Box Score
PHOTO GALLERY
POST GAME PRESSER
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, SEPT. 12, 2015 – Willie Taggart's believing Bulls took a 7-7 tie into halftime and hung tough with No. 11/8 Florida State in a 34-14 loss before a crowd of 72,811 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.
“I'm really proud of our guys considering everything they've been through this week,” Taggart said. “To play with so much emotion and so much energy, I'm very proud of them.”
USF (1-1) outgained FSU, 122-110, in the first half and got a pair of touchdown receptions from D'Ernest Johnson, who led the team with five catches for 89 yards. Johnson set a new USF single-season receiving record for a running back with four TD grabs in two games after hauling in a 71-yarder and a 1-yarder Saturday.
FSU (2-0) was powered by Dalvin Cook's 266 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, with many yards coming after breaking Bulls tackles. The All-American candidate produced the second-most rushing yards in a game ever at FSU and became the fifth Seminole to pass the 200-yard mark.
“When you're playing against a guy like Cook, you've got to get the whole team to wrap him up,” Taggart said. “We didn't do a good job of wrapping him up and allowed him to get too many yards.”
Taggart promised the Bulls would “let it rip” as heavy underdogs and USF used a no-fear approach to produce big results in the opening half that ended in a 7-7 tie. The Bulls 4-2-5 defense forced seven Seminole punts in the first.
USF's defense started in impressive fashion, forcing two straight three-and-outs, before the Seminoles made the first big play of the game. Cook gained 8 yards on his first three carries but went 74 yards on his fourth attempt to help spot FSU a 7-0 lead with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulls' defense responded by forcing another three-and-out after Cook's run and got great field position thanks to Tajee Fullwood. The sophomore out of Tampa Bay Tech caught a punt in stride, weaved through defenders and set the Bulls up at the FSU 11-yard line with a 46-yard return. Fullwood's dynamic play marked the longest punt return by a Bull since Chris Dunkley went 50 yards against SMU in 2013.
Following Fullwood's fantastic return, Mack got USF down to the 4-yard line on two rushing attempts, but a miscue stalled the promising drive. Flowers' third-down fade pass attempt to Elkanah Dillon in the end zone wound up in the hands of FSU's Marquez White for a touchback with 46 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Flowers didn't have to wait long to respond because of the Bulls' aggressive defense forced FSU's fourth punt. Sophomore Mike Love (Clearwater) sacked Golson at the FSU 8 and USF started a seven-play, 45-yard march to the end zone.
Flowers connected with freshman Chris Barr (Jacksonville) for 24 yards on the fourth play and USF tied things up at 7-7 with another clutch play by the sophomore quarterback out of Miami's Jackson High School.
Facing a third-and-goal at the FSU 1, Flowers surveyed the field in the pocket on a misdirection play and found Johnson in the end zone for a score with 11:57 remaining in the half. Flowers and Johnson have already posted four TD connections this season after 22-yard and 45-yard scoring plays in the season opener against FAMU.
Home fans at Doak Campbell Stadium sat in their seats stunned, staring at a 7-7 score at halftime after watching Tom Allen's “Bull Sharks” defense dominate. FSU went 0-for-7 on third down while Everett Golson went 1-for-9 for just 6 yards through the air. Success on defense helped the Bulls open with more than a 5-minute lead in time of possession.
Cook was FSU's main source of offense in the opening half and the sophomore continued to produce after the break in his fifth straight 100-plus yard game. The preseason Maxwell Award watch list member's 24-yard TD run helped give FSU a 14-7 lead on the opening drive of the second half. Cook's 50-yard run set Roberto Aguayo up for a 30-yard field goal with 6:40 left in the third quarter.
After starting out slowly, Golson got into the scoring act with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, when he threw a 23-yard TD pass to Jesus Wilson. The drive was kept alive by a personal four penalty whistled on Auggie Sanchez, who hit Golson late and high, as FSU faced a third-and-12 from its own 34.
“That really shifted the momentum back to their side. That was critical in the ballgame,” Taggart said.
Facing a 24-7 deficit in the fourth quarter, USF needed a big play to get back in it and the Bulls delivered. Johnson (Immokalee) hauled in a pass from Flowers on a wheel route and went the distance for a career-long 71-yard touchdown with 14:50 remaining.
“(Quinton) got himself back together and found D'Ernest and hit him in stride,” Taggart said. “He got a great block by Rodney Adams down there to help him get in the end zone.”
Johnson now owns the USF record with four TD catches in a season by a running back with much more football left to play. USF's new up-tempo offense has produced five scoring plays from 20-plus yards out so far this season.
Aguayo's 38-yard field goal added to FSU's lead with 8:46 remaining and the Seminoles pulled away for their 16th consecutive home win. Cook capped off his huge performance with a 37-yard TD run with 1:55 remaining. The last unranked team to defeat the Seminoles in Tallahassee was USF back in 2009.
“That's a really good football team over there,” Taggart said. “… We had a lot of opportunities in that game, where we could have made a statement, and we didn't. When you're playing a good team, you have to.”
Flowers finished his third-career start by completing 12 of 24 passes for 125 yards. Sophomore Marlon Mack led the ground attack once again with 18 carries for 83 of USF's 149 rushing yards. Defensively, Nate Godwin (Tampa) posted a game-high nine tackles (six solo) while Daniel Awoleke registered a sack and 1.5 of USF's seven tackles for loss.
The Bulls get a Big Ten test on the road next week at Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 19. Kickoff is set for noon in College Park, Md. Following a bye week, USF returns home to Raymond James Stadium to take on conference foe Memphis on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. 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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