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After Sluggish Start, USF's Offense, Defense Come To Life

By GREGG BECNEL

Tribune correspondent

Published: September 13, 2008

TAMPA - Whatever University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt told his team at halftime of the Bulls' Top-20 matchup with Kansas worked to perfection - for about 16 minutes.

After trailing by 10 at intermission - and the USF defense looking shaky - the Bulls came out and dominated the third quarter to gain control on their way to a thrilling 37-34 win at Raymond James Stadium on Friday night.

USF scored 17 points and outgained the Jayhawks 213-9 in total yards in the third and went into the final quarter up 27-20.

Bulls freshman kicker Maikon Bonani started the rally with a 23-yard field goal at the 9:30 mark of the third. Receiver Taurus Johnson followed with a juggling catch as he slid toward the back of the end zone. It was initially ruled incomplete, but it was reversed after an official review to pull USF even at 20 with 4:22 left in the third.

Sophomore running back Jamar Taylor capped the third-quarter outburst and gave the Bulls their first lead of the game when he scored from 13 yards with 1:09 left.

USF tacked on another quick score early in the fourth when quarterback Matt Grothe hooked up with A.J. Love for a 37-yard touchdown for a 34-20 lead.

The Bulls defense, which went into the game ranked No. 1 in total defense in the country, couldn't protect it, as Kansas scored two touchdowns to pull even at 34.

USF went into the game having given up 323 yards on 114 plays (2.8 yards per play) through the first two games for an average of just 161.5 yards per game.

To further showcase the Bulls' defensive dominance heading into the game, in the first 24 opponents' drives of the season, USF allowed just a field goal. But going back to the final 3:24 of the UCF game and the first 27 minutes against Kansas, the Bulls gave up 34 points in a span of eight drives.

In building a 10-0 lead after one quarter, Kansas had gained 127 yards on 20 plays for an average of 6.4 yards per play. By halftime, those numbers swelled to 273 yards on 35 plays (7.8 per play) as USF trailed 20-10.

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