The USF Bulls outlast the South Carolina Gamecocks to win in overtime, 46-39, relying heavily on the wheels of junior quarterback, Quinton Flowers.

After beginning the game going three and out, the Bulls came out strong, scoring on three of their first five possession. It might be better stated that USF quarterback, Flowers came out strong. Flowers scored three touchdowns on the Bulls’ first five possessions. He scored on a four yard draw play with 12:51 remaining in the first, another four yard scramble with 8:35 remaining, and a one yard run with 14:02 left in the second quarter. Aside from the opening possession, the only drive the Bulls didn’t score on ended with a fumble by tight end, Mitchell Wilcox, on the South Carolina 32 yard line.

The Gamecocks would turn that turnover into their first points of the game when quarterback, Jake Bentley, found tight end, Hayden Hurst, on a crossing route over the middle. Hurst made a one-handed catch for a 25 yard touchdown reception.

After Flowers’ third touchdown put the Bulls up, 22-7, South Carolina was able to score again. Beginning on the South Carolina 27 yard line, Bentley put together and impressive series of passes, beginning with a ten yard completion to Hurst on first down. The next snap yielded a 17 yard reception at the hands of Deebo Samuel, setting up first and ten on the USF 46 yard line. Two plays later, a facemask penalty by Nigel Harris piled another 15 yards into the drive. Bentley would lose ten yards on a sack by Jaymon Thomas, but would quickly regain the loss with a 17 yard pass to Hurst, setting up first down USF three. Four plays later, Samuel covered the final three yards to close the USF lead to 22-14.

On the next series, the Bulls would build on their lead, scoring on a 37 yard pass to D’Ernest Johnson with just seven seconds remaining in the first half. They would take a 29-14 lead into the halftime break.

Each team would score on their next possessions in the game. Samuel carried the ball four yards to narrow the USF lead to 29-21. The Bulls had their next drive stall on the South Carolina 4 yard line, opting to take the field goal and push their lead to 32-21 with 8:07 remaining in the third period of play.

USF would extend that lead to 39-21 later in the quarter when Tajee Fullwood took a Bentley pass for a pick six with 7:06 to go in the third quarter. On the following South Carolina possession, they would again turn the ball over. This time it was a fumble by Rico Dowdie that gave the Bulls the ball. They would not convert that turnover into points, however, as they were forced to punt.

Punting into the wind, Jon Hernandez’ punt fell short to the USF 41. Chris Lammons returned the punt 14 yards to the USF 27. The Gamecocks were not able to convert a first down, but being already within field goal range, they settled for three and closed the third quarter with a 39-24 score favoring USF.

The Bulls had played with a comfortable lead throughout much of the game. But, South Carolina would not quit. They attempted an onside kick following their field goal, but the Bulls recovered on their own 47 yard line. Flowers continued to move his offense at will, driving down to the South Carolina 42. On first down, Flowers’ pass was intercepted by Bryson Allen-Williams on the Gamecocks’ 23 yard line.

They made quick work on their next drive, with the winds of momentum at their back. With First and 14 on their own 30, Bentley completed a 31 yard pass to Bryan Edwards. On second down with 12 to go, Bentley connected with Samuel for a 24 yard completion. Three plays later, it was a 9 yard pass to Edwards for the score. With 9:41 left in the game, the score was 39-31.

South Carolina continued to ride the wave of momentum, forcing USF to punt on their next drive. The Bulls could not stop the Gamecock offense on the following series, allowing a 24 yard run to A.J. Turner, and 23 and 13 yard passes to Samuel. With first and goal on the USF 8 yard line, Turner carries for seven yards, stopping just shy of the goal line. In doing so, he dropped the football, which the Bulls recovered.

In spite of their errors ,the Gamecocks were still playing confidently with momentum. They forced the Bulls to a three-and-out on the next drive. It was another bad USF punt into the win with a huge return of 39 yards by Lammons. The return set South Carolina up on the two yard line. Three plays later, Turner had a one yard touchdown. Hurst caught a Bentley pass for the two point conversion, tying the game which USF had led every minute of, to that point. USF would get another chance to score in regulation, but they would fail to convert a first down, forcing the 39 point tie game into overtime.

The Gamecocks won the toss and elected to defend first in overtime. It took just one play for USF to score in overtime. Flowers found tight end, Elkanah Dillon in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. They kicked the extra point successfully to go up 46-39.

In all, South Carolina had seven chances to score, thanks to an inopportune facemask penalty on Nigel Harris, but the USF defense held.

Flowers’ five touchdowns set Birmingham Bowl records for most touchdowns and most points by a player in its history, making him an easy choice for game MVP, which he won. He finished with 261 passing yards and two touchdowns as well as 105 rushing yards and three more touchdowns. The only touchdown scored by the team that Flowers doesn’t get some credit for was Fullwood’s pick six.

For the Gamecocks, Bentley had a decent game, passing for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Those interceptions, combined with three lost fumbles, easily affected the outcome of the game. Two of those fumbles came within the USF red zone, near the goal line.

The Gamecocks finish head coach Will Muschamps first season with a disappointing 6-7 record. They will return much of their team, next season, and are optimistic for the future.

The Bulls’ 11 wins is the best season in USF program history. They’ll look forward to next season with a new coach of their own, incoming head coach, Charlie Strong. The focus for the staff will now shift from football to recruiting, with national signing day approaching in early February.

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