USF/FAU Recap by Wes the Phenom

The Bulls jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead after one quarter at home against Florida Atlantic this weekend. With how the defense is playing this was more than enough and this game was already over. The run defense of the Bulls once again completely shut down their opponent’s biggest playmaker. Alfred Morris, the Owls’ starting running back, had a big year last season with 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, Saturday night u wouldn’t be able to tell that this guy could be up those kinds of numbers. On 12 carries Morris had an anemic 22 yards and no scores. The Bulls’ defense also gave up nothing threw the air. FAU had only 136 yards passing with no touchdowns and one pick. The pressure of the defense just never gave Jeff Van Camp time to get settled down and comfortable in the pocket. This is pretty apparent when you look at the sacks that the Bulls continued to rack up throughout the game; the 7 sacks that USF had this weekend tied a school record.

The offense didn’t have to do too much with the defense giving up a meager three points, but it did its job as well. Although the offense was aided by a blocked punt and a couple interceptions, you can never complain about putting up 31 points. B.J. had a much needed efficient game, going 14-19 for 155 yards and one touchdown. The 73.7% completion percentage was his highest of the season. Let us not forget the most important stat of the night – NO INTERCEPTIONS!!! Daniels had 5 interceptions in the previous two games so this was a beautiful sight to see. The running game of the Bulls has been the rock for their offense, and without leading rusher Demetris Murray this still continued. Mo Plancher had a solid 93 yards on 20 carries and added in two scores. Daniels also added in 27 yards as the offensive line continues to dominate up front and open holes that I could probably run through. Yes, I want to give the offensive line some love! The big fellas up front are looking like the best group in the conference right now.

This USF football team needed to take advantage of this final tune up before conference play as a game to get everyone firing on all cylinders. I think that it would be safe to say that this seemed to be happening in all three facets of the game. I haven’t touched on the special teams and the kicking game but those guys got it done as well. Lindsey Lamar used his blazing speed for a nice 36 yard return and the punt return unit came up with a huge block to bust the game open early. Maikon Bonani got the start at kicker this week with Schwartz struggling mightily thus far. Bonani looked solid, going 2-2 on extra points and nailing his only field goal attempt from 46 yards out, splitting the uprights down the middle and hitting half-way up the net.

When looking at this game, it’s hard to not be pleased with just about everything. The defense got it done. The offense got it done. The special teams got it done. USF fans have to be happy with how their Bulls looked this week after a couple concerning games against Florida and Western Kentucky. USF is now 3-1 and has some good momentum with two straight wins heading into Big East play. This performance is exactly “what the doctor ordered” to cure the problems that this team had. It is now time for USF to start its pursuit of the school’s first Big East title, which has painfully eluded them the past few years.