South Florida led No. 18 Florida 28-24 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with 6:51 to play but an interception and a couple of mistakes later and the Gators escaped with a 31-28 win and left Bulls’ fans lamenting what could have been.

Here are a few positives and negatives that came out of the defeat for USF.

GOOD — BRIAN BATTIE

A reliable run game is forming in the Bulls offense and sophomore back Brian Battie is at the forefront of that ground attack. Battie ran for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown, his fourth career 100-yard rushing game, and posted an average of 8.8 yards on 17 carries. The Bulls rushing, as a whole, was impeccable – a whopping 286 yards and three touchdowns against a high-powered Gator defense.

BAD — THE PASSING GAME

Quarterback Gerry Bohanon has yet to find his flow throwing the ball. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes (12-of-28) for a season low 116 yards. Bohanon also threw two costly interceptions. Bohanon was without two key wide receiver targets Saturday night. During pre-game warmups, Ajou Ajou “did something to his hip,” according to Bulls head coach Jeff Scott. Also, Jimmy Horn Jr. was hobbled by a sprained ankle. He tried to play but had to come out of the game for good in the first half. Bohanon did connect with Xavier Weaver several times on the night. Which brings me to…

GOOD — XAVIER WEAVER

Bohanon targeted Weaver 13 times and the junior wideout from Orlando caught eight passes for 82-yards. Three of those eight catches gave the Bulls fourth quarter first downs. Two during the drive that led to a Michael Dukes touchdown that put the Bulls in front 28-24. Weaver also fumbled at the Florida 41-yardline on the Bulls’ opening drive of the game.

BAD — RUN DEFENSE

The Bulls defense breaks down to opposing backs. UF rushed for 217-yards and three touchdowns, each from a different back. What hurts the most to see is the Bulls defense giving up big runs. Florida had six runs of 10+ yards, one of which was a 62-yard touchdown by Montrell Johnson Jr. on the first play of the second quarter. The pass defense did well, keeping the Gators to 112 yards through the air, but it is hard to win games when you let runs go by so easily.

USF has allowed almost 700 rushing yards to opposing teams in just three games. If this defense does not find a way to slow down the run, this season will be ugly.

GOOD — RED ZONE

USF scored on four-of-five trips to the red zone – three touchdowns and a field goal. The play calling was creative. That double-pass play on the two-point conversion will be talked about by USF fans for years.

MIXED BAG — SPECIAL TEAMS

Spencer Shrader made field goals from 49 and 22 yards. Every single one of his kickoffs went through the end zone for a touch back. Andrew Stokes only had one punt on the night, but USF downed it inside the 20 yard line. Florida had zero return yards which is exceptional.

However, a bad hold by Andrew Beardall on Shrader’s field goal attempt from 49 yards, threw off the timing of the kick and resulted in a miss with 23-seconds left in the game.

UGLY — TURNOVERS

The turnovers, in general, were enough to cost USF the game.

Weaver’s fumble started a Gators drive that resulted in three points. Bohanon’s first interception was a pick-six that put the Bulls in a 14-point hole late in the second quarter. His second INT started a Florida drive that resulted in the Gators last touchdown.

Florida scored 17-points off of three USF turnovers.