USF Will Honor Special Senior Class on Thursday Night

USF Will Honor Special Senior Class on Thursday Night

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
PURCHASE USF-TULSA TICKETS
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, NOV. 14, 2017 – Thursday's USF-Tulsa battle at Raymond James Stadium is a can't-miss game for Bulls fans.

Standing tall at 8-1 and ranked in the Top 25 for a 16th consecutive week, USF is reaching for the program's most sought-after milestone of a first-ever conference championship. There's still work to do to get there and Thursday's regular season home finale is the time to honor the Bulls that have truly put the team in the title mix time and time again.

About 15 minutes prior to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff, USF will recognize a 23-member senior class that has shattered school records and is on the verge of even more program history.

20678Led by stars Quinton Flowers and Auggie Sanchez, the two pillars of the program, USF's senior class has totaled 31 wins over the last four seasons with possibly four more games left to play, that is just shy of the 34 wins posted between 2006-09. This class has already posted the best three-year stretch with 27 wins and a 77.1 winning percentage since 2015. 

"It's been an amazing group that has a lot of wins underneath their belt, so you'd like for them to really go finish out the right way," said Strong at USF's weekly press conference Tuesday.

These unforgettable seniors have already been on a program defining climb going 8-5, 11-2 and now 8-1 with a chance to book USF's first trip to the American Athletic Conference championship with two more victories.

"Every year, we've had a team meeting and we said our goal is a conference championship, and we've come up short every year," Sanchez said. "I think this year, there's a sense of urgency to say, 'Hey, we really want to get this accomplished.' We've got a lot of guys who've bought in, that want to get this accomplished. We are in control. We get to decide what we want to do with it."

It's a fitting position for the senior class to be in, considering how gratifying the journey has been to get here.

Before winning was an expectation, fifth-year seniors like Sanchez watched the Bulls go 2-10 in 2013, followed by a 4-8 campaign.

"I think the losing made us who we are, honestly," Sanchez said. "I think playing with an edge, people not believing in us and people not wanting anything to do with USF, that kind of made us."

20679Picked as conference favorites this preseason, USF has come a long way since those rebuilding years, but the Bulls still like their blue-collar approach. After earning three straight bowl trips, setting the school wins record in 2016 and rewriting USF's offensive record books, this group of seniors still sees the bigger picture.

"You've got to do whatever it takes to win," Flowers said. "There's a lot of goals that are still in front of us. We just have to take it one game at a time."

That means respecting Tulsa's capabilities, winning for the ninth time in the past 10 home games, and setting up the ultimate War-on-I4 showdown next week at UCF televised across the country on ABC.

"Every moment, I'm trying to make it my best moment, just knowing that I'm on my way out," Flowers said. "I'm just trying to lead these young guys and give them something to build on."

No matter what happens these next two weeks, USF's seniors can always hold their heads high and say they were truly program-changers. Bulls fans, Thursday is your chance to show your appreciation for the players that made all this possible.

"Walking out on that field, and getting the applause from everybody, knowing that you gave this city something to talk about again. This is the reason you came here, to do things like that," Flowers said.

Seniors on Verge of More Individual Records
At this point, quarterback Quinton Flowers could fill a book with all his individual USF records, but there's still more out there for the Miami native.

Ranking second all-time in total offense (10,519 yards), the dazzling dual threat is 356 yards shy of the Bulls' career record held by Matt Grothe. Flowers has by far the best winning percentage of any USF QB and needs three more victories to break Marquel Blackwell's career record of 30 W's.

19900One more sprint to the end zone also will make Flowers only the sixth player in FBS history to register at least 60 passing and 40 rushing touchdowns in a career.

On the other side of the ball, middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez needs four more stops to break USF's career tackles record held by former NFL veteran Kawika Mitchell (367, 1999-2002).

"It's definitely a goal I've had," Sanchez said. "I think when you look at the people who have come here that have played linebacker, to be in the conversation of passing them up is something that's real special."

With 47 career starts, Sanchez also needs three more to match George Selvie's school record set from 2006-09.

Bulls Bits 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). 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, returned in 2017. 

Purchase tickets for the upcoming game by following the USFBullsTix.com link HERE.

Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
- #GoBulls -
 
Print Friendly Version

Related News