Pictured above: Bulls running back Brian Battie had a historic night against Houston with three total touchdowns, including two 100-yard kickoff returns.
Courtesy of Sofía García Vargas | The Crow’s Nest
By Max Steele
USF put up a thrilling fight in its Homecoming game against No. 20 University of Houston, but ultimately fell short 54-42 at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 6.
The Houston Cougars rank first in the American Athletic Conference as they improve to 8-1, whereas the Bulls fall to 2-7 and are eliminated from bowl game eligibility for the third year in a row, meaning the team will not play in a prized postseason game.
The Bulls exploded out of the gates with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown from running back Brian Battie, putting USF on the scoreboard just 13 seconds into the game.
Battie found the endzone again with a 29-yard rushing touchdown, putting USF on top at the end of the first quarter 14-9.
USF quarterback Timmy McClain found tight end Mitchell Brinkman for a 33-yard touchdown and the Bulls took a commanding 21-12 lead in the second quarter.
The Cougars quickly responded with two touchdowns of their own.
Houston quarterback Clayton Tune and his offense had no problem marching down the field against a susceptible USF defense, putting the Cougars up 26-21.
With the first half coming to an end, Battie did the unthinkable and returned his second 100-yard kickoff touchdown of the game, giving USF a 28-26 lead before halftime and roaring the nearly 29,000 in attendance back to life.
With the jaw-dropping play, Battie tied an NCAA record and joined Utah’s Reggie Dunn as the only two players in college football history to return two 100-yard kickoff touchdowns in the same game.
The teams continued to trade blows in the second half.
The Cougars piled on another pair touchdowns, including a 97-yard rush from Ta’Zhawn Henry, to put Houston up 40-28.
The Bulls responded with a 14-yard touchdown catch from Chris Carter and shortened the gap to 40-35.
Houston landed a 27-yard touchdown catch from Jeremy Singleton and USF answered with an 11-yard touchdown rush from quarterback McClain, putting the Bulls back within reach at 47-42.
Houston sealed the game late in the fourth quarter with a 16-yard rushing touchdown from running back Alton McCaskill and defeated the Bulls with a final score of 54-42.
Despite an incredible game from USF’s offense, but it was ultimately a poor defensive performance that cost them the game.
USF’s defense allowed Houston 646 yards of total offense on an average of 10 yards per play.
“We didn’t give up, we just ran out of gas,” USF Head Coach Jeff Scott said when asked why his defense allowed so many points. Scott said the team lacks depth this late in the season due to injuries.
USF will face off against No. 2 Cincinnati in their next game of the season on Nov. 12 at Raymond James Stadium. The team will finish the regular season on the road as they travel to Louisiana to face Tulane University on Nov. 20 followed by the University of Central Florida on Nov. 26.
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Max Steele is a junior digital communication and multimedia journalism major at USF St. Petersburg.
