Cronkrite rushes for 148 of USF’s season-high 313 yards in the Bulls’ eighth straight victory over the Huskies.
McCloud accounts for four touchdowns and throws two of his three TD passes to Miller in the walk-on’s first career start.
EAST HARTFORD, CONN., OCT. 5, 2019 – Jordan Cronkrite racked up 148 of USF’s season-high 313 rushing yards as the Bulls rolled to a 48-22 conference victory at UConn on Saturday.
USF (2-3, 1-1 in AAC) generated a season-high total of 503 yards of offense and led from start to finish in its eighth straight victory over the Huskies (1-4, 0-2), dating back to 2012. Saturday marked USF’s first 300-yard rushing game since gaining 346 yards on the ground against the Huskies on Oct. 20, 2018.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jordan McCloud accounted for four touchdowns in his third straight start. The Tampa native completed 11 of 12 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns on top of rushing for 62 yards and another score from 26 yards out.
Making his first-ever USF start in the slot, Bryce Miller (St. Petersburg, Fla.) caught a pair of 12-yard touchdown passes from McCloud. Miller’s first TD reception started a string of four straight scoring drives that helped the Bulls build a 27-14 halftime lead.
Cronkrite (Miami) registered his first 100-yard rushing game of the season while averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Senior Trevon Sands (Miami) added seven carries for a career-high 64 yards in a performance that included his first-ever touchdown run as a Bull from 5 yards out in the second quarter.
USF’s defense posted five sacks and allowed just eight points and 94 yards in the second half of another impressive performance as the Huskies were held to 293 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Dwayne Boyles (Miami) totaled three of the Bulls’ 10 total tackles for loss after USF headed into Saturday tied for third nationally with 9.8 per game. USF also was tied for second in the FBS in turnovers gained and increased its season takeaway total to 14 with a fumble recovery by senior Kirk Livingstone (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).
McCloud accounted for three touchdowns (two passing) while USF scored on four straight drives and built a 27-14 lead by the break. McCloud and Cronkrite combined for 105 of USF’s 146 rushing yards in a first half that saw the Bulls generate 282 total yards.
Miller’s second touchdown catch in as many weeks helped spot USF a 7-0 lead when he hauled in McCloud’s 12-yard pass with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter. USF’s 10-play scoring drive covered 88 yards and included 76 yards on the ground. Sands had a career long 23-yard rush down to the UConn 15 after Cronkrite broke off runs of 17 and 15 yards.
Sands’ first career touchdown run from 5 yards out capped off USF’s next drive, a seven-play sequence that went for 85 yards. Freshman Xavier Weaver (Orlando) set a new career best with a 31-yard reception, followed by junior tight end Jacob Mathis’ (Tampa) career long 37-yard catch down to the UConn 5.
After UConn cut its deficit in half, Bentlee Sanders (Tampa) dashed down the sideline on a career long 67-yard kickoff return down to the Huskies’ 31. Four plays later, Randall St. Felix (Miami) snagged a 13-yard touchdown reception, his first of the season on a back-shoulder throw by McCloud with 4:39 remaining in the half.
Less than a minute after UConn’s second touchdown, USF snuck in one more score before halftime when McCloud scrambled 26 yards to the end zone with 1:47 to play. McCloud had 51 rushing yards and completed 7 of 11 passes for 136 yards in the first half.
McCloud’s second touchdown pass to Miller, a 12-yard strike, helped give the Bulls a 34-14 lead with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter. USF passed the 200-yard rushing mark on its third 80-plus yard drive of the game that featured a 19-yard run by McCloud on fourth-and-5 from the UConn 31.
Special teams got into the scoring act in the fourth quarter with a trick play. Instead of a field goal attempt, freshman kicker Spencer Shrader (Lithia, Fla.) caught a perfect over-the-back ball flip from holder Trent Schneider (Sydney, Australia) and sprinted 22 yards for a touchdown with 9:07 to play. The 12-play, 89-yard drive marked USF’s longest of the season.
Backup quarterback Kirk Rygol (Fort Mill, S.C.) capped off the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown pass to DeVontres Dukes (Tampa) in the final minute of the game.
Key Stats
313 – The Bulls racked up a season-high 313 rushing yards, the program’s most since rushing for 346 yard against the Hukies on Oct. 20, 2018.
148 – Jordan Cronkrite posted his first 100-yard rushing game of the season with 148 yards on 20 carries.
80+ – USF had four scoring drives that covered at least 80 yards each time (88, 85, 80, 89)
10 – USF’s defense produced 10 tackles for loss. The Bulls headed into Saturday tied for third nationally with 9.8 tackles for loss per game.
Notables
- USF has won eight straight games against UConn, a streak that dates back to 2012. The Bulls have won four straight games in East Hartford, Conn.
- USF is 16-1 under head coach Charlie Strong when rushing for at least 200 yards in a game.
- Head coach Charlie Strong is now 17-9 overall in American Athletic Conference games.
Quotable
Head coach Charlie Strong’s thoughts after the win:
“I keep saying it – we have a good football team. It’s all about them just playing with confidence, coming together and believing in themselves. I told them that we (had) some guys down, but the thing about it is other guys can step up.”
Strong on the importance of the Bulls getting their running game going:
“What we wanted to do is establish the run and we were able to go run the football today.”
“Teams that win and teams that are successful, you’ve gotta get a running game going. You can throw for as many yards as you’d like to, but if you can’t run the football and you can’t score and be physical at the point of attack, you’re not gonna win.”
Up Next
USF returns to Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12 to host BYU. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the Bulls’ homecoming game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Reserve your seats atUSFBullsTix.com.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
Having completed just its 22nd season of football, and 19th at the FBS level, the USF football program has earned 10 bowl appearances, including a current run of four straight, and owns a record of 6-3 in bowl games. The Bulls have appeared in the national top 25 rankings in each of the past three seasons, including a program record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25, and in 2018 reached the program’s 150th win faster than any FBS program in state of Florida history. USF has posted a pair of 10-plus win seasons in the last three years, including a program-record 11 wins (11-2) in 2016, and logged 15 winning seasons overall. Since first taking the field in 1997, the USF program has reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings (2007), seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 29 earn first-team all-conference selection.
Follow @USFFootball on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
