The South Florida Bulls emptied the bench in the second half against the Florida A&M Rattlers, but that didn’t stop the deluge of points and yards by USF. The Bulls won by a final score of 70-17, setting a school record for first downs (39, breaking the one-week-old record of 34) and total offense (745 yards, destroying the old record of 580 against Liberty in 2001). The 70 points are the second-most in school history, and the first down and yardage totals both set Big East single-game records.
B.J. Daniels only played one series in the second half, and came out of the game for good after Darrell Scott’s fourth touchdown of the night gave the Bulls a 56-14 lead. Backup quarterback Bobby Eveld would lead USF to their final touchdown of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, on a Marcus Shaw run. In between, Eveld drove the Bulls to the Rattlers’ 5-yard line but threw a deflected interception in the end zone, and true freshman Andre Davis blocked a punt and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown.
Daniels finished 21-for-31 for 382 yards and four touchdowns. Scott had a monster game, carrying the ball 12 times for 146 yards and three TDs, and adding on an 84-yard TD pass from Daniels. A total of 20 different Bulls had either a carry or a reception in the game.
There were a few nitpicks, as there always are in even the biggest of blowouts, but it’s hard to complain about scoring 70 points. The Bulls move to 3-0 on the season, and they welcome the UTEP Miners to Raymond James Stadium next Saturday for a 7:00pm kickoff.