South Florida Bulls @ Connecticut Huskies Football Recap

Connecticut 16, South Florida 10

The South Florida Bulls have to be at their wits’ end.

A season that began with a road win at Notre Dame has now descended into the pit of Big East futility for the boys from Tampa, Florida. Moreover, the Bulls must come to grips with the realization that one year after allowing the Connecticut Huskies to win the Big East championship at their expense, they’ve enabled the UConn crew to once again prosper without any appreciable degree of offensive production. South Florida’s defense knows how to contain its conference foe from New England; the Bulls just can’t beat the Huskies as a result, and now, USF’s season lies in tatters.

It’s true: For the second straight year, Connecticut found a way to beat South Florida in a must win game despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. Whereas last year’s win earned the Huskies a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, this year’s win merely lifted the season up off the scrap heap and gave them a chance to get back to bowl eligibility. However, the main storyline from this game isn’t really what happened to Connecticut; it’s the thunderbolt that has stunned the Bulls, a team that – three weeks ago – looked like a bona fide contender for the very same conference championship that UConn snuck away with in 2010.

The Huskies were only able to muster 135 yards through the air, but did get 130 yards on the ground from tailback Lyle McCombs to control the ball for much of the second half and find a way to win the game late. However, for all the grit and gumption displayed by coach Paul Pasqualoni’s Connecticut club, there’s simply no reason why 16 points (only some of them scored by the Huskies’ offense) should have been enough to beat South Florida. Coach Skip Holtz had his team playing a big-league brand of ball for most of September, but in the span of just 17 days, his team’s campaign has completely unraveled. It will take Lou Holtz’s son a much longer time to bring USF to the highest level; there will be no quick fix in Tampa in 2011.

The game was a particular frustration for South Florida fans expecting the Bulls to enter the game well rested and ready to air it out against a Huskies defense that had allowed over 400 yards passing to its previous two opponents. Instead, the Bulls struggled to ever protect BJ Daniels, and when he had time, there were few open targets. Daniels finished the game throwing for just 164 yards and two interceptions including a crucial one in the fourth quarter. Yet, interceptions were the least of USF’s problems. With the Bulls owning a tenuous 10-9 lead midway through the third quarter, Connecticut’s Byron Jones pounced on a South Florida fumble and returned it 10 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. UConn gained a 16-10 lead on that play, and when Daniels couldn’t provide a worthy response to in-game adversity, the Huskies – unable to stick the ball in the end zone with their pop-gun offense – nevertheless walked off the field as winners.

The victory improves Connecticut to 3-4 while dropping South Florida to a disappointing 4-2. More importantly for the Bulls, they drop to 0-2 in Big East play with the meat of the schedule still in front of them. South Florida must face a fate that makes grown men – especially coaches – lose sleep late at night.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer