Box Score
 |
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
| USF |
14 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
35 |
| SMU |
7 |
7 |
10 |
3 |
27 |
|
| |
DALLAS, NOV. 19, 2016 – USF matched the program's season wins record after the defense helped the Bulls hang onto a heart-pounding 35-27 victory at SMU Saturday night.
USF (9-2, 6-1) equaled the program's season wins record after stopping SMU on fourth-and-1 on the Bulls' 14 with 1:19 remaining. Deatrick Nichols (Miami) tied his career high with two interceptions and grabbed his second with SMU inside the USF red zone, as the Bulls clung to a 35-27 lead with 4:56 left.
While the defense racked up three takeaways, USF set the school's season scoring record with 475 points, passing the previous top mark of 451 points posted in 2007 (13 games). Willie Taggart's Bulls extended their nation-leading streak of 30-plus point games to 15 and remained in a tie for first place in The American's East Division.
USF's Gulf Coast Offense produced three one-play scoring drives, part of nine on the year, and its rushing attack produced 278 yards and two 100-yard rushers.
Quinton Flowers (Miami) rushed for a game-high 142 yards and threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns as he posted over 300 total yards for the third straight game and seventh time on the season. Flowers threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling (St. Petersburg) on the game's first play from scrimmage.
Flowers broke Matt Grothe's USF season total offense record of 3,542 yards with a 65-yard TD pass to Tyre McCants in the third quarter. McCants set new career high with 105 receiving and two touchdown catches. The sophomore from Niceville, Fla., has four TD catches in the past four games.
Marlon Mack moved up two spots to ninth place on the state of Florida's career rushing list with 3,404 yards. The junior from Sarasota posted his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 129 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Saturday's shootout started with the teams trading touchdowns and USF jumped ahead on its very first play from scrimmage.
Flowers pump-faked on a bubble screen and went over the top to Valdes-Scantling for a 77-yard touchdown 16 seconds into the action. It marked USF's 15th scoring play from 40-plus yards out this season.
Following an SMU touchdown, the Bulls answered back with an 80-yard drive that helped them break the school's season scoring record. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the USF 40, Mack found room along the sideline and zoomed downfield on a 60-yard touchdown run. Mack's 12th career TD run of 45-plus yards propelled the junior into 10th place on Florida's career rushing list. Ottis Anderson (Miami, 1975-18) previously held the spot with 3,331 rushing yards.
Third-down stops by Kirk Livingstone (Fort Lauderdale) and Mike Love (Clearwater) forced SMU punts before the Mustangs tied the game at 14-14 with 5:50 to go in the half.
USF's defense rebounded with the game's first takeaway that put the Gulf Coast Offense at the SMU 28. Khalid McGee (Miami) stripped the ball out of Braeden West's hands and Ronnie Hoggins (Coconut Creek) recovered the fumble to bring USF's takeaway total up to 17 this year.
The Bulls turned the takeaway into points on the next play, when Flowers found McCants on a 28-yard touchdown strike with 2:21 to go before halftime.
Another Flowers-McCants connection from 65 yards out helped spot the Bulls a 28-14 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter. It marked the Bulls' third one-play scoring drive of the game and it was set up by Nichols' first interception of the game.
USF pulled out a dramatic win for the second straight week after SMU went on a 10-0 run to cut the Bulls' lead to 28-24 by the end of the third quarter.
USF took back control of the game with a 9-yard touchdown run by D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee) that capped off an 80-yard drive with 13:09 remaining. The play was set up by a 35-yard highlight-reel scramble by Flowers.
SMU cut its deficit to 35-27 and then ended Flowers' streak of consecutive passes without an interception (106) with a pick in USF territory with less than seven minutes remaining. USF ended the Mustangs' chance at a tie with Nichols' second interception of the game with 4:56 remaining.
USF's fourth-down stop at the end helped the Bulls finish with a 4-1 road record this regular season. Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg) finished with a game-high 14 tackles. Tajee Fullwood (Tampa) set a career high with 12 tackles, while McGee (9) and Daniel Awoleke (8) also reached new top tackle marks.
Quotable:
Head coach Willie Taggart on the defense pulling out the win:
“It's two weeks in a row, where they stepped up big for us, and that's good to see. Getting those takeaways was great for our guys. I'm really proud of those guys stepping up for us once again.”
Head coach Willie Taggart on the impact scoring plays on offense:
“It was good to get the points that we did, and to come out and get the big play to start the game. I thought that really set the tone for our guys.”
Head coach Willie Taggart on Marlon Mack's 60-yard TD run on fourth-and-1:
“It looked like Syracuse. It actually was the same play.”
Head coach Willie Taggart on the fourth-down stop by the defense:
“Once again, we needed a defense stand and they stood up. Deatrick Nichols came over to me and said, 'We got you, coach.' They stepped up once again.”
Key Stats:
3 – The number of takeaways totaled by the USF defense. The Bulls scored 14 points off turnovers.
3 – The number of one-play scoring drives by the Bulls, including a 77-yard touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage.
0-for-1 – SMU on fourth-down conversions after getting stopped at the USF 14 with 1:19 remaining.
278 – The number of rushing yards by the Bulls. USF has rushed for at least 200 yards in 18 of its past 20 games.
Notables:
- USF matched the program's single-season wins record with nine. USF previously reached the mark in 2002, 2006 and 2007.
- USF extended its nation-leading streak of 30-plus point games to 15. USF posted three one-play scoring drives and now has nine this season.
- Marlon Mack jumped into 9th place on the state of Florida's career rushing yards list. With 3,404 career rushing yards, Mack passed UCF's Alex Haynes (3,359 yards) and Miami's Ottis Anderson (3,331 yards) on the list.
- Mack's 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter helped USF set the program's new season scoring record. With 475 points, USF passed the previous top mark of 451 points set in 2007.
- Quinton Flowers broke Matt Grothe's USF season record for total offense with 3,672 yards. Grothe totaled 3,542 yards in 2007.
- Deatrick Nichols (Miami) posted an interception in consecutive games with his team-leading third and fourth picks of the season. Nichols matched his career high of two picks in a game and now has eight career interceptions.
- D'Ernest Johnson's 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter marked his seventh rushing TD of the season.
- Tajee Fullwood (12), Khalid McGee (9) and Daniel Awoleke (8) all set career highs in tackles.
Up Next:
USF will honor 18 seniors during the regular season finale at home against UCF on Saturday, Nov. 26. Game time for the War on I-4 rivalry game at Raymond James Stadium has yet to be announced.
Single game and group tickets are available by visiting USFBullsTix.com or calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
The USF Football program is in its 20th season overall and 17th at the FBS level. The Bulls have made seven 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.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
