The University of South Florida Bulls were badly beaten by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, 52-0. Very little went right for the Bulls in the loss, which brings the all-time series to 1-1.
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IT WAS OVER WHEN
Less than a minute into the second quarter, Notre Dame quarterback, Ian Book, ran in a touchdown to put the Irish up 21-0. Coming back from being down three touchdowns is not an unsurmountable challenge, but the ease at which the Irish offense moved down the field combined with the complete inability for USF to even move the chains made it clear that there would be no comeback.
THE STAR OF THE GAME
Book passed for 143 yards and ran for three touchdowns, leading all players in the game in total production.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
429-231. Notre Dame nearly doubled the offensive output of the Bulls.
WHAT A PLAY
Midway through the third quarter, Book passes to Tommy Tremble downfield for what would be a 27 yard gain. The official nearby ruled the pass to be incomplete, presumably because of lack of control while falling out of bounds. In addition to falling out of bounds, the USF had his hands on the ball, trying to pull it away. The officials reviewed the play and overturned their ruling making it a complete pass for 27 yards, maintaining great control under difficult conditions.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Bulls were simply outclassed. Most people probably expected a lopsided win by Notre Dame, with all things being considered, because of the new coaching staff and the lack of time they’ve had with the team due to the pandemic. What actually happened was far worse. The defense barely slowed Notre Dame down, allowing the Irish to score at will. As bad as the defense was, the offense was far worse. They punted 11 times and turned the ball over on downs an astounding eight times. USF needs to quickly learn from what happened and make fixes before heading to FAU next week. If not, they could be ready for another embarrassment, as no team knows what the USF coordinators strategies better than the Owls’ players.
