Tampa, FL- Looking for their 11th straight win, the No. 18 USF Bulls (6-0; 3-0) took on the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-5; 0-3) in their first game after their bye week.
The Bulls controlled the game from start to finish (especially defensively) to cruise to a 33-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats. Head coach Charlie Strong was not satisfied though with the overall execution of his team. When asked what about the execution needed improvement during his postgame press conference, Strong said, “Too many penalties, execution, and just not playing well.” He continued, “penalties stop drives and when they happen on defense, they allow drives to keep going.” The Bulls committed 14 penalties for 137 yards with multiple penalties committed after plays had ended.
USF’s first-half started slow offensively but were never really threatened thanks to a staunch defensive effort. After forcing Cincinnati into a quick three-and-out on their first drive, the Bulls were able to score on a field goal by senior kicker Emilio Nadelman and never gave up the lead.
Quarterback Quinton Flowers finished his first-half going 9-17 passing for 137-yards, including a beautiful 37-yard pass to Temi Alaka, which set-up a Darius Tice touchdown for the only offensive touchdown of the half. Flowers also led the team in rushing with nine rushes for 55-yards.
Of note, Quinton Flowers surpassed 3,000 career rushing yards in the first half of tonight’s contest. After passing Tim Tebow as the all-time FBS QB rushing leader in Florida earlier in the season, it will be fun to see how big of a gap he can build in his senior season.
Defensively, the Bulls played a stellar first-half, holding the Bearcats to just three points and 133 yards. Ronnie Hoggins led the way for USF with four first-half tackles. Cincinnati quarterback Hayden Moore finished the half completing 12 of his 23 passes for just 103 yards. The Bearcats were only able to gain 30 yards rushing, as the USF defensive line was able to hold them in check.
The highlight of the half came on the final play, as the Bearcats were given a free play after a Bulls penalty. Attempting a pass play, Hayden Moore was intercepted by senior middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez, who returned it 65 yards for the touchdown. This brought the score to 23-3 going into the half and broke the game open for the Bulls.
The second-half saw the USF defense continue its lockdown performance. Sophomore defensive-end Greg Reaves continued his solid game, finishing with a team-leading eight tackles and adding a .5 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Cincinnati was just unable to build any momentum on drives and was unable to score in the second half.
Offensively, the second-half continued its steady performance from the first-half. The Bulls reached 400 yards of total offense for the game and tied the record for consecutive games with 30 points or more at 23 games. This tied the 2011-12 Oregon Ducks who held the record previously. They reached the 30-point mark on a one-yard touchdown run from Quinton Flowers, who finished with 80-yards rushing for the game.
Overall this was a performance that USF can build upon, The Bulls finished with a 30-point victory, but have room for improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Coach Strong’s disappointment in the execution and the penalties is a valid point, and they will need to improve if they hope to reach their high goals they have set for themselves this season.
USF will next travel to New Orleans to take on Tulane on Saturday, starting at 7:00 p.m.
