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The South Florida Bulls blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory behind some suspect decisions by head coach Jeff Scott to fall 32-31 on Saturday afternoon inside Raymond James Stadium.
Well, that sucked ass.
USF (1-5, 0-2 AAC) scored in all three phases of the game with the help of Antonio Grier’s 69-yard pick six, and Brian Battie’s 100-yard kickoff return touchdown AND they forced three turnovers.
But, it all came down to a 3rd and 1, and 4th and 1 decision by Scott. The Bulls tried a direct snap with running back Jaren Mangham on third down and got stuffed by Tulsa’s best defensive player, DT Jaxon Player.
Then, the head scratching decisions started. USF let 30 seconds leak off the clock with over four minutes left, and burned their final timeout. Then out of the timeout they ran the same play as third down with just slightly different personnel—taking the ball out of your best player’s hands on consecutive plays—and got stuff again...by Jaxon Player.
Scott said in the post-game press conference there was no doubt he was going for it on 4th down if they missed it. So why burn the timeout? Why run the same play? Why take the ball out of Timmy McClain’s hands with the game on the line?
They second-year head coach has done himself no favors over his first 15 games with questionable late-game decisions, and timeout usage.
That’s the hope right?
— The Daily Stampede (@StampedeSBN) October 16, 2021
But, naturally, after a loss like this it’s easy for the players to be blacked out and let it affect them.
See the results from the games after Temple and Memphis last year.
Scott says they’re a different team in that regard.
Prove it next week. https://t.co/v49Ea0BYbf
I feel for these players. They deserved better. USF will face Temple next week at home. They need this win bad.
Notables:
- Tulsa 535 yards of offense on 88 plays. USF had 268 yards on 57 plays.
- Timmy McClain finished the day 10-for-25 for 148 yards. He added his first-career rushing touchdown as well.
- Running back Jaren Mangham scored his tenth rushing touchdown of the season. He’s now tied for ninth all-time for touchdowns in a year at USF. The record is 18 by Quinton Flowers.
- Vincent Davis finished with 13 tackles, and two TFL.