TAMPA, SEPT. 1, 2018 – Blake Barnett turned in the top scoring debut by a USF quarterback, throwing for three touchdowns and 305 yards and finding the end zone once with his feet in the Bulls' 34-14 win over Elon in Saturday's season opener.

Barnett (Corona, Calif.) threw all three of his TD passes in the first half, finishing 24 of 34 through the air in less than three quarters of action in front of a crowd of 31,217 at Raymond James Stadium. USF posted 515 yards of offense, its third straight game with 500-plus yards and the seventh game accomplishing the feat in the past 13 outings under coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.

Randall St. Felix (Miami) put together USF's top receiving debut by a freshman with seven catches for 143 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

Defensively, Tampa's own Vincent Jackson and Mike Hampton intercepted passes while the Bulls racked up 12 tackles for loss and limited Elon to 42 passing yards. Seniors Jaymon Thomas (Immokalee, Fla.) and Khalid McGee (Miami) both set new career highs with 11 tackles apiece. Redshirt freshman safety Bentlee Sanders (Tampa) started and finished with 10 tackles.

Barnett threw for three touchdowns and 223 yards while USF's defense picked off two passes in an impressive 24-0 first half for the Bulls.

Jackson intercepted a pass on the opening drive and St. Felix capped off USF's 70-yard first sequence with a 40-yard touchdown catch. Barnett completed all three of his passes for 52 yards on his first drive as a Bull.

Barnett found St. Felix again on a 52-yard connection to set up Jake Vivonetto's 33-yard field goal less than three minutes into the second quarter.

Hampton hauled in USF's second interception of the night with 10:49 left in the second quarter. Two plays later, Tyre McCants' 16-yard touchdown reception helped put the Bulls up 17-0 with 10:25 remaining in the half.

After a 50-yard bomb to Darnell Salomon (Miami), Barnett threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mackey Award candidate Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) with 5:35 left in the half. Barnett started the second half with a 2-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal to post his fourth score, a new USF record for a QB in his debut, as the Bulls rolled to a 31-0 advantage.

Key Stats
2 – The number of interceptions by the USF defense, which finished second nationally with 20 picks in 2017.
4 – The number of touchdowns produced by quarterback Blake Barnett (three passing, one rushing).
24-0 – USF headed into halftime with a commanding 24-0 lead after a 17-point second quarter.
42 – USF's defense limited Elon to only 42 passing yards.
515 – The amount of yards produced by the USF offense, which has passed the 500-yard mark in three straight games. USF has totaled 500-plus yards in seven of the past 13 outings under coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.

Quotable


Notables

• Blake Barnett set a scoring record for a USF quarterback in a debut with four touchdowns. Barnett threw for 305 yards and finished 6 yards shy of the USF debut record.
• Randall St. Felix turned in the top receiving debut by a freshman in program history with seven catches for 143 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown.
• USF improved to 17-5 all-time in season openers and won its fifth straight season opener. The Bulls are now 15-1 in season openers played at home.
• USF added to its most successful run in program history (30-9 since 2015). The Bulls are 29-6 in the past 35 games.
• Head coach Charlie Strong improved to 2-0 in season openers with USF.

 
Up Next
USF will host ACC foe Georgia Tech in the first-ever meeting between the programs on Saturday, Sept. 8. Kickoff is set for noon (TV: ABC) and fans can reserve their 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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