The USF Bulls were looking for their first conference win since 2019. Head coach Jeff Scott has been unable to win a game within the American Conference. Last week, the Bulls came as close to winning in a while. Going into the final quarter USF had an 11-point lead over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. The Bulls let their foot off the gas pedal and took a loss. The crowd was very sparse for last night’s game. Many fans are tired of losing and want to see a winning product on the field which we have not had since 2018. The Bulls are awfully close to getting back on the winning track. Hopefully, the alumni will allow Jeff Scott to stay and develop the program. The winning must come now for that to occur. Games like last week when the Bulls lost late in the game will not allow that to happen.
The USF Bulls came out aggressively running the ball. They controlled the first quarter. Their first drive ended on a botched snap on a field goal. The Temple Owls returned the ball near the endzone. The Bulls stood tall and three short plays later got an interception in the endzone. The ensuing drive lasted 19 plays for 80 yards and the Bulls capitalized. It came to a head as Jaren Mangham had a one-yard touchdown run to give the Bulls a 7-0 lead. The USF defense kept Temple off balance. For the first time in his career, Timmy McClain threw for 100 yards in a game. He also threw a touchdown pass to Demarcus Gregory who got his first touchdown catch as a USF Bull. Before the quarter ended the Temple Owls got on the scoreboard hitting a 70-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7. The USF Bulls would go into the half up 17-7.
The second half began quickly as the Temple Owls used a spread offense and drove down and cut into the lead again to make it 17-14. The Bulls made a change at quarterback as Timmy McClain was limping, so Katravis Marsh took over. USF got the momentum back on a 53-yard field goal to extend the led to 20-14. It did not take the Bulls long to extend the lead some more on a touchdown run by Kelley Joiner Jr. USF led 27-14 at the close of the third quarter. Shortly after the final quarter started Mangham got his second touchdown of the game to make it 34-14. On the following Temple possession, the Bulls’ defense got an interception setting up the offense. The drive stalled which ended a streak of six consecutive scoring drives.
Finally, the win that USF Bulls fans had been waiting for. Both USF running backs Jared Mangham and Kelley Joiner Jr. ran for over 100 yards. This game was dominated by the Bulls, but the scoreboard did not show that. The Bulls set a program record with 421 yards on the ground. It was great to see the weight off the shoulders of the players and coaches. At the post-game press conference, the Temple coach said he threw everything he could at the Bulls. No matter what, USF had the upper hand. Head coach Jeff Scott and the four players were all smiling. He said this team was ready to go work right after their loss. Hopefully, this is the building block win that will lead to more wins for the USF Bulls.
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