The University of South Florida Bulls took a tough loss to Temple on Saturday, 39-37. The Bulls were in the driver's seat most of the game and had chances to win late, but Temple's comeback in the fourth quarter was more than USF could handle.

When the Bulls ended their first drive going three-and-out, it looked as if their offensive struggles were on course to continue. Then, Temple scored a touchdown on their first drive.

The Owls benefitted from great field position at the 50 yard line after the punt. A 13 yard pass from Anthony Russo to Jose Barbon, followed by a 10 yard pass to Jadan Blue and an 11 yard run by Re’Mahn Davis got Temple deep into USF territory. A five yard pass to Blue would give Temple a 7-0 lead.

On the subsequent possession, USF quarterback, Jordan McCloud, is sacked, fumbling the football on the Bulls’ 12 yard line. A superior performance by the USF defense limited the Owls to a 24 yard field goal, extending the Temple lead to 10-0.

Falling behind by ten this early in the game ignited the USF offense. The kickoff was returned by Leo Parker, 35 yards to the Temple 49, giving the Bulls a short field. Four straight run plays by Johnny Ford and Kelley Joiner got them to the Temple 21. Six plays later, McCloud connected with Randall St. Felix for a 13 yard touchdown. The Bulls were on the board, but trailing 10-7.

Early in the second quarter, USF struck again, taking the lead, 14-10 with a 28 yard pass to DeVontres Dukes. That touchdown was made possible by passes of 18 and 21 yards to Ford.

After allowing 14 unanswered points, Temple would respond. Back-to-back 13 yard catches by Randle Jones and 12 yard pass to Barbon got the Owls into scoring position. Four plays later, Russo connects with Blue for a 13 yard touchdown. With 5:16 to go in the half, Temple led 17-14.

The Bulls would go three-and-out on their next drive, punting the ball to the Temple 39. The Owls began with a ten yard run by Davis, but three plays later, Russo’s pass is intercepted by Mekhi LaPointe, 21 yards to the Temple 35.

USF’s offense took advantage of the short field. On second down, McCloud passed to Omarion Dollison for a 21 yard pickup. On the next play, Ford rushed for 12 yard gain, setting up a two yard touchdown run by quarterback, Noah Johnson. With 1:18 to go in the half, the Bulls held a 21-17 lead.

The Bulls’ kickoff was a long onside kick attempt, which they recovered on the Temple 29. Two plays later, McCloud would give it back with a fumble on the Temple 19. At halftime, USF led 21-17.

Temple began the second half with a 16 play drive, shaving nearly seven minutes off the clock, capped off with a 26 yard field goal. With 8:14 to go in the third quarter, USF’s lead was 21-20.

USF’s answer would be seven. Will Mobley kicked off 55 yards to the USF ten, where Ford fielded the kick and returned it 44 yards to the Temple 46. Two plays later, McCloud found Dollison for a 19 yard gain, followed by a 16 yard run by Joiner. Ford would rush for 13 yards two times, the second for a touchdown. With 5:39 to go in the third quarter, USF led 28-20.

After beginning the next possession with good field position, the result of a 17 yard kickoff return by Blue, Russo and the offense move down the field to their own 41. On the next play, Russo’s pass is intercepted by Daquan Evans, who returns it 56 yards to the Temple ten yard line. The Temple defense held, though, forcing the Bulls to settle for a field goal. With 3:16 on the third quarter clock, the Bulls’ lead was 31-20.

Temple would answer three with seven on a 12 yard touchdown pass from Russo to Mack with 1:07 to go in the third quarter. The Owls got into scoring position in part due to a 14 yard run by Davis and a targeting call against Antonio Grier, which put Temple on the USF 22. At the end of the third quarter, USF led 31-26.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Owls. On the Bulls’ second possession of the period, McCloud and Joiner fumble the football during an exchange, which is recovered by Arnold Ebiketie, who runs it in for an 11 yard touchdown. Temple regained the lead, 32-31, with 9:52 to go in the game.

Late in the quarter, Russo would find Jones for a 13 yard touchdown to increase the Owls’ lead to 39-31 with 4:28 to go in the game.

The Bulls would fight back with a 1 yard touchdown run by Parker with just over a minute on the clock. The coaching staff opted to put Johnson in to attempt the two point conversion and called a quarterback run play to the left, which was easily stopped for a loss.

USF’s defense would hold Temple on their last drive and used two timeouts to give the offense the ball back with a few seconds. With 7 seconds on the clock, K.J. Sails is sent back to return the punt to replace the injured Ford. Sails catches the punt, but does not signal a fair catch and time expires, handing Temple the 39-37 win in regulation.

McCloud finished with 182 yards passing and three touchdowns in his first game since being named the starter at quarterback. However, his involvement in fumbles ended up being key to the loss. To his credit, he did not throw an interception in the game.

Linebacker, Dwayne Boyles, had a solid game in his first game back from injury. He had nine tackles and a pass breakup to lead the team.

For the Owls, Russo passed for 270 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions. Jones led receivers with 81 yards and a touchdown. Blue was the number two receiver, catching two touchdowns. Davis led all runners with 83 yards.

The Bulls, now 1-4, will need to put the loss behind them as quickly as they can. They have a short week with a game against Tulsa on Friday evening. That game kicks off at 7:30 PM, with broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Temple improves to 1-1 and will visit Memphis on Saturday for a noon kickoff.