SAN JOSE, Calif., AUG. 26, 2017 – The No. 19/21-ranked USF football team stormed back from an early 16-point deficit with 42 unanswered points and started off the Charlie Strong era with a 42-22 victory at San Jose State on Saturday night.

USF matched a program record with 28 points in the second quarter of the season opener and racked up 548 total yards of offense in new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert's up-tempo attack. USF extended its nation-leading streak of 30-plus point games to 18.

Senior featured back D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee, Fla.) highlighted USF's 315-yard rushing night with 22 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Darius Tice (Miami) added 94 rushing yards and a touchdown in his return to the lineup.

Heisman hopeful Quinton Flowers (Miami) threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns on top of rushing for 70 yards, including a 1-yard score, in about three and a half quarters of work. With 31 career rushing touchdowns, Flowers is just one more sprint to the end zone away from Marlon Mack's school record.

Senior Marquez Valdes-Scantling (St. Petersburg) posted a team-high six catches for 91 yards, including a 50-yarder on a drive that extended USF's consecutive point streak to 35. Graduate transfer Temi Alaka (Houston) caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Flowers after sophomore Darnell Salomon (Miami) started the scoring with a 24-yard TD, the first of his career.

Sophomore linebacker Nico Sawtelle (Jensen Beach, Fla.), senior safety Devin Abraham (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) and junior cornerback Mazzi Wilkins (Tampa) all intercepted passes for USF's defense that also forced a turnover on downs, seven three-and-outs and 11 punts. USF's special teams units stepped up with extra-point attempt blocks by senior Bruce Hector (Tampa) and freshman Kelvin Pinkney (Sarasota).

SJSU jumped out to a 16-0 lead with a pair of touchdown passes by new starting quarterback Josh Love.
The second quarter was a much different story.

USF's defense forced two takeaways and the Bulls seized the lead with 28 unanswered points before halftime. USF racked up 271 yards during the game-changing period and headed into the break with 174 rushing yards.

Fittingly, Flowers got the scoring flurry started with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Salomon.

USF's offense got the ball right back thanks to an interception by Sawtelle at the Bulls' 31-yard line. Twelve plays and four minutes later, Johnson followed his blockers into the end zone for a touchdown with USF facing a fourth-and-goal at the 2. It marked the 10^th rushing TD in Johnson's career and his 21^st score overall as a Bull.

USF's defense kept the momentum swinging in the Bulls' favor on SJSU's ensuing drive with an interception by Abraham off a tipped pass by Mike Hampton (Tampa). Three plays later, Flowers gave the Bulls their first lead with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Alaka with 7:13 to play before halftime.

USF's explosive offense kept things rolling in high gear before the break with Johnson bouncing outside and rumbling for a 50-yard touchdown, thanks to a pair of key blocks by Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.). Johnson posted 87 yards on 18 carries in the first two quarters.

USF made it 35 unanswered points with a 1-yard touchdown run by Tice midway through the third quarter. Flowers powered the drive with a 50-yard pass to Valdes-Scantling that took the Bulls down to the SJSU 16.

Wilkins' interception helped the Bulls' defense pitch a shutout in the third quarter before USF's offense rushed for its third touchdown of the day. Flowers' 1-yard score with 9:57 remaining helped put the finishing touches on USF's sixth straight win, dating back to last season.

Quotable
Head coach Charlie Strong on his team responding to the early deficit:
"Once we got going, then we were able to put it all together. You can see it, we can explode on offense. We've got some guys that can really play and guys that can move the ball and get first downs for us. Then defensively, we were able to get the turnovers and on third down, we were able to get off the field and make plays."

Strong on quarterback Quinton Flowers:
"Quinton is going to be a playmaker at some point. We knew on defense, we just had to keep playing and get the ball back for our offense. He's going to make it happen. He can do so many things."

Strong on what he told the team when it was trailing by 16 points early:
"I just told them, 'Listen guys, it's a 60-minute game and we're not going to panic. We still have a lot of football left out here and we're going to get going.'"

Running back D'Ernest Johnson on his 50-yard touchdown run:
"I had to press the hole a little bit. I didn't see anything there, then I bounced it outside and the receivers gave me some great blocks. They did their job well and all I had to do was run from there."

Key Stats
3 – USF's defense stepped up with interceptions by Nico Sawtelle, Devin Abraham and Mazzi Wilkins.
28 – USF matched a program record with 28 points in the second quarter.
39 – USF's defense shut San Jose State out for 39 minutes after the Spartans took a 16-0 lead.
548 – USF ended up totaling 548 yards of total offense after finishing the first quarter with 22 yards.
315 – USF ran away from the competition with 315 rushing yards. D'Ernest Johnson and Darius Tice both nearly reached the 100-yard mark.

Notables

• USF improved to 16-5 in season openers in programs history. The Bulls have won four straight season openers.
• USF extended its nation-leading streak of 30-plus point games to 18.
• USF extended its win streak to six games dating to a victory over No. 22 Navy (52-45) on Oct. 28, 2016.
• Erasing a 16-point deficit, USF completed the fourth-largest comeback in program history. USF erased 17-point deficits twice before and completed a 20-point comeback at Tulsa on Oct. 18, 2014.

Up Next
USF opens its home slate with a test against Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. The first 5,000 fans through the gates at Raymond James Stadium will receive free USF rain ponchos.
Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-GoBulls.
 
< r=""> 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. 

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