"We've moved on, but we didn't forget"; Bulls Turn Focus Toward Temple
USF (1-5; 0-2 American) vs Temple (3-3; 1-1 American)
Saturday, Oct. 23 • 7:00 P.M. • Tampa, Fla. • Raymond James Stadium (65,857)
SURFACE: Tifway Bermuda
TV: ESPN+: Courtney Lyle (p-by-p) & Brandon Weeden (analyst)
RADIO: 95.3 FM WDAE
AUDIO STREAM: iHeartRadio - Bulls Unlimited1
SERIES: Temple leads, 5-2
IN TAMPA: USF leads, 2-1
IN PHILADELPHIA: Temple leads, 4-0
LAST: Temple won, 39-37, in Philly in 2020
STREAK: Temple has won three straight
GAME NOTES
By Joey Johnston
Coach Jeff Scott said his Bulls are on the brink of a breakthrough. Following a heartbreaking one-point defeat, there's only one focus as the Bulls (1-5, 0-2 AAC) head into Saturday night's game against the Temple Owls (3-3, 1-1 AAC) at Raymond James Stadium.
"We're literally at the point where we need to win,'' Scott said Tuesday during his weekly news conference. "We need to get over the hump. I really believe when we do, it's going to bring more confidence and more energy. We'll be able to push through and it will lead to more wins.
"There's nothing this team needs more right now than to get a victory. That's why that one hurt so much last week. We were so close and should've gotten it done.''
The Bulls, who have a 13-game AAC losing streak dating to Oct. 26, 2019, were defeated 32-31 at home by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. USF did a lot of things right in building a 14-point lead in the second quarter, including a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Brian Battie and a 69-yard interception return score by linebacker Antonio Grier.
USF took an 11-point advantage into the fourth quarter and momentum seemed favorable when Andrew Stokes' punt was downed at the Tulsa 1-yard line. But the Golden Hurricane put together a 10-play, 99-yard touchdown drive.
When the Bulls failed on two attempts to ice the game — Jaren Mangham gained nothing with back-to-back Wildcat direct-snap runs on third and fourth downs with 1 yard to go — Tulsa drove for the winning touchdown and scored with 47 seconds to play.
It wasn't just frustrating. It was agonizing. But after observing the program's 24-hour rule — the time allotted to celebrate a win or commiserate over a defeat — the Bulls have turned their full attention to Temple.
"I feel we've moved on, but we didn't forget,'' Mangham said. "You take it with a grain of salt and learn from it. Day by day, you're trying to get better. We didn't do everything right. We had maybe four plays total (that went wrong to decide the game) and those four plays cost us. I feel we had a great game, but those little costly mistakes came back to bite us.''
"It's tough,'' Bulls defensive back Vincent Davis said. "I think I personally spent my Sunday (thinking about the game) and I didn't take it so well. Monday, I turned the page. That's what coach preaches. That's how you have to be as a football player. We're going to get better from it. We're going to learn from it.''
That's precisely the response desired by Scott.
"We came in Sunday and it was a hard film to watch,'' Scott said. "What I saw was excellent effort by our players. Multiple players played 94 snaps on defense, which is incredible. I really feel like our guys laid it on the line and played their hearts out for four quarters.
"It came down to seven or eight plays and they were spread out (between the offense, defense and special teams). Each group had a chance to finish the game. The message to our guys is we're not going to run from it. We went over the good, the bad, the things we need to correct. After that, hey, we've got to move on. We're not going to talk about it anymore.''
There's no time for that. After hosting Temple, the Bulls head to East Carolina on Oct. 28 for a Thursday night ESPN game on a short week.
"We're going to use that (Tulsa) game for encouragement to show how close we are to breaking through,'' Scott said. "And we are close.''
It's About Winning
Even as the Bulls have improved, Scott has consistently said he doesn't believe in moral victories. He wants actual victories.
"We're in a results-oriented business and I'm fully aware of that,'' Scott said. "I've been around this profession since I was born. Since about 7 years old, I knew the difference between winning the losing.
"When you're building a program, you have to look for progress. You can't just take a tough loss and say we're just not getting any better. The reality is we are getting better. We haven't played well enough in four quarters to win. Our guys have showed up each week. I think you could turn on the TV and watch how hard they were playing and you wouldn't think this was a 1-5 team. We just to have to do things more efficiently.''
The Fourth-Down Call
The pivotal moment of the USF-Tulsa game occurred on fourth-and-1 from the Bulls' 42-yard line. Mangham had just come up short on third down. Scott let the play clock wind down to zero before calling USF's final time out.
USF ran the same play as on third down. Freshman quarterback Timmy McClain shifted and split wide left as a receiver. Defensive lineman Rashawn Yates was the up-back and the ball was directly snapped to Mangham, who bulled into the middle of the line for no gain. Tulsa got possession with 4:20 remaining and drove for the winning score, helped by a 6-yard pass on fourth-and-3 from the USF 20.
"I just felt we could've executed better,'' Mangham said. "I still have a lot of confidence in our guys. I don't have regrets going for it. Coach asked us if we wanted to go for it and we did. We just have to live with it.''
After watching the play on film and giving it some thought, Scott said he did have regrets about the play call.
"I do not regret going for it on fourth-and-1,'' Scott said. "I feel very confident in our running backs. Jaren has been awesome in short-yardage plays.
"I do regret the play we ran and I told the team that. I should've (taken) the opportunity to maybe change the call. The fact that we went two Wildcats, back-to-back, I'll admit that we probably should've done something different. Schematically, we thought they were going to be in a certain look and they were in a different look. I don't regret going for it. It was less than one (yard). I told the guys all week we were going to be aggressive.''
McClain's Progress
Scott said he's pleased with how McClain has been managing the games. McClain hasn't thrown an interception in the last five games (104 consecutive attempts) and Scott said he believes the overall decision-making has been good.
"We haven't had the success in the third-and-long or drop-back pass situations,'' Scott said. "This past game was the first time we started giving up some pressure up front.
"Timmy has some things he has to clean up as a young player, just like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence when they were freshmen (at Clemson). You get some mistakes. Not everything is perfect. But you ask, 'is he making progress? Is he getting better?' Yes, I believe he is.''
Injuries
Scott said there's a chance that cornerback Christian Williams, out since the opener, could return against Temple. Williams will be a game-time decision. Slot receiver Bryce Miller, last season's leading receiver (33 catches), could also return after missing the past three games.
Injuries have been particularly costly for the Bulls, who have lost multiple starters and key backups to season-ending injuries, including safety Will Jones II, defensive end Darrien Grant, defensive end Jamari Stewart, linebacker Mac Harris, wide receiver Latrell Williams, running back K'Wan Powell and running back Leo Parker.
