By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bulls were ready to start the second half of the season off in strong fashion and almost pulled off a stunner at Louisville on Saturday night.

B.J. Daniels’ go-ahead 12-yard touchdown pass to Andre Davis helped USF erase an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls couldn’t hold on in a 27-25 loss to the No. 16 Cardinals. Teddy Bridgewater’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rogers gave the Cardinals a 27-25 lead with 1:35 to play, sending the Bulls to their fifth straight loss.

Davis caught a pair of touchdown passes, while freshman tight end Sean Price caught another important scoring reception in the fourth quarter for USF (2-5, 0-3).

Senior Lindsey Lamar led a strong USF rushing attack with 15 carries for 110 yards. The Bulls rushed for 197 yards as a team in the first game since regrouping during a bye week.

Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater continued his superb season by completing 21 of 25 passes for 256 yards and two scores. Bridgewater added a team-leading 74 rushing yards on 10 carries.

The Bulls grabbed a 3-0 lead on the game’s opening drive after moving the ball with a combination of big plays. Daniels, Marcus Shaw and Lamar each rushed for 10-plus yard gains, and Derrick Hopkins came down with a 27-yard catch that got the Bulls into Louisville territory. Maikon Bonani capped off the drive with a 36-yard field goal.

USF kept Louisville off the scoreboard in the first quarter, making the second time the Bulls have accomplished the feat this season. The Cardinals opened the second quarter on the USF 1 and Senorise Perry just got enough on fourth down to help give Louisville a 7-3 advantage.

The Cardinals (7-0, 2-0) started to get rolling near the end of the half when Jeremy Wright ran 11 yards into the end zone with 3:38 to go before the break. The scoring play belonged to a running back, but the drive – and first half- was all about Bridgewater. The sophomore completed all 11 of his pass attempts for 125 yards and led all rushers with four attempts for 48 yards.

Daniels’ half was a different story. The senior completed six of 13 passes for 66 yards and lost a fumble at the Louisville 33 with 17 seconds to go before the break.

Daniels bounced back on the first drive of the second half with a beautifully thrown 12-yard fade pass to Andre Davis for a touchdown to help cut USF’s deficit to 14-10. Credit Lamar for getting the Bulls deep into Louisville territory with two carries for 42 yards.

USF’s momentum was short-lived, however, after Bridgewater drove the Cardinals 65 yards in 2 minutes, 36 seconds and wrapped things up with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Damian Copeland. Bridgewater has thrown at least one touchdown pass in seven consecutive games and his toss to Copeland gave the Cardinals a 21-10 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Bulls went back to Lamar on the ensuing drive and the senior delivered by rushing five times for 33 yards. Lamar went over the 100-yard mark with a 3-yard carry to the Louisville 1, but USF’s gamble on fourth down fell short when Daniels was stuffed at the goal line on a QB keeper. The drive also proved to be costly from a depth standpoint when Hopkins absorbed a head-to-head hit that resulted in 15-yard penalty to put USF inside the Cardinals’ red zone.

Daniels continued his strong second half by getting USF closer in the fourth quarter when he hooked up with Price for a 13-yard touchdown with 8:02 to play. Demetris Murray’ two-point conversion run cut the Bulls’ deficit to 21-18. The drive included a 17-yard pass to Price on a fourth-and-8 from the Louisville 44.
Louisville was forced to punt on the ensuing drive and a short kick, plus a penalty set the Bulls up at the Cardinals’ 49 with 6:35 to play. Again in a red zone chance, Daniels went with a fade pass to Davis, who outjumped a defender for a 12-yard touchdown to help give the Bulls a 25-21 lead with 3:09 remaining in the game.

USF returns home to host Syracuse on Saturday, Oct. 27 at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is set for a 7 p.m. start in the Bulls’ first home game since Sept. 29.