With a season-high 13 players on the unavailable list, USF scored 21 straight points after the break in a 56-21 setback against the Cougars.
Freshman back Brian Battie set career highs with 86 rushing yards (6.6 ypc) and 113 all-purpose yards.
HOUSTON, NOV. 14, 2020 – Minus a season-high 13 unavailable players, shorthanded USF heated up late with 21 straight points in the second half of a 56-21 loss to Houston on Saturday at TDECU Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Jordan McCloud (Tampa) led the rallying Bulls (1-7, 0-6 in AAC) on consecutive touchdowns drives after Houston (3-3, 3-2 in AAC) built a 42-0 advantage. McCloud threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Dollison (Columbia, S.C.) on USF’s second scoring series and ended up completing 14 of 29 throws for 180 yards with no turnovers in his sixth start of the season.
Junior safety Bentlee Sanders (Tampa) capped off USF’s 21-point surge with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown that helped cut the deficit to 42-21 with 10:22 to play. USF’s defense has recorded a pick-6 in consecutive games after Daquan Evans (Orlando) had a 51-yard interception return for a score last week at Memphis and the Bulls now have nine interceptions on the year after entering the game ranked 12th nationally.
True freshman back Brian Battie (Sarasota) set a career best for the second straight week with a team-high 86 rushing yards on 13 attempts (6.6 ypc) and his 113 all-purpose yards also were a career high.
Freshman Leonard Parker (Tampa) got the Bulls on the scoreboard with a 2-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
With Game 7 starting quarterback Noah Johnson (Tampa) unavailable, freshman Katravis Marsh (Hialeah, Fla.) also saw action in the second half, completing 4 of 10 passes for 43 yards.
Before USF’s late rally, Houston seized the momentum early and took a 28-0 lead into the break. USF’s inability to get in an offensive rhythm resulted in six first-half punts from Trent Schneider for an average of 48.5 yards per kick. The senior from Sydney, Australia set a season high with eight total punts for 373 yards with an average of 46.6 yards per attempt.
Marsh got his first game opportunity since starting at Cincinnati on Oct. 3 and nearly led the Bulls to the end zone on a 10-play, 49-yard drive in the third quarter that featured three runs by Battie for 35 yards. Marsh’s 11-yard pass to Battie on third-and-long set USF up at the Houston 9, but a lost fumble on a sack three plays later was returned by Derek Parish for an 85-yard touchdown as the Cougars extended their advantage to 42-0.The play also sent a banged up Marsh to the sidelines.
McCloud re-entered the game on the USF’s next drive, a six-play, 75-yard scoring sequence, that ended with Parker’s 2-yard touchdown run with 3:37 remaining in the third quarter. McCloud shined on the series by completing all three of his passes for 68 yards. His 26-yard strike to Xavier Weaver (Orlando) got the Bulls down to the Houston 2 and set up Parker’s second career scoring run.
McCloud was sharp again on USF’s second straight touchdown drive that he capped off with a 2-yard scoring pass to Dollison. McCloud completed 6 of 9 throws for 54 yards on the 11-play, 83-yard march to the end zone early in the fourth quarter.
USF continued on its 21-0 run when Sanders stepped in front of a pass on the ensuing drive and returned his first interception of the season 38 yards for a touchdown as the deficit dropped to 42-21 with 10:22 remaining. Houston halted the Bulls’ comeback attempt with 14 points down the stretch.
In addition to Sanders’ electric takeaway, freshman safety Christopher Townsel (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) stepped up on defense with a career-high 11 stops (10 solo) to lead all tacklers in the game.
Key Stats
42-0 – Houston took control by scoring the first 42 points of the game and led 28-0 at halftime.
8 – A slow start by the USF offense paved the way for Trent Schneider to set a season high with eight punts (46.6 ypp). Schneider punted six times in the first half.
5-for-17 – The USF offense’s success rate on third-down situations.
Notables
· USF is now 2-5 in its all-time series with Houston and has lost five straight games against the Cougars, dating back to 2013.
· USF’s defense recorded a pick-6 for the second straight week thanks to a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bentlee Sanders in the fourth quarter.
Quotable
Head coach Jeff Scott’s thoughts on the setback that saw the Bulls rally in the second half:
“It’s obviously a very disappointing loss. The first half just got away from us really quickly. I’ve got to congratulate Houston. They played well, they coached better and they played better. Really disappointing day overall. Probably the only bright spot was coming out after halftime in a very tough situation, I felt like our guys really fought back. We had a little stretch there, we drove down around the 10-yard line and had the fumble for a touchdown. After that, we scored three touchdowns in a row and getting ready to kick off, it was a three-score game and I felt like we could maybe hold them, go score again and get it to a two-score game and maybe on-side kick it after that. We just gave up a couple plays and they put it away… We’ll regroup, learn from it and move on. That’s all you can do at this point.”
Scott on freshman running back Brian Battie’s big day that included career highs in rushing yards (86) and all-purpose yards (113):
“Battie is getting an opportunity because he’s earned it… That’s two games in a row that he’s had over 70 (rushing) yards. He kind of added a spark. I thought that was a good, young player who is getting good experience.”
Up Next
USF returns to Raymond James Stadium to host Navy on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. (TV: ESPNU). Purchase tickets to the Bulls’ Salute to Service game against the Midshipmen HERE or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
USF’s War on I-4 home game against rival UCF on Friday, Nov. 27 has been set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff and will be televised nationally on ESPN. The 12th edition of the War on I-4 will serve as Senior Day for the Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.
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.
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