Bulls upset No. 21 Temple, become bowl eligible

By Joey Johnston
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Updated: November 15, 2015

It was beyond unbelievable — un-Bull-lievable? — and an offensive assault on the senses. It was an electrifying, program-defining performance for the University of South Florida football team on Saturday night.

USF 44, Temple 23.

Sophomore running back Marlon Mack rushed 21 times for 230 yards, equaling the USF single-season mark of six 100-yard games, and putting the game away on a 48-yard run with 2:38 remaining.

Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Quinton Flowers again was a magician on turf.

The Bulls, who rolled up 556 yards of offense (seventh-best in program history) won for the fifth time in their past six games to delight an announced crowd of 28,393 at Raymond James Stadium.

Hundreds of students rushed the field to congratulate USF’s players at midfield. Stadium officials quickly took down the goalposts, presumably before they were torn down.

Now all things are possible.

A bowl game.

Maybe the program’s first conference championship.

And definitely a momentum-fueled opportunity to recapture the area’s heart heading into the season’s final home game Friday night against Cincinnati.

“It was big-time in a lot of ways,” USF coach Willie Taggart said. “It was awesome.”

The Bulls (6-4, 4-2 American Athletic Conference) became eligible for the program’s first postseason appearance since 2010, while preventing No. 21-ranked Temple (8-2, 5-1) from clinching the AAC’s East Division and a spot in the league’s first championship game.

It was USF’s first victory against a ranked team since the 2011 opener (Notre Dame) and first home win against a ranked opponent since 2009 (West Virginia).

The Bulls also remained alive for the East Division title. If USF wins out (beating Cincinnati, then Central Florida on Thanksgiving night), while Temple loses again (to either Memphis or Connecticut), the Bulls will earn a spot in the inaugural AAC Championship Game on Dec. 5.

All of it was made possible by USF’s magical first half, when the Bulls built a 31-10 advantage, largely behind the play of Flowers, Mack and junior wide receiver Rodney Adams (seven receptions, 147 yards).

In a stunning sequence of eight minutes, 39 seconds, the Bulls had four possessions … and four touchdowns. Suddenly, they were vintage Baylor, Oregon or Oklahoma State. RayJay was alive with energy, and USF was routing the AAC’s top-ranked defense.

After spotting Temple a 7-0 lead, the Bulls answered on the next play with Flowers’ 68-yard rainbow to Adams, who caught it in stride at the Temple 20-yard line, then outraced two defenders into the end zone.

USF grabbed the game’s momentum when cornerback Deatrick Nichols intercepted P.J. Walker’s first-down pass, returning it to the Temple 5, and then Flowers scored standing up for a 14-7 USF advantage.

After Temple settled for a field goal on its next drive, Mack burst up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown run, making it 21-10.

USF’s defense rose up for a three-and-out, then its offense produced more magic. Flowers fooled everyone on a keeper, gaining 42 yards. Two plays later, he found Mack for a 20-yard reception and it was 28-10.

The Bulls went to halftime leading 31-10, tying for the program’s most first-half points since 2011, but that secure advantage immediately turned nervous when USF’s Darius Tice fumbled on the second half’s first play.

Temple cut USF’s lead to 31-20 with an eternity remaining — 8:30 in the third quarter — but USF got a valuable 24-yard field goal from Emilio Nadelman, capping a 14-play, 69-yard drive that ate up five minutes, 13 seconds.

When Temple’s Austin Jones was wide right on a 45-yard field-goal attempt on the next drive, USF had regained its full confidence and control.

Afterward, as USF players celebrated with the students, everyone realized it had been a hard road to get here in Taggart’s rebuilding program. But now the good times have arrived. They like the feeling.

Bowl eligi-Bull.

And maybe a lot more.