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When it comes to the USF Bulls facing the Syracuse Orange in football, most people will naturally flash ahead to the Thursday, Dec. 21 matchup at the Boca Raton Bowl.
Quinton Flowers
Bulls (6-6) vs. Orange (6-6).
It's the next game on the schedule — and it's an important one for both programs.
But for the seasoned veteran fans of Bulls football, the mention of USF vs. Syracuse will trigger memories of a magical 2015 afternoon at Raymond James Stadium, when the nonstop action produced the joy of kids on a playground, when suddenly all things became possible for USF's football program.
It was Oct. 10, 2015.
USF 45, Syracuse 24. Maybe the program's most easily defined watershed moment.
Heading into the game, the Bulls were 1-3 and struggling to find their footing under third-year Coach Willie Taggart. The USF program seemed on the way toward a fifth consecutive losing season, the glory days of a No. 2 rankings and six-straight bowl games a distance memory.
The blowout victory against Syracuse began a run of USF winning 35 of its next 41 games, which included three bowl-game appearances, 16 weeks in the national Top 25 rankings and the two winningest seasons in the program's history.
Here's the short story:
Ryeshene Bronson catchtes the flea-flicker TD.
Against the Orange, USF produced 540 yards of offense and six offensive touchdowns (five in the second half). There were five scoring drives of 75 yards or greater. Sophomore quarterback Quinton Flowers went 15 of 22 passing for 259 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The wide receivers had 12 catches. Sophomore running back Marlon Mack galloped for 184 yards and two scores on 20 carries.
On the game's signature play, wide receiver Ryeshene Bronson was all alone for a 42-yard scoring pass on a flea-flicker play, where the ball changed hands twice in the backfield before Flowers got the final pitch, then delivered the jaw-dropping touchdown toss.
It was wild.
"One of the most fun days I ever had on a football field,'' Flowers said later.
Now here's the longer backstory:
Marlon Mack
Taggart knew he had an untapped gem in Flowers, who had been recruited as a defensive back by the likes of Nebraska and Alabama. But he wanted to play quarterback. Taggart agreed.
Four games into 2015, Flowers' first full-time starting assignment, USF's offense was languishing. Flowers occasionally had the look of a magician in the backfield, particularly when the receivers were covered and he was forced to run. But like the coaches asked, he stuck to fundamentals.
He was a brilliant artist — who was doing paint-by-numbers.
With the Bulls at 1-3, Taggart invited the quarterbacks and running backs over to his home for dinner.
Rodney Adams
Darius Tice, a gregarious, non-shy running back from Miami Northwestern, didn't hold back.
"Quinton's scared of you, Coach,'' Tice told Taggart. "For whatever reason, he's afraid of you. When you come around, he's just not the same person. We need Quinton to be like he was in high school.''
Tice then approached Flowers and demanded that he become the team's leader, first out of the locker room, the one who instilled confidence when there was doubt.
Tice was the perfect matchmaker.
That set up Taggart and Flowers for the man-to-man conversation that transformed USF football.
Tyre McCants
Point blank, Taggart told Flowers that his teammates wanted their quarterback to be the unquestioned leader.
"Then let me go, Coach,'' Flowers said.
That was that.
The perceived offensive shackles were released. Flowers became a man possessed. And Tice remained in the background, shaking his head and smiling, knowing what was coming next.
"I played against Quinton in high school, so I knew,'' Tice said. "This man, he's a beast.''
Flowers led the Bulls to victories in seven of their next eight games. He set USF single-season records for touchdown passes (22) and total touchdowns (34) — marks that he broke again en route to a career 71 touchdown passes and a school-record 3,672 rushing yards, along with 8,124 passing yards.
"Everything just turned around in that Syracuse game,'' Flowers said. "I stopped playing like a robot. I started playing my game. From there, our standards just went up.''
Taggart said he got more creative with his play-calling and opened up the playbook. USF's "Gulf Coast Offense'' became one of the nation's most feared offensive units.
The Bulls began scoring in the blink of an eye. They dismantled nationally ranked Temple 44-23. Six days later, they led Cincinnati 51-3 — at halftime.
"The head coach (Taggart) told us to play the way we felt, to play the way we wanted,'' wide receiver Rodney Adams said. "Honestly, that felt great. We weren't thinking as much. We felt free and we played like we were capable of playing. We just took off like a rocket.''
USF vs. Syracuse.
It's the Boca Raton Bowl matchup. It's a milestone for first-year head coach Alex Golesh.
But for longtime USF football fans, it also conjures up the happiest of memories — and the watershed moment when all things suddenly seemed possible for the Bulls.
–#GoBulls–
