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Cincinnati hands USF first loss, 34-17

Staff file photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Cincinnati backup QB Zach Collaros scores on a long touchdown run in the third quarter Thursday night.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2009

TAMPA – It was a moment's hesitation, a small bit of confusion.

The University of South Florida defense never saw it coming.

By the time USF figured it out, by the time Cincinnati's sophomore backup quarterback Zach Collaros had completed a 75-yard run midway through the third quarter, the opportunity was gone.

So was the game.

Collaros' run allowed the No. 8-ranked Bearcats the wiggle room to escape with a 34-17 victory against USF before 63,976 fans at Raymond James Stadium.

Cincinnati (6-0, 2-0) moved into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the Big East Conference, while No. 21-ranked USF (5-1, 1-1) lost against the Bearcats for the fourth consecutive season.

With Collaros providing the exclamation point in relief of injured starter Tony Pike, the Heisman Trophy hopeful, USF was left with unanswered questions.

"I was like, 'Who was that guy?' " USF senior defensive end George Selvie said. "I didn't know anything about him or what he could do."

"He ran it right up the middle," USF senior safety Nate Allen said. "It was sickening. That one caught us totally off-guard. We didn't know a lot about him."

And now, the unfortunate punchline.

Collaros was recruited to Cincinnati by Joe Tresey, who was fired from the Bearcats on Feb. 9 and is now the USF defensive coordinator.

Tresey knows everything about him.

"Man, talk about the irony of ironies," Tresey said. "But I didn't even know he was going to be their No. 2 quarterback tonight."

Zach Collaros.

Who is he?

"I loved his moxie and savvy," Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said. "He didn't lose a game as a high school quarterback. From that position, you want to be able to do what we did tonight. Sixty thousand (fans). On the road. You just lost your star quarterback. And the No. 2 guy comes in and does what he does, and it's because of his makeup. You can win Big East games with both those guys."

"He was athletic, but he could throw it, too," Tresey said. "He was just a really good player. He led his team to the state championship two years in a row – won 30 games. He's a winner."

Collaros played at Steubenville High School. Tresey is from Warren, Ohio.

"We're from the same neck of the woods," Collaros said. "I saw Coach Tresey before the game, said 'Hi' to him."

Then he said "goodbye" to the USF defense.

Another irony: At that third-quarter juncture, USF had tons of momentum on its side. Bulls place-kicker Eric Schwartz nailed a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the half, cutting Cincinnati's lead to 17-10. Pike had just gone to the locker room for X-rays after being thrown to the turf by Bulls defensive tackle Aaron Harris.

Pike was diagnosed with a sprained left wrist, but he could only play the third quarter's opening series.

In came Collaros, who said he worked extensively on the scout team this week, imitating the style of USF redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels.

And prior to this week?

"They liked to use me for the zone-read kind of stuff," said Collaros, who rushed 10 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns. "Pat White (formerly of West Virginia). Matt Grothe (of USF). I was always a big Matt Grothe fan before I got to college. He's been playing forever."

Although Tresey was intimately familiar with Collaros' strengths, he anticipated a screen pass on third-and-11 from Cincinnati's 25-yard line.

With the crowd noise reaching ear-splitting levels, Collaros received the shotgun snap, dropped back two steps and darted through the middle. USF linebacker Kion Wilson had a chance to wrap him up, but Collaros wiggled away.

"I missed that tackle," Wilson said. "I missed several tackles."

Collaros sprinted toward the left sideline and outran the secondary for a stunning 75-yard score.

"We just weren't in a defense conducive to stopping that play," Tresey said. "If I'm second-guessing myself, that's the play I'm second-guessing. We had seen quarterback draws from Pike on film, but never in that situation."

"I don't care what defense we're in, we have to stop that play," Wilson said. "It shouldn't go for 75 yards. It's unacceptable."

The Bulls, who came into the game as the nation's 10th-ranked defense, allowed 401 yards to Cincinnati. USF also had 12 penalties for 113 yards.

Meanwhile, Daniels, who was making his first start at home, had an up-and-down game for the Bulls. He rushed for 74 yards, while completing 15 of 32 passes for 208 yards, but he threw a second-quarter interception that killed USF's early momentum.

With the Bulls leading 7-3 and operating from the Cincinnati 40-yard line, Daniels tried to thread an intermediate pass over the middle for Dontavia Bogan. Cincinnati senior free safety Aaron Webster stepped in front for the interception. Webster returned it 81 yards before being dragged down by Daniels and Lindsey Lamar at USF's 3-yard line.

On the next play, Pike hit Aaron Binns for a touchdown and a 10-7 lead Cincinnati would not lose.

"Me and the receiver just weren't on the same page," Daniels said of the interception. "We've got to fix that."

The Bulls travel to Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0) on Oct. 24, hoping that another midseason swoon isn't at hand. For the third straight season, USF's unbeaten record was shattered in a Thursday night game.

In 2007, a Thursday night at Rutgers loss started a three-game losing streak.

Last season, after losing on a Thursday night against Pittsburgh, the Bulls lost four of their next five games.

"This is a new year and a new team," USF junior defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said. "That stuff has no meaning for us."

"You have no other choice than to move forward," Tresey said. "We will evaluate the film – and after 24 hours, we'll bury it – then we'll move on to Pittsburgh. Very few teams go through a conference season unbeaten. We have a lot of season left to play. We've got to move on."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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