It has been a long time coming, but the University of South Florida Bulls have a win over an FBS opponent for the first time in two years. The 34-14 win over Temple adds credence to the idea that the Bulls have been improving on a week-to-week basis, this season. Last week’s Friday Five listed the keys to victory and today’s Monday Morning Quarterback will see how they did.

1. Run the ball. This sounds almost silly now, after USF’s stable of backs set a new program record of 421 rushing yards in the game. If more context is needed on how important this one key was for the win, Temple ran for just 34 yards. Grade: A+

2. Spread the ball around. The reality is that, with the success of key 1, they didn’t really need to throw the ball at all. They did spread it around, with six receivers making catches, but the total yardage of 105 receiving yards likely didn’t have a huge impact in the win. Still, the mindset was in the right place. Grade: B

3. Stop the run. The Owls had just 34 yards rushing, in the entire game. They have 3-4 big, strong running backs that could have spelled doom for the USF defense. Instead, they were a complete non-factor in the game. If key #1 alone wasn’t enough for the win, 1 + 3 surely equals victory. Grade: A+

4. Find the interception. Without the ability to run the ball, Temple was forced to throw. And, throw he did, resulting in two interceptions for the Bulls. The first pick resulted in a touchdown drive and the second one allowed USF to burn almost four minutes of game clock near the end of the fourth quarter. Additionally, either one of those Temple drives might have resulted in points had they not been shut down by the USF defense. Grade: A

5. Keep the pedal down. The Bulls scored in every quarter but the first. Half of their points came in the second half. That doesn’t sound like they let off the pedal at all. Grade: A