A heart-stopping late game comeback pulled the Bulls just ahead of the Nevada Wolf Pack and put the team 2-0 in the Big East rankings.
Andre Davis caught the game winning 56-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left. He added another 51-yard touchdown and set a school record with 191 receiving yards in the Bulls’ 32-31 win over the Wolf Pack. BJ Daniels threw for 363 yards and had three touchdown tosses over 50 yards in the miraculous win.
The Bulls found themselves down 31-20 with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter when Daniels lead them on drives of 80 and 92 yards respectively and capped them off with two of his 50-plus yard touchdowns. The first was to Chris Dunkley, the first of his career. Davis’ score gave the Bulls their first lead of the game and completed a comeback that appeared nearly impossible earlier in the contest.
Nevada had scored on their first three possessions and took a 21-6 lead into the second quarter. South Florida looked beaten before they had even got going. The high altitude of Reno, Nev., which was supposed to take its toll late in the game, seemed to get the best of the Bulls early.
The Wolf Pack offense dominated the Bulls early on. Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo efficiently moved his team down the field for the three scores. USF was back on its heels not knowing what to expect from the sophomore, who could easily run for a first down or find an open receiver.
The ball struggles the Bulls faced last week continued against the Wolf Pack. Against Chattanooga, USF averaged only 2.2 yards per carry and their rushing numbers early on were similar. Daniels also continued to struggle with his accuracy, missing high on receivers often in this game.
At the start of the second quarter the Bulls defense started to turn the tide. They found success when their interior defensive lineman prevented Nevada from rushing for large gains on first down, making the Wolf Pack offense more one-dimensional. After falling behind 21-6 the USF defense only allowed 10 points the rest of the game.
The USF defense also forced three fumbles, including one by Sam Barrington on their own one-yard line—a huge moment in this game that swung the momentum completely over to the Bulls defense.
USF’s ground game also found success, finishing with 209 yards and an average of six yards per carry. Lindsey Lamar led the Bulls with 85 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Demetris Martin was second with 60 yards and a touchdown.
Lamar was not supposed to be in the game, as he was expected to redshirt and sit out the rest of the season as he converts from wide receiver back to running back. An injury to backup Marcus Shaw necessitated Lamar play against Nevada.
Even after the Bulls pulled ahead with 38 seconds remaining there was a great deal of drama. The defense was tired and Nevada was finally able to run the ball for big junks. Two 15-yard penalties put the Wolf Pack on the fringe of field goal territory. The Bulls could not safely call this a win until Tevin Nims sacked Fajardo forcing the third fumble of the game.
Special teams for USF took a small step backward from last week. Terrance Mitchell fumbled a punt in the fourth quarter, which lead to a field goal for Nevada. Kicker Maikon Bonani, fresh off his record breaking game last week, missed his first extra point attempt of the game after going perfect all of last season.
USF also struggled to stay disciplined, taking a whopping 13 penalties for 107 yards. The Wolf Pack also tripped up numerous times by taking nine penalties for 84 yards. Many penalties on both teams allowed their opponent a fresh set of downs on third down.
With a short week this week the Bulls will not have a lot of time to fix their problems before they open Big East play on Thursday against Rutgers. But they showed a quality favorable to all else: resiliency.
In their quest for a Big East title, the Bulls will need to be good and lucky, and sometimes will just need to will themselves to win. Showing what they did on Saturday, USF cannot be counted out of any game this season, and that should scare a lot of teams.
