Sophomore Jordan McCloud sets career highs in completions (26) and passing yards (298), connecting on 74 percent of his 35 throws, in 44-24 setback against the Pirates.
TAMPA, OCT. 10, 2020 – Sophomore quarterback Jordan McCloud turned in the type of passing performance USF has been looking for, but the Bulls couldn’t put things together in all three phases in a 44-24 homecoming loss to ECU on Saturday night in Raymond James Stadium.
Trying to solidify his status as the starter, McCloud set career highs with 26 completions for 298 yards on the night for USF (1-3, 0-2 in AAC). The Tampa native completed 74 of percent of his 35 attempts and found a productive target often in Latrell Williams, who set career bests with eight receptions for 93 yards to lead all receivers.
Running back Johnny Ford (Miami) added to his stellar sophomore season with two rushing touchdowns, including an 8-yard score that put the Bulls ahead in the first quarter. Ford’s second touchdown with 4:59 left in the first half helped get USF within 10 of ECU (1-2, 1-1 in AAC), which controlled the momentum the rest of the game.
McCloud got into his passing groove right away and Ford kept up his playmaking ways in an explosive first half that saw the Bulls cut their deficit to 31-17 right before the break.
ECU opened the game with a field goal and USF responded with its fastest scoring drive of the season. Ford’s 8-yard touchdown run capped off a six-play, 65-yard sequence that took just 1:37 off the clock. Mitchell Brinkman (Council Bluffs, Iowa) put the Bulls in prime scoring position with a 37-yard reception one play prior to Ford’s first trip to the end zone.
Fancy footwork by Ford helped cut ECU’s lead to 24-14. The speedster bounced it outside and tiptoed along the sideline on a 7-yard touchdown run with 4:59 remaining in the half. Freshman Omarion Dollison (Columbia, S.C.) sparked the five-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a career long 52-yard reception on the opening snap of a series that took only 1 minute, 55 seconds.
Sharp McCloud completed 19 of 26 passes for 243 yards in the first half and had four 20-plus yard throws. His fourth was a 31-yard connection with Williams on the same drive the junior receiver hauled in a 14-yard catch on third-and-12 at the ECU 29. Williams had six receptions for 80 yards before the break and his last clutch play of the half helped set up a 31-yard field goal by Jared Sackett (Fort Worth, Texas) with 32 seconds left.
ECU scored 13 straight points in the second half before quarterback Noah Johnson (Tampa) responded for USF with a 15-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds remaining in the game.
Key Stats
308 – USF reached a season high with 306 passing yards. Starting quarterback Jordan McCloud accounted for a career-high 298 yards through the air.
31– ECU took control of the game with 31 points in the first half and finished with a season-high 44 points.
Notables
· USF set a season high with 306 passing yards with nine different receivers catching at least one pass.
Quotable
Head coach Jeff Scott’s opening thoughts on USF’s setback against ECU:
“I’m obviously very disappointed with our execution really in all three phases. I was pleased with the way we practiced this week, with the effort, with the attitude. That’s probably the most frustrating part right now is we’re just not translating it to the game… But hey, we’re still early in the process. We knew that it was gonna be a process. We knew there was gonna be a lot of adversity, so my message to the guys in the locker room is, ‘Don’t change. We gotta do what we’re doing better than we have. We gotta execute better. You can’t make the mistakes we made tonight and beat anybody.’ But our guys have not given up. Our guys have not stopped believing in each other and they haven’t stopped giving effort. That’s really the main things I’ve been focused on. I think we gotta coach better and we gotta play better – bottom line. And that will come with time. I firmly believe that our better days are ahead of us. I believe in the players that are in that locker room. I don’t understand quite why we haven’t played better than we have, but that’s my job to get it fixed and we’re gonna work on that starting tomorrow.”
Up Next
USF continues conference play at Temple on Saturday, Oct. 17. Kickoff is set for noon in Philadelphia (TV: ESPN+).
The Bulls return to Raymond James Stadium on Friday, Oct. 23 to host Tulsa at 7:30 p.m. (TV: ESPN). Fans can purchase tickets HERE or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances 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.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
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