The #16 USF Bulls set an NCAA record & a school record with their 34-28 win over Tulane in New Orleans on Saturday night. The 34 points gives the Bulls 24 straight games with 30 points or more & their 7-0 record is the first time the school has started the year with seven straight wins.
Quarterback Quinton Flowers ended the game with 138 rushing yards one rushing touchdown & two passing touchdowns, while running back Darius Tice had a game high 141 rushing yards and a touchdown.
After the opening kickoff, Tulane was able to get two first downs but was unable to cross midfield & had to punt. And after that Green Wave punt, the Bulls handle their first possession differently than Tulane did. With a mixture of passes & runs by Flowers, the Bulls were able to put together a 10 play 85 yard scoring drive that ended with Flowers scoring on a 21 yard touchdown run.
Tulane tried to answer the Bulls opening drive & were driving until a holding penalty nullified a tying touchdown. That penalty plus a sack by Bulls defensive end Juwuan Brown forced Tulane to punt the ball back to USF, pinning the Bulls in their own territory.
The Bull were forced to punt from inside their own five but got a 61 yard punt from Jonathan Hernandez, giving the Green Wave the ball on their own 35. And Tulane, with two first downs, was able to move the ball back into USF territory before cornerback Devin Abraham picked off a Jonathan Banks pass, giving the Bulls the ball back inside their five.
After an exchange of punts, USF was able to add to its lead when Tice ran virtually untouched for a 45 yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked making the lead 13-0. But two plays from scrimmage after the Tice touchdown, Tulane was able to come up with a big play when Banks hit wide receiver Terren Encalade in stride for a 73 yard catch & run, shrinking the Bulls lead to 13-7.
Both teams had the ball before the end of the first half but with less than a minute left in the second quarter, the Bulls put up their second touchdown of the quarter when Flowers hit wide receiver Darnell Solomon for 38 yards. The half ended with the Bulls leading 20-7, with Tulane having the ball for over 21 minutes but being out-gained 225-182.
The Bulls received the kickoff after halftime & got a big 43 yard run from Tice on the first play from scrimmage. The play after another Tice carry, the Bulls inched closer to NCCA history, when Flowers hit wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 28 yard touchdown pass, making the lead 27-7.
Although the Bulls were up 27-7, their first trip inside the red zone in the game didn’t take place until just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter. But the red zone trip ended in the Bulls making history when running back D’Ernest Johnson scored on a two yard touchdown run, upping the lead to 34-7. And that point total gave USF 30 points or more in 24 straight games, breaking the record they shared with the University of Oregon.
Before the end of the third quarter, Tulane was able to cut into the Bulls lead when running back Sherman Badie broke free for a 36 yard touchdown run. And with just under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tulane added another touchdown when Banks got his second touchdown pass of the game when running back Dontrell Hilliard scored on a 24 yard touchdown catch, bringing the Green Wave within 13.
USF had a chance to add to the 13 point lead but kicker Emilio Nadelman had a 35 yard field goal attempt blocked, his second miss of the game. And after that blocked field goal, the Green Wave inched closer when Hilliard scored his second touchdown of the quarter, this one a 16 yard run. With the converted extra point, the Bulls lead was down to six. But after Tulane tried their third unsuccessful onside kick attempt, the Bulls took the ball & with one big run from Tice, were able to convert a first down. And because Tulane used all their timeouts, the Bulls were able to set up in the victory formation.
The Bulls go for win number eight on Saturday October 28th at 3:45pm when the University of Houston visits Raymond James Stadium.