Seminoles Slow Bulls Attack

It was a tale of two halves for South Florida at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday September 12.

A 29 point underdog, the Bulls hung around for a majority of the game making the Seminoles fans start sweating and wishing they could trade the sweat for the raindrops that fell before the game.

The Bulls and their new 4-2-5 defense was relentless the entire game.  In the first half, the Bulls aggressively pursued FSU quarterback Everett Golson forcing the Seminoles QB to finish the first half 1-for-6 for 9 yards.  In addition, the Seminoles were 0-for-7 on 3rd downs in the first half.

If not for Dalvin Cook, the Bulls would have had the lead going into halftime.  With the Seminoles third offensive possession and his fourth carry of the game, Cook broke a long 74 yard run to put the Seminoles on the board and give them the lead at 7-0.  The TD by Cook did not deter the Bulls defense who remained aggressive, keeping the Bulls in the game and forcing the Seminoles into continuous three-and-out situations.

The Bulls offense got on the board in the 2nd quarter when Quinton Flowers hooked up with D’Ernest Johnson for Johnson’s third TD of the year.  The Bulls and Seminoles went into halftime tied 7-7 with the Bulls outgaining the Seminoles 122-110.

The Bulls could not keep the momentum going into the second half.

FSU kick returner, Kermit Whitfield, took the second half kick-off 54 yards giving the Seminoles good field position to start the second half.  Four plays later, Cook scampered 24 yards for his second TD of the game, reclaiming the lead for the Seminoles 14-7.

The Seminoles never looked back.

The Bulls tried to mount a late game run when Flowers found Johnson for a 71 yard TD pass, his second TD of the game, but the Bulls could build no momentum after that.  Cook had another TD run of 37 yards putting the finishing touches on the game and finishing with 266 yards on 30 carries.  The Bulls were led by D’Ernest Johnson who had 5 catches for 89 yards.

The Bulls have now lost their last 8 games against ranked opponents.

The Bulls travel to College Park, MD to take on Maryland at 12 pm on September 19.