Bulls Ready For Return to Birmingham Bowl
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, DEC. 4, 2017 – Head coach
Charlie Strong's motivated Bulls are embracing their trip back to the Birmingham Bowl.
Ranked No. 23 nationally, USF will return to historic Legion Field to face Big 12 foe Texas Tech on Saturday, Dec. 23. Despite falling short of a conference title, USF (9-2) knows there's lots more left to play for in the nationally televised ESPN game that kicks off at noon (EST).
"You'd like to send the seniors out the right way. You have a chance to get double-digit wins again, you go 10-2," Strong said at USF's press conference Monday. "You're playing against a Big 12 opponent from a Power 5. It's going to be a TV audience again. We just need to play well. We need to go win this football game."
College football viewers nationwide are waiting for the Bulls' encore performance after watching them light up the scoreboard in the War on I-4 clash with UCF on Nov. 24. Approximately 4.7 million ABC viewers across the country saw USF rack up 653 yards of offense and savored show-stealing performances from quarterback
Quinton Flowers (605 total yards, 503 passing yards) and
Tyre McCants (227 receiving yards).
"You look at both teams just back and forth. We got down early and we were able to battle back," said Strong of the 49-42 loss. "What I was really pleased with was just how our guys kept battling. They may get a score, but we match a score. We get a stop, they get a stop. It was just how hard they played."
Now Strong will be looking to see how USF responds in the program's third straight bowl game appearance (ninth overall) and his players said they'll be ready.
"We have a bowl game we're looking forward to that we're honored to be in. It was a tough loss, but it was a loss we've got to bounce back from," said McCants (Niceville, Fla.). "We've got to get ready for the next game. We've got to get back focused."
Strong gave the team all of last week off to regroup from the regular season finale. USF will get back into practice mode this week and really jump into the bowl game plan next week after finals are completed.
"Everybody can't say they are in a bowl game, so we're thankful for what we have in front of us and excited to play Texas Tech, a good opponent," said senior defensive back
Deatrick Nichols (Miami).
Another Thriller in Birmingham?
USF players are looking forward to going back to Birmingham, Ala., where they were treated well in the days leading up to last season's bowl game.
"We had a good time there,"
Deatrick Nichols said. "We'll just go back there and enjoy the moment, enjoy the process and get ready to play Texas Tech."
USF showed its appreciation for the southern hospitality by treating 31,229 fans in attendance to a thriller last December. USF held off SEC opponent South Carolina, 46-39, in an exciting overtime game that was sealed by
Mike Love's sack on the final play.
This season's showdown could turn out to be another slugfest with Texas Tech (6-6) ranking No. 17 nationally in total offense (468.4 ypg) and 26
th in scoring (34.3 ppg).
"When you face just a wide-open offense the way they are, the thing is it's all skill," Strong said. "They're looking for mismatches and trying to get the ball in the right person's hands. They can score a lot of points."
Birmingham Bowl Ticket Details
Players still say they got a huge lift from having the support of thousands of USF fans in the stands at last year's Birmingham Bowl.
Bulls Nation has another chance to give the team a lift at Legion Field by purchasing tickets for $50
HERE or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
USF students can purchase up to two discounted tickets for $20 (plus service fees) thanks to USF Athletics
HERE. Students may also get additional guest tickets for $50 apiece and still sit together in the stands. Learn more about the bowl game and ticket offers
HERE.
"I look forward to again seeing Bulls Nation out in force in Birmingham as we continue to make bowling an annual USF holiday season event," Director of Athletics
Mark Harlan said.
Bulls Bits
- BIG PLAY, BIG EXPOSURE: Tyre McCants is still a hot topic on Twitter after his school record 227-yard receiving performance against UCF that included him dragging a Knight through the red zone during a 47-yard touchdown. The play has been a huge hit on ESPN and several sports talk shows. "It was kind of cool to see, it got a lot of attention," McCants said. "I watched it a couple times, just going back and forth. I just kept watching it."
- USF BOWL HISTORY: USF will be looking to improve its all-time bowl record to 6-3 and 3-0 in Birmingham. USF previously defeated East Carolina, 24-7, in the 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl at Legion Field before beating South Carolina last December.
- MORE ON TEXAS TECH: The Birmingham Bowl will mark the first-ever meeting between USF and Texas Tech. The Red Raiders secured the program's 38th bowl appearance by wrapping up the regular season with a 27-23 win over Texas. Texas Tech has won four of its past five bowl games and returns to the postseason for the first time since 2015.
About USF Football
USF has won nine or more games for the second straight season and will make its third straight bowl appearance and ninth in program history. The Bulls spent the entire 2017 season ranked in the top 25 and climbed as high as No. 13 in the polls. USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins (11-2) following a Birmingham Bowl victory over South Carolina. The Bulls have posted 13 winning seasons in 21 years of playing football and have five bowl victories. The Bulls have seen 28 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 28 earn first-team all-conference selection.
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