South Florida @ Notre Dame Football Recap

South Florida 23, Notre Dame 20

South Florida figuratively caught lightning in a bottle. It also weathered multiple storms on its trip to America’s most hallowed Catholic campus.

In a weekend where two other games were cut short due to extreme weather, Notre Dame and South Florida finished a game that had just under three hours worth of weather delays. South Florida prevailed in coach Skip Holtz’s homecoming of sorts, returning to the stadium where he played for and coached with his father Lou. The Bulls controlled the game throughout, the final score finishing at 23-20 only because 16 th  -ranked Notre Dame scored with 21 seconds left.

On the strength of two long passes from quarterback Dayne Crist and 21 rushing yards from Ceirre Wood, the Irish were on the verge of getting a leg up against their foe from the Big East. Notre Dame marched to South Florida’s one-yard line. But on third down, Jonas Gray coughed up a fumble that was returned 96 yards by Kayvon Webster for a South Florida touchdown. Crist ineffectively moving the offense, South Florida took two more drives in the first quarter for scores, settling for field goals both times for a 13-0 lead. The game was never in question after the first frame.

The only time Crist would move the ball again was early in the second quarter, when he led a 61-yard drive to South Florida’s seven-yard line, but threw an interception into the endzone. Despite a missed field goal, the Bulls had opportunity to add another before halftime, and led 16-0 at halftime. When play finally resumed two hours later for the second half, Tommy Rees replaced Crist for the Irish. Despite outgaining South Florida 508 yards to 254, the day belonged to the Bulls.

South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels posted a statistically unimpressive 18-of-30, 128-yard performance in the win. However, Daniels did not commit the big mistake that has sabotaged multiple games and seasons for USF in recent years, dating back to the coaching tenure of former South Florida boss Jim Leavitt. Daniels showed a new level of maturity in this season opener under coach Skip Holtz, and that’s a big reason why the Bulls managed to roll into Indiana and notch this massive victory.

Rees threw for 296 yards on 34 pass attempts in the second half for the Irish. Michael Floyd hauled down 12 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

South Florida hosts Ball State (1-0) next week, while Notre Dame travels to the anticipated night game at Michigan (1-0).

> Find a great selection of South Florida Bulls merchandise and more online along with Big East football gear from Big East Fans partner sites.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer