TAMPA, OCT. 28, 2017 – Senior Emilio Nadelman's kick put USF ahead by three with 1:46 remaining, but the Bulls couldn't hold off Houston in the closing seconds in a 28-24 loss Saturday night in Raymond James Stadium.

USF (7-1, 4-1) fell for the first time since Oct. 21, 2016 and saw its nation-leading winning streak come to an end at 12 games.

Senior Marquez Valdes-Scantling (St. Petersburg) finished with a career-high 10 catches for 186 yards on the night, which marked the second-most receiving yardage in USF history behind only Andre Davis' 191 yards at Nevada in 2012.

Quinton Flowers (Miami) posted season highs with 23 completions for 325 yards on a career-high 38 attempts. The senior dual-threat QB also rushed for two touchdowns before USF's nation-leading streak of 30-plus point games ended at 24.

Defensive tackle Deadrin Senat (Immokalee, Fla.) had a monster game, setting career highs with a team-high 12 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Senat had a sack on the final drive of the game before Houston (5-3, 3-2) found a way to pull ahead with 11 seconds remaining.

Senior Deatrick Nichols (Miami) finished with a career-high 10 tackles and helped USF's defense take a shutout into the second half. Sophomore Greg Reaves (Bradenton, Fla.) also set career highs with nine tackles and 2.5 of USF's 12.0 tackles for loss on the night.

USF's defense kept things scoreless in the first quarter by limiting Houston to 28 total yards on 16 plays. The Bulls defense set up the game's first score in the second quarter thanks to a tackle for loss by Josh Black (Tampa) on fourth-and-1 attempt by the Cougars at the Houston 37.

On fourth-and-goal on the Bulls' ensuing drive, D'Ernest Johnson (Immokalee, Fla.) followed his blockers into the end zone on a 2-yard run to give USF the lead with 9:34 remaining in the half. Darius Tice (Miami) converted USF's other fourth-down attempt on the drive with an 18-yard run down the middle and finished with a team-high 92 rushing yards.

USF took a 7-0 lead into halftime thanks to holding Houston to 82 offensive yards while the Cougars went 1-for-8 on third down in the opening 30 minutes. Devin Abraham (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) recovered a fumble forced by Khalid McGee (Miami) in the second quarter.

Houston tied the game up on the first drive of the second half, going 75 yards to score, but the Bulls answered right back on the ensuing drive with a 74-yard march of its own. Flowers strolled into the end zone from 3 yards out with 8:55 left in the third quarter one play after Tice converted on fourth-and-1 from the Houston 8.

Tied for the first time this season heading into the fourth quarter, USF jumped back ahead with Flowers' 2-yard touchdown run with 10:27 to play. Flowers set up his 39^th-career scoring run with a 38-yard pass to Valdes-Scantling on the previous play.

Tied again at 21-21 with 6:20 remaining, USF took 4:34 off the clock with a 10-play drive that covered 64 yards and was capped with a 30-yard field goal in the rain by Nadelman.

Houston's Brandon McDowell returned the Bulls' kickoff 50 yards to set the Cougars up on the USF 49 with 1:46 to play. After a pair of Bulls' tackles for loss, Houston faced a fourth-and-24 from the Houston 37. D'Eriq King's pass found its way between three Bulls defenders into the arms of Courtney Lark for a first down at the USF 33.

Five plays later, King scrambled, broke right and darted for a 20-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds on the clock.

Quotable
Head coach Charlie Strong on the Bulls' overall performance:
"It was back and forth, but thing about it is one play doesn't beat you. There were many opportunities in the first quarter... Defensively, we can't allow them to rush the ball the way they did. On fourth-and-24, just go up and knock it down, just get off the field and the game is over."

Strong on what's still ahead of the Bulls:
"I told our team, our goals are still in front of us. We've just got to go win our next three conference games and we'll get to where we need to get to."

Key Stats
255 – Houston rushed for 255 yards, an opponent season high, after totaling 97 rushing yards in the fourth quarter.
30 – Houston gained 30 yards on a fourth-and-24 play that gave life to its eventual game-winning drive.
14 – The amount of points USF gave up in the fourth quarter.
325 – Yards Quinton Flowers passed for, the second-highest total of his career.
186 – Yards receiving for Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the second-most in USF history.

Notables

• USF's nation-leading winning streak came to an end at 12 games. This marked USF's first loss since Oct. 21, 2016 and its first home loss since Oct. 2, 2015.
• USF saw its nation-leading streak of 24 consecutive games with 30-plus points come to an end.
• WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling set career highs with 10 catches for 186 yards in his first 100-yard receiving game. His 186 receiving yards are second on USF's single-game chart behind Andre Davis' record 191 yards against Nevada on Sept. 8, 2012.

Up Next
USF heads back on the road for a conference clash at UConn on Saturday, Nov. 4. That game has been set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPNU.

USF returns to Raymond James Stadium to host Tulsa on Thursday, Nov. 16. The 7:30 p.m. game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls. Learn about the Bulls' special ticket offers for the final home game of the regular season HERE.
 
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). Junior 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, will return in 2017. 

Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.