No. 19 S. Florida beats San Jose St. 42-22 after slow start

The start of the Charlie Strong era at South Florida didn't quite go as scripted. Now that it's over the coach of the 19th-ranked Bulls is actually pretty pleased that his team had to show the ability to overcome some adversity.

Quinton Flowers threw two touchdown passes and D'Ernest Johnson had two TD runs in a dominant second quarter that helped South Florida rally from an early 16-point deficit to beat San Jose State 42-22 on Saturday.

"It's good that you have a good game like this so now guys know there's improvement to be made," Strong said. "We can't get complacent. You want a game like this. It's not as much pressure as they think it is but you have to play well to win games."

The Bulls were held to 22 yards in the opening quarter, the defense allowed two early TD passes by Josh Love and two ineffective punts set up two scores for the Spartans.

But the game turned when Josh Black stuffed Malike Roberson for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the South Florida 33 in the closing minute of the first quarter with San Jose State leading 16-0.

"I told the guys we can't flinch," Flowers said. "We've been down like that before. It was time where I had to step up and tell the team, `Let's go.'"

It took less than nine minutes for the Bulls to turn that big early deficit into a lead with help from a pair of interceptions off deflected passes by Josh Love. Flowers started the comeback with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Salomon, Johnson followed with a TD run on fourth-and-goal from the 2 and Flowers followed with a 49-yard scoring strike to Temi Alaka.

Johnson capped the four-touchdown, 271-yard quarter with a tight-rope act down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run that made it 28-16 and the rout was on in the second half.

"I thought we did some good stuff early and we were executing," Love said. "The scoring fell off it felt like we needed to answer their scores and we just didn't."

Flowers added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter and finished 11 for 23 for 212 yards passing and 70 yards on 18 carries.

Strong took over at South Florida after being fired following three losing seasons at Texas. He went 16-21 with the Longhorns after a successful stint at head coach at Louisville and now will look to have similar success with the Bulls.

THE TAKEAWAY

SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls entered the season with lofty expectations after tying the 2008 squad for the highest preseason ranking in school history. The early struggles could be a sign of concern or just the normal process of finding a rhythm under a new coaching staff. One bright spot all game was a stout run defense that held San Jose State to 2.9 yards per carry.

SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans looked far more competitive in their opener under coach Brent Brennan but still lost for the 24th time in their past 25 meetings against ranked teams. Love threw two touchdown passes to Bailey Gaither in the first quarter to open up the big lead. Gaither also blocked a punt that set up his second touchdown and the San Jose State defense held one of the nation's most dynamic quarterbacks in check for one quarter. But the offense failed to get much going after the first quarter with Love throwing three interceptions. Backup QB Montel Aaron threw a TD pass in the fourth quarter.

BIG HIT

The defensive highlight for the Bulls came on San Jose State's first drive of the third quarter when Juwuan Brown slammed Zamore Zigler with a 5-yard loss on a crushing hit .

SPEED IT UP

The Bulls are playing at a much faster tempo on offense this season and ran a school-record 101 plays in the opener. That helped wear down the Spartans and contributed to a 315-yard rushing night.

"This offense is really fast," Flowers said. "You get to the point where you get a defense very tired. That's what you have to see in a defense. You pick them apart and just keep moving."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

With no new poll until Sept. 5, this game doesn't figure to have much impact on the Bulls ranking.

UP NEXT

SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls their home opener next Saturday against Stony Brook of the FCS.

SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans get a bit of a breather in a grueling nonconference schedule when they host FCS-level Cal Poly next weekend before making trips to No. 23 Texas and Utah the following two weeks

Flowers shines, South Florida beats No. 22 Navy 52-45

 Quinton Flowers ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns to help South Florida get back on track in the American Athletic Conference with a 52-45 victory over No. 22 Navy on Friday night.

Rebounding from a 16-point loss to Temple that cost the Bulls (7-2, 4-1) sole possession of first place in the AAC's East Division, Flowers keyed a balanced attack that amassed 629 yards total offense against an overmatched Navy defense that yielded TDs on USF's first six possessions of the game to fall behind 42-14 at halftime.

"Great win for us," USF coach Willie Taggart said. "I'm really excited the way our guys responded to how we performed last week."

Will Worth ran for four touchdowns for Navy (5-2, 4-1), which leads the AAC West and entered game as the only team without a loss in league play after beating then-No. 6 Houston and Memphis to nudge into the Top 25.

Flowers joined Marlon Mack in topping 100 yards rushing for the third time in four games. The dual-threat quarterback scored on runs of 1 and 63 yards, while also throwing for 219 and two more TDs.

Mack scored on an 85-yard run in the opening quarter and finished with 125 on 11 carries for the 18th 100-yard performance of his career, fifth this season.

"Our guys accepted the challenge. We needed to run the ball well and score early," Taggart said. "You want (Navy) to have to play from behind."

Worth rushed for 129 yards and scored on runs of 4, 1, 1 and 2 yards for Navy, which was forced to throw the ball more than the Midshipmen are accustomed, with Worth going 15 of 27 for 299 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The senior quarterback from Valrico, Florida - a short drive from the USF campus - set up one of his TDs with a 42-yard completion to Toneo Gulley. The Midshipmen attempted more than eight passes in a game for only the third time this season, finishing with 616 yards total offense, including 317 rushing.

Worth's 9-yard TD pass to Darryl Bonner came on the game's final play.

"We gave them a 28-point lead," Worth said, "and it's tough to come back against a talented team like that."

TAKEAWAY

Navy: The Midshipmen thrive by essentially playing keep-away, using a potent rushing attack to control the ball and keep opposing offenses off the field for long stretches. The strategy worked to perfection a year ago - when Navy ran for 442 yards to beat USF 29-17 in Annapolis - but never got a chance to work this time.

South Florida: Flowers leads the American in TD passes, however the Bulls are at their best when they're able to run the ball consistently. Mack led the AAC is rushing the past two years. And along with Flowers, who is averaging more than 7 yards per carry, USF has the best one-two running punch in the conference.

RUNNING WILD

South Florida rushed for a school record 190 yards in the first quarter and finished with 412. D'Ernest Johnson gained a career-high 108 on 19 attempts, giving the Bulls three 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time in program history.

AIR NAVY

Worth's passing total was a season high. The only other time he threw more than 12 passes in game, he was 17 of 30 for 260 yards and no touchdowns in a 14-point loss at Air Force on Oct. 1.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Navy remains atop the American West standings, however the lopsided result likely will knock the Midshipmen out of the Top 25. USF was inching toward a spot in the rankings before last week's loss at Temple. The dominating performance on national television states the case that at the very least no team in the AAC is playing better than the Bulls right now.

RARE LEAGUE LOSS

Navy has won 11 of 13 conference games since joining the American last year. The only another loss in league play was a 52-31 defeat at Houston last season.

UP NEXT

Navy steps out of conference, returning to Florida next Saturday to face Notre Dame in Jacksonville.

South Florida has a bye before playing at Memphis on Nov. 12.

Armstead, Temple run over USF 46-30 to take 1st in AAC East

 Ryquell Armstead ran for a career-high 210 yards, including touchdowns of 76 and 42 yards, and Temple moved into first place in the AAC East with a 46-30 victory against South Florida on Friday night.

The Owls (5-3, 3-1) repaid a 44-23 loss to the Bulls (6-2, 3-1) last season and ran for 319 yards.

USF quarterback Quinton Flowers threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, but he was shaken up late in the fourth quarter trying to dive for a first down. He did not return.

Bulls coach Willie Taggart said Flowers "tweaked" his hamstring.

Marlon Mack ran for a 30-yard touchdown with 8:42 left to cut the lead to 37-30.

USF got the ball at its 13 down seven with 5:00 minutes left, but Delvon Randall intercepted a pass by backup quarterback Brett Kean to put the Owls at the 3. Jahad Thomas ran in for a score on the next play seal the victory.

Flowers accounts for 5 TDs, South Florida beats UConn 42-27

 Quinton Flowers passed for two touchdowns and ran for three more and South Florida had 316 yards rushing in its 42-27 win over UConn on Saturday night.

Flowers had 213 yards passing and 157 yards rushing as USF (6-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) scored at least 35 points for the 11th consecutive game, extending the program record. Marlon Mack added 107 yards rushing and a score on 16 carries and had six receptions for 75 yards.

Flowers scored on touchdown runs of 54 and 8 yards to help the Bulls take a 14-3 lead into halftime, but Arkeel Newsomescored on a 70-yard catch and run and a 4-yard carry just 63 seconds apart to give UConn (3-4, 1-3) a 17-14 advantage with 12:38 left in the third quarter.

But Flowers added an 8-yard touchdown run about seven minutes later and USF led the rest of the way.

Bryant Sherriffs passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and Noel Thomas had 12 receptions for 127 yards, to lead the Huskies.

Mack, Flower lead USF over ECU 38-22

 Marlon Mack rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns, Quinton Flowers threw for three more and South Florida defeated East Carolina 38-22 on Saturday.

East Carolina (2-4, 0-2 American) scored 16 straight points to close within 24-22 with 6:58 remaining before Flowers connected with Rodney Adams on a 62-yard touchdown pass and Mack added a 9-yard scoring run following an interception by Nigel Harris.

The Bulls (5-1, 2-0) extended a school-record streak with their 10th straight game of 35 points and have won six consecutive conference games. Flowers finished 21 of 29 for 250 yards with Adams catching seven for 113.

Flowers threw TD passes to D'Ernest Johnson of 6 yards and 11 yards for a 17-6 halftime lead. Mack's 1-yard score made it 24-6 midway through the third quarter.

The Pirates' James Summers had 118 yards rushing with a score. Zay Jones added 145 yards receiving and a touchdown with 18 catches.

Flowers, Mack help USF pull away, beat Cincinnati 45-20

Quentin Flowers and Marlon Mack ran for two touchdowns apiece and Mack became South Florida's career rushing leader as the Bulls scored the final 28 points to beat Cincinnati 45-20 on Saturday night.

Mack finished 118 yards on 20 carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that moved him past Andre Hall into first on South Florida's career rushing list. Mack, a junior, has 2,755 yards rushing in 28 career games.

Flowers completed 16 of 26 passes for 196 yards and added 74 yards rushing.

Mack's first touchdown, a 4-yard run, gave USF (4-1, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) a 24-20 lead with 1:40 left in the first half.

Flowers scored on a 19-yard run with 4:29 to play in the third quarter and, fewer than 3 minutes later, Johnny Ward returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 38-20.

Bearcats' freshman Ross Trail threw for one touchdown and ran for another but threw three interceptions before being replaced by Gunner Kiel after Ward's pick-six. Tion Greene had 98 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries for Cincinnati (3-2, 0-1).

THE TAKEAWAY

South Florida - The Bulls came into the game ranked 24th in the FBS with eight takeaways. They had four more against the Bearcats: three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Cincinnati - Kiel, who threw 40 combined touchdown passes in 2014 and 2015, completed his first three passes before finishing 3-of-11 passing for 47 yards. Sophomore Hayden Moore started the first three games of the season, throwing for 785 yards with seven TDs and three interceptions, before injuring his ankle in a 40-16 loss to Houston on Sept. 15.

UP NEXT

South Florida - The Bulls host East Carolina in its second conference game October 8 at noon. USF edged East Carolina 22-17 in 2015.

Cincinnati - The Bearcats travel to Connecticut on October 8 for an 11:30 am game. Cincinnati was a 37-13 winner in their last meeting.

No. 13 Florida State rebounds and routs South Florida 55-35

 Dalvin Cook rushed for a career-high 267 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as No. 13 Florida State rebounded from the most lopsided loss in school history with a 55-35 rout of previously unbeaten South Florida.

Cook scored on a 75-yard run on the Seminoles' first play from scrimmage, an immediate response to USF starting the game with Quinton Flowers and Rodney Adams teaming on an 84-yard catch-and-run for a quick 7-0 lead. The 213-pound junior's rushing total on 28 carries topped his previous best of 266 yards against South Florida last year.

Florida State (3-1) bounced back from being trounced 63-20 by Louisville, a road shellacking that dropped the Seminoles 11 spots in the AP Top 25 from No. 2.

South Florida (3-1) is off to its fastest start since 2011, however the Bulls were no match for a talented bunch that began the season with expectations of contending for its second national title in four years.

Marlon Mack's 1-yard TD run gave USF a brief lead before Cook, Freddie Stevenson and Bobo Wilson scored on Florida State's next three possessions to put the Seminoles up 28-14.

Deondre Francois threw for 169 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The red-shirt freshman added a 35-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida State: Losing to Louisville by 43 may have severely damaged the Seminoles' chances of winding up in this year's College Football Playoff, however getting Cook back on track will give them a chance to have an impact on the race.

South Florida: Beating the Seminoles would have been nice, however a better test of where coach Willie Taggart's rebuilding job stands is whether they can shrug off the disappointment and contend for a spot in the AAC championship game.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Seminoles return to Tallahassee for their ACC home opener against North Carolina.

South Florida: The Bulls begin their AAC schedule next Saturday at Cincinnati.

Adams, Mack power USF to 45-20 comeback against Syracuse

 Being down 17-0 to Syracuse was no problem for South Florida on Saturday. Not with its quick-strike offense. And not with the Bulls playing in the Carrier Dome, one of its favorite road venues.

"It's a great environment, we just had to block out the crowd, come out and play football," said receiver Rodney Adams, who scored three touchdowns. "The turf felt like a speed track. I liked it."

The rest of his teammates did, too, especially after the first quarter when the Bulls (3-0) found themselves trailing big. All the Bulls did the rest of the way was outscore the Orange (1-2) 45-3 for a 45-20 win. The victory moved South Florida to 5-0 at the Dome.

"It was a slow start, but we had to just calm down and play football like we normally do," Adams said. "That's exactly what we did. Coach (Willie) Taggart preached about facing adversity. We calmed down and just played football."

Syracuse dominated the first 15 minutes but its offense stalled and defense yielded quick scores the rest of the way. The Bulls stormed back to win in a laugher.

"We're got hit by a storm," said running back Marlon Mack, who added two scores," but Coach T said we just need to fight back and stay calm."

"We knew we'd face adversity and I wanted to see how this 2016 team handled it," Taggart said. "They didn't flinch. They (Syracuse) threw the first punch and our guys kind of took it, then our guys settled down and thing started to really take off for us."

"I thought the first part of the game we were able to do the things we wanted to do," Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. "I thought we started off well. Once the second quarter, third quarter, second half (started), we weren't quite able to finish. I thought we could really win that game and I'm a little disappointed that we didn't."

The Bulls, who have won 10 of their last 12 games, gained at least 200 yards on the ground for the eighth-straight game, led by Mack's 115. South Florida has scored 149 points this season. The Bulls had four scoring drives under two minutes

Despite the lopsided score, the Orange outgained the Bulls 549-456 and had 30 first downs to the Bulls' 20. But things weren't close on the scoreboard as the Bulls kept the Orange out of the end zone in the final 45 minutes despite a stifling Dome and despite Syracuse running 105 plays, which shattered the school single-game record and tied the most in ACC history.

"Heat? We live in Florida," Taggart said. "It was a little cool in there today. We just tried to keep our guys fresh, and rotate them in and out the best we could."

Taggart said his defense made some basic adjustments after the first quarter.

"Tackling, tackling, tackling," he said. "There were a lot of missed tackles early and our guys did a better job of tackling. Things turned around for us."

D'Ernest Johnson returned a punt 84 yards to score for USF.

Quinton Flowers was 12 of 24 for 183 yards passing for the Bulls and rushed for 51 more. Eric Dungey was 32-for-48 for 350 yards and two TDs for Syracuse. Dontae Strickland led SU's ground game with 127 yards. Erv Philips andAmba Etta-Tawo had 10 and eight receptions, respectively, for Syracuse.

Playing with a depleted secondary and a defense that was torched by Louisville a week ago, Syracuse dominated the opening quarter, outgaining USF 214-64 yards. The Orange registered 12 first downs in the quarter to USF's three and scored on pass plays of 24 and 47 yards from Dungey to Philips and Brisly Estime, and a 40-yard field goal by Cole Murphy.

TAKEAWAYS:

USF: Mack was held pretty much in check by the Orange - at least until late in the third quarter. Mack, who gained 184 yards against SU a year ago, had 55 yards on five carries in the first half, but 40 of those came on one play. He scampered untouched for a 52-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and now has 14 100-yard games, a South Florida record.

SYRACUSE: The Orange was playing without three-quarters of its starting secondary. Antwan Cordy and Juwan Dowels, who were both injured against Louisville, are out for the season with forearm and knee injuries, respectively, and Kielan Whitner also sat out Saturday.

UP NEXT:

USF: The Bulls host in-state foe Florida State next Saturday. Expect the Seminoles to be smarting from this week's drubbing at the hands of Louisville

SYRACUSE: The Orange goes out of conference for a road game Saturday against former Big East rival UConn.

Flowers shines, South Florida routs Northern Illinois

 Quinton Flowers threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns to lead South Florida to a 48-17 rout of Northern Illinois on Saturday night.

With two-time American Athletic Conference rushing leader Marlon Macksitting out after spending the past week in the concussion protocol, Flowers accounted for 403 of his team's 658 yards total offense while tossing TD passes of 73 yards to Ryeshene Bronson, 26 yards to Rodney Adams, 13 yards to D'Ernest Johnson and 6 yards to Chris Barr.

The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries, helping the Bulls (2-0) - preseason favorites to win the American's East Division - remain unbeaten through two games for the first time in four seasons under coach Willie Taggart.

"2-0! It's been awhile," Taggart, 14-23 in his first three seasons with the Bulls, said. "Climbing is easier than hanging on."

Northern Illinois quarterback Drew Hare was carted off the field with an apparent left leg injury midway through the third quarter. The redshirt senior missed the last five games of 2015 with a right Achilles injury.

Backup Ryan Graham threw an 11-yard TD pass to Aregeros Turner, who also scored on a 4 run for the Huskies, who lost their season opener at Wyoming 40-34 in triple overtime.

THE TAKEAWAY

Northern Illinois: The Huskies have played in six straight Mid-American Conference championships games and also appeared in a league-record eight consecutive bowl games, which is to say the most important part of their season is still ahead of them. The 0-2 start will mean little if NIU can rebound - especially defensively - to make another strong run in conference play.

South Florida: Taggart has his team playing with confidence and swagger. The Bulls have won nine of 11 games dating to last season, improving to 2-0 for the first time since 2012, when they went on lose nine of 10 and finish 3-9. The last time USF won three straight to begin a season was 2011, when it dropped seven of eight following a 4-0 start to wind up 5-7. Houston may be the team to beat for the American title, however Taggart's bunch looks as strong as any bidding to represent the East in the league's championship game.

NEXT MAN UP

Mack led the American in rushing the past two seasons. He had a streak of five consecutive 100-yard performances ended when he sat out the entire second half of USF's season opener against Towson, finishing with 58 yards. Darius Tice replaced him in the starting lineup Saturday night and gained 120 yards on 19 attempts. D'Ernest Johnson shared the workload, finishing with 87 yards on 16 attempts.

"It was good to get so many guys get involved and contribute," Taggart said.

TRACKING THE HUSKIES:

A week after scoring three touchdowns and leading NIU with 144 yards receiving and 82 yards rushing, NIU's Kenny Golladay was limited to four receptions for 43 yards and no TDs. Hare, meanwhile, completed 13 of 20 passes for 96 yards, no TDs and no interceptions before being injured when he was nearly tackled in his own end zone with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter. Graham was 9 of 15 for 65 yards, one TD and no interceptions.

"I don't know the diagnosis on Hare," NIU coach Rod Carey said, "Right now, we'll move forward with Ryan."

UP NEXT

Northern Illinois: Huskies get a break from the road, where they played consecutive games to begin a season for the first time since 2013, and return to DeKalb, Illinois for their home opener against San Diego State.

"It'll be good to be home," Carey said. "We've got to a bunch of things to correct and move forward."

South Florida: Begins the tougher portion of its non-conference schedule, traveling to Syracuse next Saturday before returning home to face No. 3 Florida State in two weeks.

"Now we get to see if we can take this show on the road and do what we do at home," Taggart said.

Flowers leads South Florida to lopsided win over Towson

 Quinton Flowers threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, helping South Florida open the season with a 56-20 rout of overmatched Towson on Saturday night.

The dual-threat quarterback threw TD passes of 43 yards to Darius Tice, and 51 yards to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He also scored on runs of 5 and 7 yards, showing why he's one of the reasons USF enters the year with heightened expectations of contending for its first American Athletic Conference championship after improving from four wins two seasons ago to eight in 2015.

Two-time AAC rushing champion Marlon Mack ran for 58 yards and a TD before sitting out the second half, ending a streak of five consecutive 100-yard performances. He banged his shoulder and was slow getting up after fumbling at the end of a 7-yard run; however, coach Willie Taggart said the junior who moved within 251 yards of USF's career rushing record was fine after the game.

"I walked into the locker room and he told me he was good," Taggart said. "He took a good hit. But he said: `I'm ok, coach.' That was good to hear."

Seven different players scored touchdowns for USF, which won seven of eight following a 1-3 start to finish with eight wins last season.

"We have a lot of weapons. We have to figure out how to use all of them," Taggart said, adding "it's good no one panicked when Marlon went down. We kept making plays."

Red-shirt sophomore Morgan Mahalak, who spent two years at Oregon before transferring to FCS Towson, threw for 165 yards in his debut for the Tigers. His 56-yard completion to Christian Summers set up the first of two TD runs by Darius Victor.

THE TAKEAWAY

Towson: Opened the season against a FBS opponent for the fourth time in five years. And with Mahalak running the offense, the Tigers showed they're more than capable of making plays against anyone, which should bode well as they try to build on last season's success in the Colonial Athletic Association. Even better news, they won't face another team this season that has the size, speed and quickness of USF.

South Florida: The Flowers-led "Gulf Coast Offense" was virtually unstoppable at times during last year's stretch run, and the Bulls put up some impressive numbers again Saturday night. But they also learned there's plenty of room for improvement. Towson wasn't able to take advantage of mistakes that could prove costly down the road when the schedule gets tougher.

UP NEXT

Towson: The Tigers return home from their first appearance in the Sunshine State to open their Colonial Athletic Association schedule against Saint Francis.

South Florida: The Bulls face Northern Illinois at home before taking on Power Five conference opponents Syracuse and Florida State the following two weeks.

South Florida Bulls Season Preview

STORYLINES
USF doubled its wins total from 2013 in Willie Taggart’s second year as the Bulls’ head coach. Since 2007, USF has registered nonconference wins against Auburn, UCF, Clemson, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, Northern Illinois and Notre Dame, among others. The Bulls will have new coordinators on both offense and defense in 2015. Co-offensive coordinator Danny Hope was formerly the head coach at Purdue.
OFFENSE
RB Marlon Mack was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2014 after he led the conference in rushing (86.8 ypg). Mack had four 100-yard games and five touchdown runs of at least 54 yards in his freshman season. QB Steven Bench and QB Quinton Flowers will battle for the starting spot in the summer. Bench has made three career starts, while Flowers made one start as a freshman last year. Returning starters OG Brynjar Gudmundsson and OG Thor Jozwiak provide a solid foundation on the interior line. The top returning receiver is WR Rodney Adams, who had 23 catches for 323 yards and two touchdowns in 2014
DEFENSE
Defensive coordinator Tom Allen joins the staff after he spent the last three seasons as the linebackers coach at Mississippi. LB Nigel Harris led the nation with six forced fumbles in 2014. He is part of a USF defense that returns its top five tacklers from last season. Harris joins LB Auggie Sanchez as returning starters at linebacker. S Jamie Byrd also returns as a starter at the husky position. The secondary returns three starters — CB Johnny Ward, S Nate Godwin and S Devin Abraham. S Tajee Fullwood saw starting duty as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS
P Mattias Ciabatti is among the top punters in the nation. He led The American and was 10th nationally with an average punt of 44.4 yards on his way to all-conference first-team honors. The Bulls will have to replace the production of Marvin Kloss, a former Groza Award finalist who was one of the nation’s top kickers.