The Good, Bad & Ugly from South Florida’s loss to Tulane

TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 16, 2022) – South Florida (1-6 0-3 AAC) fell short to Tulane (6-1, 3-0 AAC) in front of an announced homecoming crowd of 31,053 Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium. The Green Wave offense was too much to handle as they racked up 45 points and 564 yards against the Bulls.

Here’s a look at how USF performed Saturday.

GOOD – Singular defensive players stepping up

It takes an 11-man defensive unit working together to finish out games with a win. However, a few players shined on the front lines, looking like they wanted it more than the rest.

Senior linebacker Dwayne Boyles had a day racking up a career-high 15 tackles – two for a loss, one sack, and one forced fumble. He led the defense on multiple third-down stops and made his statement as a significant threat for opposing offenses. Boyles now ranks No. 10 all-time in total tackles at USF with 267.

Joining him with a career-best day was junior defensive end Jason Vaughn who posted a career-high three sacks on the night. Sophomore linebacker Davon Hicks was recorded a career-high nine total tackles, one of which was a clutch third down stop late in the second quarter.

BAD – Defense is not playing as a unit

The Bulls defensive backs broke down against the Green Wave. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns. He spread the ball all around to six receivers and completed nine passes of 15+ yards. The Bulls defense also allowed six rushing plays for more than ten yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run by Green Wave junior Tyjae Spears.

It’s difficult for a defense to play hard every snap, especially when the opposing team runs 36 more plays and controls the ball for 36 minutes of the game. USF head Coach Jeff Scott believes that blame could be put on both sides of the ball.

“It’s two parts right,” Scott said. “Yes, it’s the defense getting off the field. But it is also on the offense being able to keep the ball on long drives. We just had too many three-and-outs in the second half and had to put the defense back out there against such a good quarterback.”

GOOD – Jimmy Horn Jr. is being targeted

Sophomore wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. was targeted early and often in this game and he responded with a touchdown and team-highs in catches (5) and yards (98).

Horn has become more of a factor in the Bulls offense of late. In the last three games, Horn has 280 receiving yards, 14 catches and three touchdowns. In his first three games he had 62 receiving yards on four catches and zero touchdowns.

UGLY – Bohanon’s Injury

It was a scary sight to see starting quarterback Gerry Bohanon go down in the second quarter. A heavy hit and a bad land led to an undisclosed injury.

“First thing they look for whenever you land on your shoulder is a broken collarbone, but that was negative,” Scott Said. “He couldn’t go back into the game the second half, he couldn’t hold his arm up. We hope all the other tests come back clean and we can get him back as soon as possible.

Before he left the game, Bohanon was playing some of his best ball we’ve seen from him all year. He was seven for eight passing with 109 yards, a passing, and a rushing touchdown, and 59 yards on the ground.

The offense just seemed out of balance once he left. Sophomore quarterback Katravis Marsh never found his rhythm, and the rushing attack was non-existent.

The Bulls bye week comes at a good time. They have a ton of kinks to work out as they prepare for Houston (3-3, 1-1 AAC) on Oct. 29.