McClain engineers 80-yard drive in final minutes that comes up just short in 17-13 loss
ORLANDO, FLA., NOV. 26, 2021– The USF football team (2-10; 1-7 American) nearly pulled off a big win to close out the 2021 season, but the Bulls came up three yards short in a heartbreaking, 17-13, loss at UCF (8-4; 5-3 American) Friday in Orlando.
Freshman quarterback Timmy McClain drove the Bulls 80 yards in the final two minutes, using his legs, arm and instinct to reach the UCF 3 after starting on his own 11. He hit Jaren Mangham on a huge 30-yard pass play on third and 13. Then found Xavier Weaver for a leaping 35-yard grab in traffic on second and 15. Then facing second and 24, McClain ran for nine and 14 yards in back-to-back plays to give the Bulls a first down at the UCF 3 with under 15 seconds to play and no timeouts.
The Bulls spiked the ball to stop the clock and then snapped it with 12 seconds remaining. McClain was chased from the pocket, attempted to scramble but was tripped up and his knee hit the ground as he heaved the ball toward the endzone. With no timeouts remaining and following a prolonged discussion on the field, the sack ended the game, preserving UCF’s four-point victory, the second-closest game in the 13-game series history now led 7-6 by UCF.
McClain finished 18-of-29 for 222 yards and gained 56 rushing and a touchdown, but ended with negative rushing yardage after being sacked six times. Mangham displayed some power running posting 93 yards on 21 carries and Weaver led the Bulls in receiving for the eighth time on the year collecting four receptions for 75 yards.
A strong USF defensive effort was led by Vincent Davis with 10 tackles and one tackle for loss and Antonio Grier with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. USF forced four three-and-outs, five punts and two missed field goals as the Knights gained 285 yards and scored 17 points, both their second-lowest totals on the year. USF outgained UCF, 312-285.
Trailing 14-7 at the start of the second half, USF took the kickoff and drove 52 yards in 12 plays before settling for a 41-yard field goal from Spencer Shrader to cut the lead to 14-10.
The Bulls’ defense forced a UCF three and out and McClain then drove them to the UCF 5, with Jimmy Horn getting a 25-yard gain on a pass from McClain and Mangham breaking off a 19-yard run up the middle. But a penalty and a UCF blitz forced USF back to the 18 where Shrader connected on a 36-yard field goal to cut the Knight lead to 14-13 with 3:17 to play in the third.
After back-to-back three-and-outs, the UCF offense moved the ball 61 yards to get a 32-yard field goal to extend its lead to four with 8:51 to play.
The Bulls drove 22 yards but had to punt on their first attempt to take the lead, sending the defense back on to the field. Six plays later, the Bulls held their ground and forced UCF’s fifth punt of the game, which was downed on the Bulls 11 with 2:43 to play.
The USF defense, led by dual interim-coordinators Ernie Sims and Daniel Da Prato, played well in the first half, forcing two punts, two long missed field goals and, after yielding one touchdown early, did not allow a second touchdown until the closing seconds of the half. Davis had eight first half tackles.
After UCF missed a 35-yard field goal on its opening possession and the Bulls punted on theirs, the Knights opened the scoring with an eight-play, 63-yard drive capped by three-yard run from back-up quarterback Parker Navarro out of the wildcat.
The Bulls answered immediately with a hard-fought, 72-yard drive that was aided by a big facemask penalty on the Knights that kept the drive alive early. Jimmy Horn broke tackles for a nice 14-yard gain and Jaren Mangham powered for runs of 11 and 15 yards on back-to-back plays to get the Bulls to the UCF 5. McClain scored on a 5-yard, zone-read keeper to the corner of the end zone.
The teams traded punts and missed field goals for most of the remainder of the first half. UCF missed again from 45 yards out on their fourth drive and USF followed as Shrader missed from 48 on the Bulls’ fourth possession.
Each team punted again before UCF put together a six-play, 27-yard drive following a 39-yard punt return. UCF reclaimed a 14-7 lead when Mikey Keene hit Jaylon Robinson for 7-yard touchdown reception in the corner of the endzone.
Key Stats
285 – A week after giving up more than 500 yards to Tulane, the USF defense held UCF to 285 yards, its second-lowest total on the year behind 277 vs. Tulane.
12 – UCF gained just 12 first downs on the game while punting five times and having four three-and-outs in the game.
123 – RB Jaren Mangham posted his second-highest rushing total on the season with 93 yards and also added a 30-yard reception for a team-high 123 all-purpose yards.
Notables
• Vincent Davis led the Bulls with 10 tackles
• Spencer Shrader was good on field goals from 41 and 36 yards after missing his opening attempt from 48.
• Mitchell Brinkman caught a season-high four passes in his final game as a Bull.
Up Next
The Bulls will prepare to welcome a new group of Bulls during the NCAA Early Signing Period that begins Dec. 15 and the Late Signing Period that starts Feb. 2
Tickets for USF home games can be purchased by calling or texting 1-800-GoBulls or visiting USFBullstix.com or Ticketmaster.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and will celebrate its 25th season in 2021 (22nd at the FBS level). USF has posted 15 winning seasons and is the fastest program in the state of Florida to reach 150 all-time wins. Bulls have earned 14 All-America selections, 29 first-team all-conference selections, and 30 USF players have been selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl game appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program-record six-straight from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20-straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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