season in Conference USA would feature a 5-3 league mark, with three conference road wins. And this game helped to show once again that if the Bulls were forced in to overtime (or better yet a double overtime) they would make plays with the game on the line.
The passing game wasn't strong for USF, with Julmiste and Banks combining for just 101 yards, but DeJuan Green ran for 117, and Hicks made his three receptions count; each went for a touchdown.
Should this game have been this close? Probably not. USF would go on to a disappointing home loss to UAB the following week, so some of the warning signs from this game were legitimate. But once again, the Bulls had pulled out an overtime win, adding to the mystique the program had in this era.
First Edition: USF 44, Cumberland 0 (1997)
Second Edition: USF 24, Liberty 21 (1998)
Third Edition: USF 42, New Hampshire 41 (2 OT, 1999)
Fourth Edition: USF 20, Troy State 10 (2000)
Fifth Edition: USF 29, Bowling Green 7 (2002)
