Sophomore RB Brian Battie posts third 100-yard rushing game of the season
TAMPA, Oct. 29, 2022– With sophomore quarterback Katravis Marsh making his third career start at quarterback in place of an injured Gerry Bohanon, USF football (1-7; 0-4 AAC) fell 42-27 at Houston (5-3; 3-1 AAC) Saturday on a cool and cloudy homecoming for the Cougars.
Marsh went completed 71 percent of his passes on the day (24-34) for 275 yards and a touchdown ran for 20 yards while guiding Bulls offense that committed no turnovers. Sophomore running back Brian Battie added his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, posting 106 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Weaver posted 84 yards receiving on seven catches as he moved into the top five all-time in career receiving yards at USF (1,556) and top 10 in catches (106).
USF’s 429 yards of offense was its second highest total on the season behind 455 vs. ECU. Dwayne Boyles led the Bulls’ defense for the fourth straight game with 10 tackles.
Houston quarterback Clayton Tune was too much for the Bulls, throwing for 380 yards and four touchdowns, posting 257 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, while wide receiver Nathaniel Dell grabbed two touchdowns and posted 112 yards on the day.
USF cut a 28-14 Houston halftime lead to seven midway through the third quarter when Marsh drove the Bulls 65 yards in 12 plays, including a big 24-yard scramble for a first down on third and long. Michel Dukes capped the drive with a 1-yard run.
Houston, however, responded quickly, driving 75 yards in eight plays capped by a Stacy Sneed 12-yard touchdown run to make it 35-21. The Bulls offense couldn’t respond and Houston pulled away with a 28-yard Tune touchdown pass to Clayton Carter that made it 42-21.
The Bulls tacked on a late touchdown on an 2-yard Marsh pass to tight end Chris Carter.
USF took the opening kickoff after Houston won the toss and deferred. The Bulls moved to midfield and were forced to punt. The Cougars took over on their own 35 and quickly moved down the field going 65 yards in seven plays and taking a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Tune touchdown pass to Dell.
The Bulls responded with the run game, using a wildcat formation to get the drive started with a direct snap and 19-yard carry by Michel Dukes. Then Battie took over, logging a big 37-yard gain to get into Houston territory and then finishing the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7.
The Bulls defense held on Houston’s next possession and the USF offense started humming. Marsh guided a four-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, hitting Weaver for a 30-yard completion, Horn for 10 yards and then handing off to Battie who gave the Bulls a 14-7 lead with a 20-yard touchdown run.
Houston responded with a seven-play, 68-yard drive to tie the game at 14 as the teams had a combined 305 yards of offense in the first quarter.
The Bulls drove to the Houston 20 to start the second quarter, but stalled there and Spencer Shrader missed a 38-yard field goal wide right.
Houston reclaimed the lead, 21-14, when Tune hit Dell on a 52-yard touchdown pass on their next possession. Tune made it a 14-point lead, 28-14, just before the half when he hit Peyton Sawyer with a 12-yard touchdown pass.
KEY STATS
• QB Katravis Marsh completed 24-of-34 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown on the day, marking a career-best passing outing and the Bulls best passing game of the season. His 71 percent completion percentage was the best for a USF QB with more than 10 attempts in a game on the season and his 275 yards surpassed the Bulls previous game high of 253 for a passer on the year.
• USF’s 429 yards of offense was its second highest total on the season behind 455 vs. ECU.
• Houston outgained USF 490 to 429 and went 7-of-11 on third down to the Bulls 4-11.
• Houston recorded three sacks in the game, while USF did not post a sack and had three tackles for loss.
NOTABLES
• RB Brian Battie logged his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and the fifth of his career as he ran for 106 yards on 12 carries (8.8 ypc) and a career-best two touchdowns.
• WR Xavier Weaver increased his career receiving yards total to 1,556 yards, placing him 5th all-time on the USF receiving chart, passing Hugh Smith (1,523, 1999-2002) and Dontavia Bogan (1,534, 2007-10) on the day.
• LB Dwayne Boyles posted his fourth-straight double-digit tackle total to lead the Bulls. He had 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on the day and now has a career-best 76 tackles on the year to go with 9 TFL, both lead the team.
QUOTABLES
“I was pleased with how Katravis (Marsh) played It was. A difficult defense to get your first start of the season against. He played well and didn’t turn the ball over.”
“We’ve got to come back, put this behind us to go play Temple.”
Head Coach Jeff Scott
UP NEXT
USF returns to the road next week when the Bulls head to Temple for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+.
Season tickets • Single-game tickets • Group tickets (10+): call 1-800-GoBulls
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and celebrated its 25th season in 2021 while breaking ground on a $22 million Indoor Performance Facility. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections, including 2021 consensus All-American Brian Battie, and 31 first-team all-conference selections. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games), posting a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010 and most recently making four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18. The Bulls 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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