NEW ORLEANS, OCT. 21, 2017 – Undefeated USF set a new NCAA record with its 24^th consecutive 30-plus point scoring game in a 34-28 win in front of a couple thousand Bulls fans at Tulane on Saturday night.

Off to the best start in program history, USF (7-0, 4-0) jumped to a 34-7 lead and reached the milestone in quick-strike fashion with five scoring drives in three minutes or less. Explosive plays helped USF grab the AP Poll era record (since 1936) of 30-plus point games, previously set by Oregon (23 games, 2011-12).

Ranked No. 16/13 nationally, USF rushed for more than 300 yards for the fifth time this season, totaling 378 yards with two 100-yard rushers. The Bulls finished with 505 total yards and extended its school-record winning streak to 12 games, which is the longest active streak in the nation.

Darius Tice (Miami) ran for a career-high 141 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries. Tice averaged 10.8 yards per attempt and his 30-yard run helped USF seal the game on the final drive.

Quinton Flowers (Miami) posted his 12^th-career 100-yard rushing game with 138 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Flowers' three-touchdown night included a 38-yard scoring pass to Darnell Salomon (Miami) and a 28-yarder to Marquez Valdes-Scantling (St. Petersburg). Flowers posted 265 total yards on the night.

USF increased its nation-leading interception total to 16 with a pick by Devin Abraham (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) in the second quarter. Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg) made a team-high nine tackles and totaled two of USF's 10 tackles for loss. Senior defensive tackle Deadrin Senat (Immokalee) added eight tackles.

Seniors shined on both sides of the ball before USF did something no team had done yet this season – score on its opening drive against Tulane.

Sanchez made four tackles on the game-opening drive and his first tackle for loss stalled Tulane at its own 49. Flowers took over from there, completing three of four passes on USF's opening 85-yard drive he capped off with a highlight-reel touchdown run. Dancing left and right at the line, Flowers made numerous defenders miss during his 21-yard scamper midway through the first quarter.

The Bulls' defense continued to step up in the second quarter with Abraham's interception and Sanchez's fourth-down stop on consecutive drives before USF broke off another big run. Tice exploded up the middle for a 45-yard score that extended the lead to 13-0 with 5:18 left in the half.

USF headed to halftime with a 20-7 lead thanks to Flowers' 38-yard TD connection with Salomon with just 42 seconds remaining. USF went 61 yards in just 35 seconds on the drive and had the ball for only 8:43 in the opening half. The USF defense had eight tackles for loss at the half.

USF needed just 50 seconds to score on the first drive of the second half that ended with a 28-yard TD catch by Valdes-Scantling. D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee, Fla.) helped USF make NCAA history with his 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal that put the Bulls past the 30-point mark midway through the third quarter.

Tulane (3-4, 1-2) cut the USF lead to 34-28 with 2:45 to go before the Bulls recovered an on-side kick and ran out the clock thanks to Tice's 30-yard run on third-and-3 at the Tulane 39.

Quotable
Head coach Charlie Strong on the Bulls' overall performance:
"It's great to win the game, but we've just got to finish. We gave up 14 points on defense there in the fourth quarter, but you're on the road and you knew we'd get their best… We've just got to know how to finish and do a better job of just putting people away."

Strong on the Bulls holding off Tulane late in the game:
"You just have to find a way to win the game and that's what we did. We found a way to win the football game. Offensively, we took the ball there on the last drive. They on-sided us, we got the ball and Tice made a big run. Our run game was huge tonight."

Strong on Darius Tice's huge performance that helped USF seal the victory late:
"Tice, he had run like that the whole game. You look at his first touchdown, he goes right down the middle of their defense. It was fun to watch him run the ball and just watch him close it out."

Key Stats
378 – USF's fifth 300-plus yard rushing yardage total of the year after Darius Tice and Quinton Flowers both rushed for more than 100 yards.
7.3  - USF rushed for 7.3 yards per carry.
5 – The number of scoring plays by USF in three minutes or less.

Notables

• USF extended its program record with its 12th consecutive win, dating back to last season. It marks the nation's longest active win streak. The Bulls' last loss was Oct. 21, 2016 at Temple.
• At 7-0, USF has posted the best-ever start to a season in program history. USF previously went 6-0 in 2007.
• USF extended its nation-leading streak to 24 consecutive games with 30-plus points, the longest streak in the AP Poll era (since 1936) previously set by Oregon (23 games, 2011-12).
• USF has won eight straight AAC games and four straight AAC road games. The Bulls are 17-3 in conference games over the past three seasons.

 
Up Next
USF returns to Raymond James Stadium to host Houston on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3:45 p.m.  The Bulls' Salute to Service game will be televised on ESPNU.
Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls. Learn about the Bulls' special ticket offers for the final two home games of the regular season HERE.
 


ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins following the program's fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls' 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 team and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, six of which, including Flowers, will return in 2017. 

Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.