Stony Brook Seawolves vs South Florida Bulls Match Player Stats On Sep 02, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 2, 2017

TAMPA -- No. 19 South Florida got a scare from FCS school Stony Brook, which led the Bulls at halftime and was tied in the fourth quarter before USF pulled out a 31-17 victory on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium.

USF (2-0) was held in check for three quarters, but got a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quinton Flowers to Tyre McCants to take the lead with 11:23 left in the game.

Stony Brook (0-1) had tied the game at 17-17 with 13:04 left, on a 54-yard touchdown run by Stacey Bedell. The Seawolves got the ball with a chance to tie late, but did so from its 2-yard line with three minutes to play. It was only when Mazzi Wilkins intercepted a pass with 2:38 left that the win was sealed for USF. The Bulls added a late touchdown with 1:40 left by Darius Tice, his second of the game, and got another interception with 11 seconds left.

USF came out of the gates struggling for the second week in a row and needed much more time to take control of the game. The Bulls had started slowly in their opener last week, trailing at San Jose State 16-0 before a 28-point second quarter helped them to an easy 42-22 win.

Flowers finished Saturday with 186 passing yards and two touchdowns, with another 86 rushing yards.

Things went Stony Brook's way from the start.

USF went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Seawolves' 27, and it looked like Flowers went in for a touchdown, but after review, it was determined he was touched while down at the 29, negating the score and turning the ball over on downs.

Stony Brook took a 7-0 lead on a blocked punt, as receiver Andrew Trent blocked Jonathan Hernandez's punt in the end zone, with defensive back Augie Contressa falling on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

USF answered with a 73-yard touchdown drive, capped by Tice's 1-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7-7.

Stony Brook not only kept Flowers and USF's vaunted offense in check, but took the lead, driving into Bulls territory in the second quarter and going ahead on Alex Lucansky's 36-yard field goal with 4:02 left in the half.

Flowers threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling with 2:43 left in the third quarter for the Bulls' first lead at 14-10.

After a 46-yard punt return by Tajee Fullwood, the Bulls had to settle for a 33-yard Emilio Nadelman field goal to extend their lead to 17-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.

NOTES: USF managed only 96 yards of total offense in the first half, with QB Quinton Flowers, touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate, going 6 of 10 for 34 yards in the half, also rushing for 34. ... Stony Brook visited USF in 2010 in its first game as an FCS program and led 7-0 in that game, but it quickly turned to a 59-14 win for the Bulls. ... The Bulls open their conference season next week with a game at Connecticut, while Stony Brook returns home to face Sacred Heart. ... LB Shayne Lawless led Stony Brook with 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss.