By Ernie Gonzalez (superego1012):
A hot Spartan start was quickly cooled off by the Bulls, as a 16-0 first-quarter lead disappeared by halftime and SJSU never got close again, dropping its season opener 42-22.
It took South Florida a little over eight game-minutes in the second quarter to put together three touchdown drives, two thanks to interceptions tipped by Spartan receivers landing in the hands of the Bulls defense.
“The picks that Josh threw… those are fixable,” said head coach Brent Brennan postgame.
As anticipated, Josh Love was given the keys to run the offense and impressed many, but only for a short time.
After the first quarter shutout, Love had converted on 8/15 passes, good for 77 yards and two touchdowns, both to sophomore wideout Bailey Gaither.
Gaither said post game that although he had two touchdowns and 100 yards receiving, it didn’t compare to blocking a punt.
“Special teams is big to us…to make that play for our team was a good feeling,” he said.
Even as the game got close, the Spartans struggled to find an answer.
Linebacker Frank Ginda said the team just got a little too carried away after the first 15 minutes.
“We just have to maintain our composure and play like the score is 0-0 every time,” Ginda said. Ginda led the defense with nine solo tackles (13 total) and two of them for loss.
That blocked punt came in the first quarter though, obviously before Quinton Flowers and the USF running game woke up. What happened next: seven straight USF touchdowns.
According to Flowers, the first quarter stats didn’t bother him as there was still lots of football to play.
The Florida QB was held to zero completions on two attempts and sacked three times in the first quarter after being sacked only 13 times all of last year.
“At the end of the day, we just had to go onto the next play. That’s what I told my guys,” Flowers said. “If you mess up, just go on to the next play and that next play might be the best play for us,” he said.
It’s not the first time Flowers and the Bulls have been down and on the road.
Week three of last season featured a nearly identical first half for the Bulls against Syracuse, as the Orange established a 17-0 first quarter, only to see it flip into a 28-17 halftime deficit. The Bulls would similarly go onto win that game 45-20.
USF running back D’Ernest Johnson may or may not have had a slight recollection on that game.
“We told each other we’ve been in that position before. We didn’t need to panic at all. We just had to go out there and do what we do,” Johnson said.
Johnson finished with 22 carries, 99 yards and found the end zone twice, including what had to have been the play of the game with his 50-yard touchdown, crushing whatever chance the Spartans had left in the second half.
Overall, the Spartans left their trademark on the field once again as they had no answer for the Bulls’ ground attack, which tallied 315 yards on 74 carries.
The Spartans need to find out a way to stop the run, win the turnover battle, and play all four quarters with the same intensity as they did in the first one. If they can do that, they can go up against just about anybody.