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USF Bulls searching for answers after debacle at Rutgers

The Associated Press

The Bulls need one more win to become bowl eligible and are 4-8 in their past 12 Big East games.

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By SCOTT CARTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2009

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - As he sat inside a small room deep in the underbelly of Rutgers Stadium close to midnight on Thursday, University of South Florida freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels finally allowed himself to ponder what just transpired.

"I'm having that moment now,'' Daniels answered when asked if there was a point during the Bulls' 31-0 loss to the Scarlet Knights when he stepped back and asked: "What in the world is going on?''

Less than two weeks after looking like a Heisman candidate against West Virginia, Daniels looked more like the first-year starting quarterback he is, and the Bulls simply looked lost offensively against a blitz-happy Rutgers defense that offensive coordinator Mike Canales said the Bulls had prepared for since fall camp.

The Bulls never developed any rhythm offensively and often looked befuddled on offense, turning the ball over four times in the first half.

"It's hard. I'm disappointed in myself,'' Canales said, standing just a few feet from Daniels. "To have a week-and-a half to prepare, to come out and show that type of performance is not acceptable on my part by any means. We'll try to rectify some situations and try to find a way to be better.''

The Bulls managed only seven first downs and 159 yards of total offense, their fewest since joining the Big East in 2005 and 177 yards fewer than Daniels had by himself in USF's 30-19 win over No. 20-ranked West Virginia on Oct. 30. The Bulls' victory over the Mountaineers was convincing enough for USF to re-enter the Top 25 at No. 23 after back-to-back losses to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh knocked them out. However, they are sure to fall from the rankings heading into next Saturday's showdown with Louisville at Raymond James Stadium.

There were a lot of questions following Thursday's debacle at Rutgers, but few answers.

"There are no excuses. We should play better than that. We need to coach better and we need to play better,'' coach Jim Leavitt said. "We're 6-3, and that's probably about what we are. That's probably about the talent level we're at, I imagine. We'll see what we can do the next three games.''

The Bulls host Louisville, Miami and then close the season at Connecticut. They still need one more win to become bowl eligible and are 4-8 in their past 12 Big East games. But after Thursday's loss, marking the first time in school history the Bulls have been shut out in the regular season, it's difficult to know what to expect from USF down the stretch.

"We regroup next week against Louisville,'' said Daniels, who finished 7 of 17 for 129 yards and two interceptions Thursday. "We can't think about, 'Oh man, we were winning and then we lost.' That's poison that can kill a locker room. So, we definitely have to just forget about it and move on.''

Can anybody catch around here?
The Bulls made enough mistakes Thursday to fill a blooper reel, but none more glaring than three muffed kick returns, two by Kayvon Webster and one by Faron Hornes. The Bulls turned the ball over on Hornes' strange attempt to field a punt in the first half, leading to a Rutgers field goal.

"Faron has been good. He usually catches everything,'' Leavitt said. "I don't know if they gave him enough room to catch that ball. It's still not an excuse for Faron. He should go in there and catch the ball. Why would he catch it over his head? I've never seen him do that. That was a first.''

As for Webster, who missed most of practice last week due to leaving town for a funeral, he muffed a pair of kickoff returns and missed a tackle on Rutgers' first touchdown.

"Why he dropped them? I don't know if it was the wind or he didn't judge it or whatever," Leavitt said. "After he dropped the (first) one, I probably should have yanked him and put somebody else in there. Kayvon is a true freshman and is learning.''

The 'D' held its own
The fact the Bulls trailed only 13-0 at halftime astonished everyone considered how badly they played in the first half. The reason was USF's defense, which managed to keep Rutgers out of the end zone despite playing on a short field much of the half.

"We thought at halftime that we come in, regroup, and we'd have a shot to win,'' defensive coordinator Jim Tresey said. "Those two plays in the second half hurt. There is no such thing as 'worn out.' You've got to keep playing. It is what it is. Some days the offense is not going to work. You've got to keep playing.''

The plays Tresey said finally broke the defense's back were Tom Savage's 26-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown midway through the third quarter and Joe Martinek's 37-yard touchdown run early in the fourth.

Curse of Rutgers
The loss was USF's fourth in a row to the Scarlet Knights, including the past two by a combined score of 80-16. Despite Bulls players talking about how important it was to end the losing streak to Rutgers, that talk never translated onto the field.

"We were psyched up all week. We were ready. We just didn't execute,'' senior DB Nate Allen said.
"Honestly, I don't know what it was,'' receiver A.J. Love said. "I didn't see anything myself that they were doing special.''

Bull bits
Leavitt said initial reports on DE Jason Pierre-Paul, who had two sacks before leaving the game late with an apparent foot injury, were positive and he should be fine … The Bulls' offensive line was outplayed Thursday, not helped by the absence of RG Zach Hermann, who missed the game because of an injury. "Our offensive line obviously didn't do great. Would having Hermann have helped? I would think so,'' Leavitt said. "Do I think Hermann being there would have made that much of a difference? No. We've got other people capable.'' … Of all the mistakes Thursday, the one that perhaps upset Leavitt the most was the blocked punt by Rutgers' Devin McCourty in the second quarter. "You can't get a punt blocked,'' Leavitt said. "There is no excuse for that.''

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