Facing off against the Connecticut Huskies for their fourth straight home game, the USF Bulls showed a new energy.
The Bulls players were amped up from the moment they took the field. Players sang the songs played on the PA system, jumping up and down and encouraging each other before the game even started.
Both teams were 1-2 entering their first conference game, but the Bulls showed their dominance early and held their lead until the end. The Bulls defeated the Huskies 17-14 and seemed to fix the mistakes from last week’s game.
For the third time this season, the Bulls defense opened the game forcing a turnover against their opponent. The Bulls defense allowed 132 yards and 1 offensive touchdown, a season best.
With the win, the Bulls tied their win total from last year (2), but players were not satisfied.
From the 49-17 beat down by North Carolina State last week, the Bulls knew they had problems and it started with the offensive line.
Offensive lineman Thor Jozwiak played after being sidelined the previous two weeks for a shoulder injury. Jozwiak brought leadership back to the Bulls offense, something that has been missing the last couple of games.
“We want to establish a grinding mentality. No matter what the down was, we were gonna hit you,” Jozwiak said. “And in practice we did that all week.”
Head coach Willie Taggart was pleased with the improvement from the O-line as well.
“They played well,” Coach Taggart said. “They stepped up. And it was good to have Thor back and his leadership and it was good to see. All week those guys were excited and motivated and locked in to do a good job.”
The offensive line allowed quarterback Mike White to have his best game of the season. White went 4-for-5 passing in the first quarter for 70 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown to Rodney Adams on a 4th-down play.
“I was back there (in the pocket) eating my lunch. I could’ve waited on him, I could’ve went to the other sideline, and could’ve thrown it to him,” White said. “My big boys, man, up front they made me so proud”.
And with the passing game opening up, Taggart had the chance to get back to what he loves most, running the ball.
The Bulls ran the ball 53 times in the game and passed the ball 18 times. Freshman sensation Marlon Mack had his first 100-yard rushing game since the season opener where he collected 275 yards.
“I think overall its not just the protection, its the run game,” White said. “I mean, UCONN knew with a runner like that, they know we gotta run the ball and we were still able to move the ball down the field, basically, whenever we wanted to.”
The special teams helped the defense perform to the level they did. Punter Mattias Ciabatti kicked the ball away six times for 248 yards and five of his six punts fell inside the 20-yard line, backing the Huskies up against their own end zone.
“The kid (Ciabatti) was unbelievable,” Taggart said. “I think tonight Ciabatti showed everyone what he was capable of doing.”
The Bulls received help from all angles of the ball. The team effort gives the Bulls momentum heading into their first road game of the season when they take the top-25 ranked Wisconsin Badgers Saturday.
