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South Florida Keeps It Alive

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By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 7, 2007

Updated: 10/07/2007 01:22 am

FORT LAUDERDALE - Three months from now, if the University of South Florida's magical unbeaten season is still alive, the Bulls can reflect on one defining play during Saturday's 35-23 victory at Florida Atlantic.

Clinging to a precarious four-point lead, USF junior Ben Williams ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run with 9:54 remaining in the fourth quarter to provide just enough cushion for No. 6 USF to survive against the pesky Owls.

'When the play started out, I lost him in the pile,' USF running backs coach Carl Franks said. 'All of a sudden, he came streaking out of it to the right sideline. I don't know if I've seen him run that quickly ever before. It was a big lift on the sideline emotionally.'

Williams finished with a career-high 186 yards, the sixth-best rushing day in school history, and a school-record four touchdowns as the Bulls (5-0) survived their first test as a top 10 team.

'Ben's a bowling ball,' USF center Nick Capogna said. 'Normal backs can't make the runs he makes. He's a warrior. He's proof if you work hard, good things happen.'

On a day when No. 2 USC and No. 5 Wisconsin lost, the Bulls could move into the top five in today's Associated Press poll.

'Sometimes we played like a No. 6 team and sometimes we didn't,' USF linebacker Brouce Mompremier said. 'But a No. 6 team has to come back and face adversity, and that's what we did.

'We earned our keep. I'm not worried about the rankings, we're just worried about winning. We have to handle business in the Big East.'

Coming off last week's upset of West Virginia and with Central Florida on deck, the Bulls were in a situation that last year's team wouldn't have been able to handle, quarterback Matt Grothe said.

'I honestly think if we would have played this team last year after beating West Virginia, we would have lost,' Grothe said. 'That's the biggest difference between this year and last year's team, the unity we have.'

The Bulls looked ripe for an upset early on. Playing before a sold-out Lockhart Stadium crowd of 21,106, who started chanting 'overrated' in the first quarter, the Bulls were lucky to be tied at 7 at halftime.

FAU (3-3) would have led 16-7 if not for three missed field goals of 36, 42 and 45 yards by Warley Leroy.

'I worried about this game since the beginning of the year,' USF coach Jim Leavitt said. 'I thought this would be the toughest challenge for us up to this date as far as emotionally.'

After being held to 147 yards in the first half, the offense rolled up 277 yards and four TDs after halftime. USF finished with a season-high 302 yards rushing, including a career-high 120 from Grothe.

'To see the back of a running back's jersey, that's the only satisfaction we get on the offensive line,' USF offensive tackle Walter Walker said.

USF and FAU traded third-quarter touchdowns and were tied at 14. Grothe then scored on a highlight-reel 32-yard run on fourth-and-1.

'I didn't even know it was fourth-and-1,' Grothe said. 'I was just trying to make something happen.'

The Owls pulled within 21-17 late in the third quarter. A few minutes later, Williams broke loose down the sideline.

Williams spun out of one tackle behind the line of scrimmage and broke two more, completing the touchdown run.

'I started left, cut back and went right,' Williams said. 'I stepped out of a tackle. I didn't see anything but the field with one blocker in front of me.'

USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said the Bulls came into the game wanting to 'throw the heck out of the ball' but turned to the running game out of necessity.

'We're just not throwing the ball real well right now,' Gregory said. 'We were running out of necessity.

'Teams are dropping back a lot of people on us. It shows what kind of competitor Matt is. He knows he's not throwing the ball real well right now, but he ran his butt off.'

Said USF safety Carlton Williams: 'We did some things on defense we're not supposed to. We allowed them to hang around.'

USF was able to survive thanks to Ben Williams.

'To get 186 yards from a former walk-on,' Franks said. 'That's a pretty good day.'

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com.

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