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Flowers Record Day Leads Bulls Past SMU, 38-14


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Description: Macintosh HD:Users:bsiegrist:Desktop:2013 USF FOOTBALL:U color primary large.jpgUSF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: OCT. 24, 2015

 

ATTACHED PDF’s: GAME STATS, GAME NOTES, GAME QUOTES, SEASON STATS

 

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Flowers Record Day Leads Bulls Past SMU, 38-14

USF quarterback runs for school and conference record 201 yards

 

TAMPA, OCT. 24, 2015 – Quinton Flowers shattered USF’s single-game rushing record by a quarterback with 201 yards and three touchdowns to help the Bulls run over SMU, 38-14, Saturday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium.

 

USF (4-3, 2-1) won its third straight game for the first time since the start of the 2011 season and moved up to second place in The American East Division standings. USF’s 38-point performance tied the program record for the most scoring against an American Athletic Conference opponent. Flowers performance set a conference record by a quarterback and marked the most rushing yards by an FBS quarterback this season.

 

“The young guys are growing up and learning how to win in different ways,” head coach Willie Taggart said.

 

Flowers topped Matt Grothe’s previous rushing record by 55 yards and Flowers’ three TD runs tied the single-game record for a Bulls quarterback. Flowers’ 201 rushing yards were the seventh-most in USF history and it was the eighth time a Bull has gone over the 200-yard mark.

 

“I was going through my reads and going through my progressions, and just letting things happen,” said Flowers, who added 97 passing yards.

 

USF rushed for a total of 255 yards –its fifth 200-plus yard game this season - and got touchdown runs from Darius Tice and D’Ernest Johnson. All of that was accomplished without leading tailback Marlon Mack, who missed the game with a hamstring injury.

“I think the biggest thing is we’ve got a team that’s not afraid of adversity,” said Taggart, who noted Mack could have played if needed.

 

Defensively, USF forced a season-high four turnovers and was led by senior safety Jamie Byrd, who racked up 2.0 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a game-high 10 tackles.

 

“I feel like we’ve turned that corner and it’s going to get better each and every week,” Byrd said.

 

Flowers’ feet and a dominant performance by the defense helped USF seize a 17-7 lead in the first half.

 

Saturday’s game started with a big play from the “Bull Sharks” on SMU’s opening drive. Byrd forced fumble on a third-down sack that was recovered by James Hamilton at the Mustangs’ 21-yard line. Byrd had two sacks by halftime after registering the first two of his career last week at UConn. 

 

USF has scored first in five straight games and jumped ahead on Emilio Nadelman’s career-long 40-yard field goal with 12:52 remaining in the first quarter.

 

Despite the fast start, USF was in comeback mode after SMU took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Xavier Jones as time expired in the opening quarter.

 

Following Jones TD run, USF responded right away with a career-long 67-yard run by Flowers that got the Bulls inside the SMU 10. It marked the second-longest non-scoring run in program history. Three plays later, Tice helped the Bulls retake the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:49 remaining in the half. 

 

Flowers passed the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career in the first half with 13 carries for 142 yards. The sophomore’s 8-yard touchdown run helped give the Bulls a 17-7 lead with 4:54 remaining in the half.

 

USF kept its 17-7 advantage intact by stopping SMU’s final drive of the half in USF territory. Defensive end Shawn Hill dropped back into coverage and hauled in his first-career interception at the USF 34 with 3:14 remaining.

 

“It was great to see a D-lineman jump up and make a nice catch. He didn’t bobble the ball or anything,” Taggart said.

 

Flowers broke Grothe’s record with a 12-yard run on the opening drive of the second half that resulted in another USF score. Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal helped pump the Bulls’ lead up to 24-7 with 11:54remaining in the third quarter.

 

Tajee Fullwood’s 45-yard punt return to the SMU 5 set the Bulls up for another trip to the end zone in the fourth quarter. Flowers cruised into the end zone for a touchdown on the next play with 11:55remaining.

 

SMU (1-6, 0-3) scored its first points since the first quarter on Darrel Colbert’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton with 7:39 remaining. The Bulls had held one of the top receivers in the conference to just one catch for 1 yard before that point.

 

Tye Turner returned an onside kick attempt 17 yards following Sutton’s score and Flowers added to his historic day with an 18-yard touchdown run that ended with an acrobatic leap with 6:19remaining.

 

“He’s highly competitive, he loves playing the game and he loves doing whatever it takes to help this football team win,” Taggart said.

 

USF looks to extend its winning streak to four for the first time since 2011 on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Navy. Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

 

The Bulls finish up a two-game road trip at East Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 7 and return to Raymond James Stadium to host Temple on Saturday, Nov. 14.Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.

 

The USF Football program is in its 19thseason overall and 16th at the FBS level. The Bulls have made six bowl appearances, including every season between 2005-10, and have four bowl game victories. USF has produced 14 All-America selections, 25 NFL Draft picks and reached the No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Poll in 2007.

Follow  @USFFootball on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.

-       #GoBulls –

 
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