Houston Cougars dominate USF Bulls, 56-21
The University of Houston Cougars dominated the University of South Florida Bulls on Saturday evening, 56-21. The Bulls mounted a late game comeback, only to have it quickly snuffed out by the quick scoring Cougars.
Houston set the tone of what to expect early in the game. Cougars’ quarterback, Clayton Tune, completed a 28 yard touchdown to Bryson Smith on their first drive in the game, and then ran for a 26 yard touchdown on their third drive of the game. The first quarter would end with a 14-0 Houston lead, but also served as a sign of things to come as Tune’s ability to run or pass kept the Bulls of balance.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same. Tune rushed for a 13 yard touchdown with just over ten minutes to go in the half and completed a pass to Keith Corbin for a 33 yard touchdown three minutes later. Houston took a 28-0 lead into halftime.
The third quarter scoring began with a USF punt being returned for a touchdown on the first series of the half. Marcus Jones returned the kick 72 yards to extend the Houston lead to 35-0, just over a minute into the third quarter.
Katravis Marsh had come into the game in relief of Jordan McCloud. In Marsh’s third drive of the half, he fumbled during a sack on the Houston seven yard line. It was a rare Bulls’ entry into the Houston red zone, and it ended with that fumble being returned for a touchdown by Houston’s Derek Parish. Parish was credited for an 85 yard return on the fumble recovery. With 6:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Cougars held a 42-0 lead.
McCloud returned to the game late in the third quarter to relieve Marsh, who was injured during the sack play. McCloud completed a pass to Lattrell Williams for a 25 yard gain on the first play of the drive. Three plays later, he finds DeVontres Dukes for a 17 yard gain. On the very next play, it is Xavier Weaver for a 26 yard reception. A two yard drive by Leonard Park capped off the first successful scoring drive of the game for the Bulls, who trailed 42-7 at the end of the third quarter.
After the Bulls’ defense forced Houston into a rare punt, McCloud and company continued to build momentum, scoring on their next possession. It was a two yard pass to Dollison that got the Bulls in the end zone, but a series of big plays contributed to that scoring play. Terrence Horne started the drive with a ten yard catch. He was followed by Chris Carter for a 12 yard gain. Brian Battie would have a 16 yard carry to get the Bulls into Houston territory. McCloud had an 18 yard gain on quarterback run and a 12 yard pass to Sean Atkins put USF into the red zone. With just under 12 minutes to go in the game, USF had cut the Houston advantage to 42-14.
The subsequent drive by the Cougar’s offense ended on the third play when Bentlee Sanders picked off a Tune pass and returned it 38 yards for a Bulls’ touchdown. Suddenly, the Bulls had momentum. Their chances entering the fourth quarter looked bleak, but they had cut the Houston lead in half, 42-21, with over ten minutes remaining in the game.
Houston quickly regrouped, scoring on their next drive, a six yard pass to Christian Trahan. Runs of 30 and 24 yards by Kelan Walker and Chandler Smith, respectively, helped get the Cougars in scoring position. In addition to extending their lead to 49-21, the Cougars burned up about five minutes of game clock, giving USF the ball with just over five minutes in regulation.
The time would become less of an issue after the kickoff and what followed. Bubba Baxa booted the ball 65 yards into the end zone for a would-be touchback. Instead, Dollison attempted to return the kickoff, and managed to get out to the USF 19 before being hit and fumbling the return. That fumble was recovered by Shaun Lewis, who turned it into a 19 yard touchdown. The Houston lead at this point was 56-21, ending any hopes of a comeback.
USF head coach, Jeff Scott, met with the media via Zoom call after the game.
“Obviously, disappointing loss,” said Scott. “The first half, really got away from us really quickly. Got to congratulate Houston. They coached well and played better.”
Scott talked about the comeback attempt late in the game.
“Really disappointing day. Only bright spot was coming out after halftime in a very tough situation, I felt like our guys really fought back. I think we scored three touchdowns in a row. I thought we could hold them, get to a two score game. Maybe on-side kick after that. And, just gave up a couple plays and they put it away.”
Scott was asked about the impact of players being out in this game, which brought the team within one player of not being able to play, by rule.
“That’s not a reason for the way the game went today,” said Scott. “We had enough to go out and play. Disappointed with how we played, but also proud. We had about eight guys on defense who played just about every snap. So even though I’m not proud of our execution, I’m proud that those guys didn’t quit in the second half.”
The Bulls didn’t convert on third down until the third quarter of the game. Scott was asked about this in the post-game presser.
“They did a good job bringing pressure. I just didn’t feel like we did a great job protecting up front and we had a couple of opportunities and just missed some throws. That’s what it takes on third down. You’ve got to have the protection and you’ve got to make the throw and catch and we were just not consistent enough in the first half at that.”
The Cougars sacked the Bulls quarterbacks at total of four times and recorded seven quarterback hurries. For the sake of comparison, USF’s defense recorded zero sacks and just three hurries.
McCloud finished the game with 180 yards passing. Marsh, before his injury, accumulated just 43 yards on 17 attempts. Brian Battie ran for 86 yards to lead the rushing game for the Bulls. Nine receivers caught passes in the game, led by Bryce Miller with five catches for 53 yards.
On the other sideline, Clayton Tune finished with 165 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in addition to 120 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Tune was the leading rusher for the Cougars, followed by running back, Chandler Smith, with 75 yards.
The Cougars move to 3-3 with the win and now lead the all-time series with USF, 5-2. They will visit #19 SMU in one week for a noon kickoff.
The Bulls begin a two-game, season-ending home stand with Navy on Saturday. Kickoff for that time is 8 PM, with broadcast available on ESPNU.