Cincinnati was
looking forward to this game since taking a 65-27 beating in Tampa last
November but South Florida got put its running game to work.
Quentin Flowers and Marlon Mack ran
for two touchdowns apiece and Mack became South Florida's career rushing leader
as the Bulls scored the final 28 points to beat Cincinnati 45-20 on Saturday
night.
Last season the Bearcats trailed the
Bulls 51-3 at halftime this time they trailed 24-20 but Bearcats' freshman Ross
Trail threw three interceptions before being replaced by Gunner Kiel after Johnny
Ward's pick-six as the Bulls ran away with this game too.
Trail threw for one touchdown and
ran for another.
We had been preparing for this ballgame since last year,”
Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville said. “Playing
at home, we played with a lot of grit in that first half.”
Mack finished 118 yards on 20
carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that moved him
past Andre Hall into first on South Florida's career rushing list. Mack, a
junior, has 2,755 yards rushing in 28 career games.
"That was a big hole,” Mack said. “I had to make a
move on the linebacker and I did it.. I just had to make him miss. "The
record feels great. I thank my O-Line for the last three years. It is a good
feeling. It is very nice to get our first conference win on the road."
The Bulls’ offense rushed for five touchdowns and 226
yards.
'Mack's run was pretty impressive,” Bulls’ coach Willie
Taggart said. “He pushed the L1 button like on the video game to make the move
on that linebacker. He deserves everything he gets. Quentin was sharp. Once his
baby girl was born, he returned to practice and was very sharp.”
There were six lead changes in the first half and South
Florida led 24-20
“"We did a a good job of
taking what we learned at halftime and took it to the field,” USF coach Willie
Taggart said.
Flowers completed 16 of 26 passes
for 196 yards and added 74 yards rushing.
"We just take what the defense gives us,” said Flowers, who had his
first child, daughter Amayah, on Monday.
“We can run the ball. We have guys that can
turn a six yard run into 60 like Marlon Mack did."
Mack's first touchdown, a 4-yard run, gave USF
(4-1, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) a 24-20 lead with 1:40 left in the
first half.
Flowers scored on a 19-yard run with
4:29 to play in the third quarter and, fewer than 3 minutes later, Ward
returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 38-20.
Tion Greene had 98 yards rushing and
a touchdown on 12 carries for Cincinnati (3-2, 0-1).
“Both sides, I thought we played the
ballgame pretty much how we wanted to play it,” Tuberville said. “We knew we
were gonna have a tough time with No. 9
(Flowers) running the ball, scrambling around
and running quarterback draws. We pretty much contained it for the first half,
more than most people have done. Second half, It was totally different defense.”
THE TAKEAWAY
South Florida - The Bulls came into
the game ranked 24th in the FBS with eight takeaways. They had four more
against the Bearcats: three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Cincinnati - Kiel, who threw 40
combined touchdown passes in 2014 and 2015, completed his first three passes
before finishing 3-of-11 passing for 47 yards. Sophomore Hayden Moore started
the first three games of the season, throwing for 785 yards with seven TDs and
three interceptions, before injuring his ankle in a 40-16 loss to Houston on
Sept. 15.
UP NEXT
South Florida - The Bulls host East
Carolina in its second conference game October 8 at noon. USF edged East
Carolina 22-17 in 2015.
Cincinnati - The Bearcats travel to
Connecticut on October 8 for an 11:30 am game. Cincinnati was a 37-13 winner in
their last meeting.
