It was a crazy finish to a game that USF never trailed in until the final score. Houston was up against a wall with a 4th and 24 to go on their own 37 yard line, down three points to the Bulls, 24-21. In a miracle catch by Courtney Lark for 30 yards in a sea of green uniforms, the Cougars dug themselves out and gave themselves a short field for a relatively easy go-ahead score to seal the victory.
Neither team scored in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Houston came up against a 4th and 1 on their own 40 yard line and opted to attempt to convert. The conversion failed and USF took over on downs on the Houston 37. A nine yard run by USF quarterback, Quinton Flowers, set up a 4th and 1 for the Bulls on the Houston 28. Running back, Darius Tice took the handoff from Flowers 18 yards to the ten yard line. Three more carries by Tice set up a second 4th down, which he converted with a touchdown run from two yards out. That score gave USF a 7-0 lead with 9:34 remaining in the first half.
After the halftime break, Houston scored on their first drive of the period. It was a 39 yard pass from quarterback, D’Eriq King, to Lark that put the first Cougar points on the board. That play was set up by a 15 yard run by Duke Catalon, a ten yard run by Mulbah Car, and a nine yard run by King. With 13:02 on the game clock in the third quarter, the game was tied at seven.
The Bulls answered on their very next possession. They began their drive on their own 25 yard line and got a big 18 yard run by Tice on third and short to get them to midfield. On the next play, Flowers connected with Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 13 yard pass to setup first down on the Houston 30 yard line. The team grinded ahead in short spurts, punctuated by a 3 yard touchdown run by Flowers to put the Bulls back up, 14-7.
The Cougars response was delayed, but arrived two possessions later. Beginning on the Houston 26, car ran consecutively for 8, 16, 46, and 4 yards to find the end zone and tie the game again. With just over three minutes left in the third quarter, they were tied at 14.
Into the fourth quarter, the teams continued their field position battle. On USF’s second possession of the quarter, Flowers scored on a one yard touchdown run. Three plays earlier, Flowers had completed a pass to Tyre McCants for 17 yards. He followed that up with a 38 yard pass to Valdes-Scantling to the Houston two yard line, setting up the easy score.
Houston wasted no time evening up the score, once again. King would run this one in himself, a 3 yard touchdown run. That run was really the finishing touch on a 44 yard rush he had three plays earlier. With 6:20 left in the game, the score was once again tied, 21 all.
The Bulls had no trouble moving the ball on their next possession, beginning on their own 23 and driving to the Houston 13. Then, they made a puzzling decision to setup to kick a field goal with 1:46 left on the clock. Emilio Nadelman nailed the chip shot 30 yarder to go up 24-21, but that left a lot of time for Houston to score again.
Score again, they would, on a 20 yard run by King, whom the Bulls could not stop all night. USF did have their chances, though, with the 4th and 24 situation noted above, but when the chips were down, King had the winning hand.
For the winners, King had a career day, rushing for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns and passing for 137 more and another score. Car also had a great day running the ball, scoring a touchdown and racking up 141 yards rushing. Lark had just two catches on the day, but both were huge for his team.
Flowers had a decent game passing the ball, accumulating 325 yards passing. Running the ball, a strength for him, was not so today. He rushed for a net of seven total yards, with two touchdowns. His average is over 80 yards per game for the season. Tice led the team with 104 yards rushing and Johnson had the only other rushing touchdown.
“This was a tough one, and I just like the way our guys battled”, said USF head coach, Charlie Strong. “On that last play, the 4th and 24, just go up and knock it down and the game is over. I told our team our goals are still in front of us. We just need to go win those next three conference games and we’ll get to where we need to get to.”
Strong may be downplaying the significance of this loss. “Just” winning those conference games, includes beating a Tulsa team that beat Houston and #18 UCF, who looks every bit as good as their ranking.
Houston improves to 5-3 (3-2) and will host ECU on 11/4 for a noon tilt. Their shot at a conference title is a long one, but they’re already playing the job of spoiler. A win over ECU will get them bowl eligible.
The Bulls lose their first game of the season, dropping to 7-1 (4-1) on the season to a team many considered to be their first test. The loss also ends the nation leading game winning streak of 12 straight wins and the record the team had set of 24 straight games scoring 30 points or more. Their season isn’t over and they still have a say in who wins the conference championship, but their brand is tarnished and their critics have been proven right. They’ll likely drop big in the national rankings as a result. They’ll have to get it together quickly as they hit the road for chilly Connecticut on 11/4.