South Florida showed us what we have seen all season in the second half, as the Bulls fell to the Mustangs in a 41-23 final.
USF has not had very much luck in their last two home games. Not only did they lose Bohanon due to injury in their October contest versus Tulane, but they also lost Ka’Travis Marsh late in the fourth quarter with about five minutes to play, concurring in the play of Bryum Brown, who would pass for a touchdown in his short stint.
In the first game for coach Daniel Daprato, it was the most unfavorable situation for him and his Bulls.
Game Recap
This was a tale of two halves for the USF Bulls in Saturday’s game, similar to their last home game against Tulane.
Although the Marsh injury came late and the team was out of reach of grabbing only their second win on the year, the team played quite poorly in the second half, especially in the third quarter, where the team was only able to string together 75 yards.
Offensively, USF played quite well in the first half, with Marsh finding Xavier Weaver for a 32-yard touchdown, something the Bulls have not been able to execute all season.
The rushing attack was consistent all day for the offense, which is what has helped USF stay competitive, as Battie was able to put up 145 yards rushing, helping the team move the ball downfield.
Freshman Jason Albritton also showed flashes of another Ray Jay legend with the number 40, Mike Alstott, grabbing his first career collegiate touchdown.
While the offense kept the Bulls around, the defense gave the team few favorable chances to keep it close. The secondary allowed some big plays in the game, especially with the Mordecai and Kerley connection, with Mordecai finishing with 280 yards and two touchdowns, a far cry from last week’s showcase he had. In addition, Kerley recorded 157 yards and a long touchdown grab.
Defensively, USF played sloppy, with the team allowing many open looks defensively for SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, more so in the second half of play.
Dwayne Boyles has been the bright spot for South Florida’s defense, with the linebacker racking up nine tackles in what was a pretty quiet day for the Bulls defense, forcing no turnovers.
Final Thoughts
This loss to SMU was an emotional roller coaster, which is nothing new for this team.
Daniel Daprato stated in his post-game comments that “we need to be better in everything we do to be in a position to play winning football,” which is something the team has not excelled at this season.
The team hasn’t put together a full 60 minutes of complementary football this year, which is why the Bulls have so many losses.
The Bulls do not have much time left to try and have a miracle to turn things around, as they have two games remaining on the season.
USF will have a short week as they travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the struggling Golden Hurricanes on Friday night.