USF Athletics

Bulls Roll Into Bye Week at 5-0

October 02, 2017

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, OCT. 2, 2017 – USF football's stock continues to skyrocket upward with the Bulls rolling past conference opponents.

USF (5-0, 2-0) has moved up to No. 18/16 in the national polls after putting up its most points ever in a road game with 61 at East Carolina last Saturday. Head coach Charlie Strong's Bulls finished with a season-high 390 rushing yards and moved up to ninth nationally in scoring (44.8 points per game).

"It was a great team win for us," Strong said on The American's teleconference Monday. "It's such a tough conference and it's really tough when you have to go in someone else's stadium."

The total team performance resulted in USF's 10^th straight win, which is a program best and the second-longest active streak in the nation. Now the Bulls get a bye week to rest up before jumping back into conference play at home against Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 14. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.

"We know we can get better and we can improve," Strong said. "Whenever you realize that and the players realize that, then you feel like you have something good."

USF-Cincinnati has been set for a 7:30 p.m. start on Oct. 14 and Strong hopes Raymond James Stadium will be rocking on Homecoming. USF graduates can get discounted tickets for $15 by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls or following the link HERE.

"You have a really good football team," Strong said. "We just need the support and we need everybody onboard."

Sanchez, Valdes-Scantling Earn Conference Honors
Linebacker Auggie Sanchez and receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling landed spots on The American's weekly honor roll after combining for three scores and a whole lot more at ECU.

Sanchez earned league praise by returning an interception 43 yards for a touchdown along with totaling a game-high 10 tackles. The senior from St. Petersburg leads the Bulls with 32 stops this season and needs 33 more to become USF's all-time leading tackler. Kawika Mitchell currently holds the record with 367 tackles from 1999-2002.

Valdes-Scantling made the honor roll by catching six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown on top of rushing for a 75-yard score on a jet sweep. The senior from St. Petersburg leads all USF receivers with 322 yards and he's tied for the team lead with three TD catches.

"It was just really good to see him really play well," Strong said.

Ball-Hawking Bulls Still Lead the Nation
With two picks at ECU, the USF defense increased its nation-leading interception total to 14. The Bulls are also tied with Utah State for the national lead of 16 takeaways.

"We're very aggressive on defense. We're getting the turnovers we need to get," Strong said.

With three interceptions, cornerback Mazzi Wilkins is tied with teammate Devin Abraham (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) for sixth nationally in the category. Wilkins also is tied for second in the country with 2.0 pass breakups per game while opposing quarterbacks have combined for a 3.9 passer rating when throwing the Tampa native's way.

"Right now, he's playing with a lot of confidence," Strong said. "When you get a defensive back that plays with confidence, they don't feel like anybody is going to catch any balls on them."

Bulls Move Up National Ranks in Rushing
Powered by a season-high 390 yards at ECU, USF has moved up to fifth in the nation with 309.2 rushing yards per game.

Against the Pirates, USF posted 300 or more rushing yards for the third straight game and got going right away. Senior back D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee, Fla.) registered his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game and got the Bulls on the board early with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Heisman hopeful Quinton Flowers (Miami) extended the lead with a 16-yard scoring run midway through the Bulls' 21-point opening quarter.

"The guys just executed and when their number was called, they responded," Strong said.

Bulls Bits

• LEE MAKES NFL DEBUT: Congrats to former USF standout Eric Lee on making his NFL regular season debut for Buffalo in the Bills' 23-17 win at Atlanta on Sunday. Lee was promoted to the Bills' active roster on Sept. 29 and saw action at outside linebacker against the Falcons.
• CATCH MCCLAIN ON MNF: Watch former USF defensive tackle Terrell McClain in action on Monday night when he suits up for the Washington Redskins at Kansas City. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
• AMERICAN STAT RANKINGS: USF currently leads the conference in total defense (293.8 ypg allowed) and ranks fifth nationally in rush defense with a conference-best 74.4 yards allowed per outing.

 
About USF Football
USF finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll with a school-record 11 wins following the program's fifth-ever bowl victory in the Birmingham Bowl. The Bulls' 11-2 record marked the fifth-best winning percentage in FBS football in 2016 and one of just 11 teams to reach 11 wins. USF set nearly 40 team and individual records in 2016, including team records for total yards (6,650), rushing yards (3,714), touchdowns (77) and scoring (569). Quarterback Quinton Flowers was named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led a school-record 10 players named to the all-conference team, six of which, including Flowers, returned in 2017. 

Purchase tickets for the upcoming season by following the USFBullsTix.com link HERE.

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