HOUSTON, OCT. 27, 2018 – Freshman Johnny Ford registered his second straight 100-yard rushing game as No. 21/20 USF's undefeated run came to an end with a 57-36 loss at Houston on Saturday.

USF (7-1, 3-1 in AAC) entered the weekend as one of five remaining unbeaten FBS teams and fell for the first time since Nov. 24, 2017.

Ford (Miami) rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries to help the Bulls run for at least 200 yards for the sixth time this season. Ford found the end zone twice during USF's 21-point second quarter that started with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jordan Cronkrite (Miami). Seeking his sixth straight 100-yard game, Cronkrite finished with 73 rushing yards and needs 67 more yards to post USF's ninth 1,000 yard season.

Quarterback Blake Barnett (Corona, Calif.) completed 26 of 39 passes for 263 yards. Barnett's 39-yard touchdown pass to Deangelo Antoine (Orlando) made it a one-score game late in the third quarter, but the Bulls couldn't put together their fourth double-digit fourth quarter comeback of the season.

Two of the nation's top offenses took turns making plays during Saturday's first half that saw Houston (7-1, 4-0 in AAC) take a 28-21 lead and USF rush for 176 yards. The Bulls scored 21 points in the second quarter with two touchdown runs by Ford in the period.

Scoring on its first two possessions, Houston jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first six minutes before USF tied things up with two touchdowns 13 seconds apart in the second quarter.

The Bulls cut their deficit in half with a 15-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that was capped by Cronkrite's 1-yard run with 10:33 left in the half. Just two plays later, Ford sprinted to the end zone on a 32-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 14-14. The score was set-up by redshirt freshman safety Mekhi LaPointe's first-career interception.

USF tied things back up at 21-21 after Antoine's backside block helped Ford zoom around the Houston defense on a 17-yard touchdown run with 3:50 remaining in the half. Ford was well on his way to his second straight 100-yard rushing game with 85 yards on 10 carries in the first two quarters.

Key plays on defense and special teams helped the Bulls pull within two points of Houston in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

After Trent Schneider's 62-yard punt to the Houston 1, defensive pressure in the end zone led to a safety on an intentional grounding call. Bentlee Sanders' 41-yard return on the ensuing kick helped set up a 23-yard field goal by Coby Weiss (Gainesville, Fla.) with 10:47 to go in the third quarter.

Trailing 43-29, USF got back within a score of Houston on Barnett's 39-yard touchdown pass to Antoine with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.

USF couldn't manage to mount its fourth double-digit, fourth quarter comeback of the season despite finishing with at least 30 points for the 32^nd time in the past 36 games dating back to 2015.

Greg Reaves (Bradenton, Fla.) led USF defensively with a career-high 12 tackles in his second straight start at middle linebacker. Senior linebacker Khalid McGee (Miami) finished with 11 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack in his third double-digit tackle effort of the season.

Quotable
Head coach Charlie Strong's thoughts on Saturday's game:
"We just didn't play well and we didn't tackle, giving up touchdown throws. You just can't play like that and go win in an environment like this."

Key Stats
684 yards – Houston's yardage total after entering the game ranking third nationally in total offense (555.3 ypg).
14-0 – Houston scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter after USF cut its deficit to 43-36 late in the third.
13-for-18– Houston converted 13 of 18 third-down attempts.

Notables

• USF was looking to extend the program's best-ever start to a season. The Bulls started the past two seasons at 7-0 and entered Saturday's game as one of only five remaining FBS teams.
• USF is now 35-7 (83.3 %) over its past 42 games. USF entered Saturday tied with Oklahoma (35-6) and Ohio State and bettered only by Alabama and Clemson for the best record in a team's past 41 games.
• USF has scored at least 20 points in 38 straight games, the longest streak in the nation. USF has scored at least 30 points in 32 of its past 36 games dating back to the 2015 season.

Up Next
USF returns to Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 3 to host Tulane. The Bulls' Salute to Service game is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
 
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