USF FOOTBALL: Bulls fall at Temple

Battie posts fourth 100-yard rushing game, Weaver third 100-yard receiving game on the year

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 5, 2022 – USF football (1-8; 0-5 AAC) posted a strong offensive effort but could not stop Temple (3-6; 1-4 AAC) as the Owls posted 621 yards of offense to claim a 54-28 victory Saturday in Philadelphia.

Brian Battie logged his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 129 yards as he moved closer to a 1,000-yard rushing season with 718 rushing yards on the year. Xavier Weaver recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the year, catching six passes for a career-best 119 yards, as he continued his climb up the USF career receiving charts moving into fourth in career receiving yards (1,675) and sixth in career receptions (112).

Temple’s Edward Saydee ran for 265 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback E.J. Warner passed for 344 yards and two touchdowns as the Owls scored on all 10 of their drives on the day. The Bulls’ offense produced a season-best 471 yards with sophomore Katravis Marsh making his fourth career start, but also turned the ball over three times.

USF trailed 16-14 at the half after taking an early 7-0 lead, watching Temple score 16-straight points and then closing the half on a lightning fast, 25-second touchdown drive to cut the deficit to two. The second half opened with three long touchdown runs and a combined 21 points scored from both teams in the first four minutes, but Temple pulled away, outscoring USF 38-14 in the last 30 minutes.

Temple quickly extended its halftime lead when Saydee went 75 yards on the Owls’ first play of the second half to make it 23-14.

USF responded quickly on its third play of the second half, when Jimmy Horn sprinted 55 yards on a handoff for a touchdown that pulled the Bulls back within two, 23-21. It marked Horn’s first career rushing touchdown and a career-long run.

Temple came right back as Saydee broke a tackle in the backfield and raced 40-yards for a touchdown that capped a 75-yard drive and put the Owls up 30-21 with 11:08 to play in the third quarter.

USF went back to work on offense, picking up a big 4th-and-three from the UT43 when Michel Dukes gained seven yards. The Bulls faced another 4th down at the UT32, but Marsh’s pass sailed high and Temple took over on downs.

The Owls drove 52 yards to the USF17 to tack on another field goal to make it 33-21.

Marsh hit Weaver for a big 63-yard gain on the Bulls’ first play of the next possession and USF was at the UT7. Marsh finished the drive with a two-yard toss to Holden Willis in the back of the endzone to cut the lead to 33-28.

Temple came back again behind Saydee, this time the 5-11, 215-pound running back caught a short screen pass and raced 61 yards to the USF24. Two plays later Warner hit Jose Barbon on a 21-yard fade for a touchdown that made it 40-28 with 14:22 to play.

On the Bulls next possession, they drove to the 49 before Marsh fumbled a handoff exchange and Temple recovered. Six plays later the Owls made it 47-28 when Warner hit Adonicas Sanders for an acrobatic touchdown grab in the back of the endzone. The Owls tacked on another touchdown on a late 27-yard run from Saydee.

USF started strong as the Bulls received the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for the opening score when Marsh hit Weaver on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Marsh converted a big third-and-long around midfield when he hit Weaver on a beautiful 26-yard fade, and the Bulls also collected a big fourth down conversion from the Temple 20 when the Owls were flagged for pass interference. The opening drive consumed 8:30 on the clock and took 15 plays, marking the longest drive by time and plays for the Bulls on the year.

Temple responded with a stiffened defense and 16-straight points. The Owls began with a 62-yard drive that reached the USF9, but was stalled by a couple of false start penalties and saw Temple settle for a 32-yard field goal to cut the Bulls lead to 7-3.

USF drove into Temple territory again, but stalled and Spencer Shrader’s 42-yard field goal attempt went wide right as the first quarter expired.

Temple drove to the USF6, but was stalled by a high snap over quarterback Warner’s head and had to settle for a 34-yard field goal to make the score 7-6.

USF started its next drive on its own 8 after an illegal block on the return. Battie darted 18 yards on the first play and 13 on the second and the Bulls were moving. But, on third and long at midfield, Marsh was intercepted by Alex Odom at the UT44.

The Owls offense struggled to move, but benefited by a Bulls offsides penalty on 3rd-and-five at the 49 and continued the drive to the USF14 where USF stiffened again and forced a 32-yard field goal that gave Temple a 9-7 lead with 4:07 to play in the half.

Temple forced a quick USF three and out and a punt, and then drove 67 yards for a touchdown when Darvon Hubbard went over the guard for 4 yards to give the Owls a 16-7 lead.

Battie sparked the Bulls with a big 48-yard return on the kickoff. Marsh ran for nine yards, then hit Sean Atkins for a 19-yard gain and Yusuf Terry for nine and the Bulls were quickly at the UT11. Marsh capped the 25-second drive with an 11-yard strike to Weaver in the endzone to make it 16-14 Temple at the half.

KEY STATS

• USF’s 471 yards of offense marked a season-high and fifth game over 400 yards on the year.

• Temple’s 621 yards of offense marked a season high for the Owls and the most yards USF has given up since Houston posted 646 yards in 2021.

• Temple’s Edward Saydee ran for 265 yards on 24 carries (11 ypc), marking the most yards rushing for an opponent vs. USF since Temple’s Ryquell Armstead ran for 210 yards in 2016.

NOTABLE

• RB Brian Battie logged his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and the sixth of his career as he ran for 119 yards on 19 carries (6.8 ypc). He now has 718 yards and 6 rushing touchdowns on the season (80 ypg) with three games to play.

• WR Xavier Weaver posted his third 100-yard receiving game of the season and the fourth of his career posting 6 catches for a career-best 119 yards. Weaver increased his career receiving yards total to 1,675 yards, placing him 4th all-time on the USF receiving chart.

• LB Dwayne Boyles posted his fifth-straight double-digit tackle total to lead the Bulls in tackles for the fifth straight game. He had 10 tackles on the day and now has a career-best 86 on the year and is 15 tackles shy of a top 15 season at USF.

QUOTABLE

“It falls on one person, me. I’m in charge of everything. When it looks as bad as it does today, it’s on nobody’s shoulders but mine.”

Head Coach Jeff Scott

UP NEXT

USF returns home for just the second time in 63 days when the Bulls face SMU on Saturday in a noon kickoff at Raymond James Stadium. It is the Salute to Service game and will be televised on ESPNU.

Season tickets • Single-game tickets • Group tickets (10+): call 1-800-GoBulls

ABOUT USF FOOTBALLThe 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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