Few expected the University of South Florida Bulls to upset the #2 ranked University of Cincinnati Bearcats, who were 23 point favorites in the game. The Bulls fought hard, though, despite starting the second half being down by 24 points. Ultimately, the Bearcats were victorious, 45-28.

IT WAS OVER WHEN

Early in the third quarter, Cincinnati scored on their first drive to go up 31-7. But, back-to-back scoring drives by the Bulls got them to within ten points. Cincinnati scored again in the fourth to extend their lead, but with over six minutes in the game, Timmy McClain scored on a two yard run to get the Bulls back within ten, 38-28, with plenty of time in the game. The USF defense forced the Bearcats to punt from the 50 yard line, giving the Bulls’ offense the ball on their seven yard line. The offense was moving the ball well, before McClain’s pass was intercepted and returned to the Cincinnati 45 yard line. The Bearcats scored on the very next play, a 55 yard touchdown run by Ryan Montgomery to put Cincinnati up 45-28.

THE STAR OF THE GAME

Cincinnati quarterback, Desmond Ridder, passed for 304 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. No other player did more for either team. He also ran for 65 yards and a rushing touchdown.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

260-39. The Cincinnati offense finished with 504 total yards to USF’s 346, but they out-produced the Bulls offense by a staggering 260-39 in the first half. To put this into perspective, Cincinnati produced about half of their total offense in the first half. If USF was so balanced, they’d have finished with over 600 yards of offense.

WHAT A PLAY

After starting the second half with a 31-7 deficit, the Bulls answered with two successful scoring drives, forcing the Bearcats to punt in between. The second of those scoring drives was an 80 yard catch and run by Jimmy Horn Jr., to get the Bulls back within ten points, 31-21. Horn was untouched and no defender could keep up with his blazing speed. It was the biggest play from scrimmage this year for the Bulls and a career high for Horn.

THE BOTTOM LINE

USF is clearly in rebuilding mode and they are hosting the #2 football team in the nation. And, there are few teams in the country who would have done better than they did in defeat. The Bulls scored more points than any other Cincinnati opponent this season, and the Bearcats boast a top 3 in the nation scoring defense. Losing is losing, but this team does look like they are getting better on a weekly basis, especially when considering the opened the season with a 45-0 loss to then unranked NC State, and while allowing 45 to #2 Cincinnati, they were very competitive throughout, including being within ten points late in the fourth quarter.