Week 2 Top Stories
1. Penn State is no match for the Crimson Tide.
2. Florida State fans are already dreaming of next year after season opening loss to Nebraska.
3. Hurricanes are confident after a victory over Texas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 2 Champions Division Results
USF 63 - UF 9 | LSU 35 - TENN 31 | ALA 56 - PSU 35
MIA 40 - TEX 28 | USC 42 - GT 38
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3 Champions Division Schedule
#7 USC (1-0, 1-0) at #19 Texas (0-1, 0-1)
Tennessee (1-1, 1-1) at #15 Penn State (0-2, 0-2)
Florida (0-2, 0-2) at #22 Miami (2-0, 2-0)
#6 Stanford (2-0, 1-0) at Kansas State (1-1, 0-1)
LSU (1-1, 1-1) at #8 Alabama (1-1, 1-1)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3 Notable Games
#11 Southern Miss (1-0, 0-0) at #13 USF (2-0, 2-0)
#25 Arkansas (1-1, 1-1) at #14 Florida State (0-1, 0-1)
#23 Louisiana Tech (1-0, 0-0) at #5 Rutgers (0-0, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
WR Tyler Brown (Alabama): 16 receptions, 363 yards, 6 touchdowns
LB Heath Shelton (Fresno State): 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack, 2 forced fumbles, fumble recovery
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WR Tyler Brown (Alabama): 16 receptions, 363 yards, 6 touchdowns
LB Taylor Daltoso (Kansas State): 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, forced fumble, fumble recovery
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 247 Five-Star Commitments
#5 Eddie Watson [ATH #4]: 6'1", 208lbs | Center Point, AL | 5-star | University of Alabama
#6 Scott Price [ATH #5]: 6'3", 211lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of South Florida
#15 Nate Brown [WR #3]: 5'10", 191lbs | Southside, AL | 5-star | University of Alabama
#22 Ricky Maxey [T #1]: 6'5", 280lbs | Hacienda Heights, CA | 5-star | University of Southern California
#30 Shawn Thomas [DT #1]: 6'1", 291lbs | Mount Olive, NC | 5-star | University of South Florida
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Florida Recruiting Commitments
#6 Scott Price [ATH #5]: 6'3", 211lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of South Florida
#176 Matt Harris [TE #9]: 6'3", 220lbs | Fort Myers, FL | 4-star | University of Oklahoma
Week 3 Preview: vs. #11 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Record: 1-0, 0-0 Big XII
Last Season Record: 11-2
Head Coach: Kirby Smart (129-79 at Southern Miss, 17th year, 178-120)
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Bajakian (Spread)
Defensive Coordinator: William Mitchell (3-3-5 D)
Returning Career Leaders
Passing: Scott Fulton (35.7 cmp%, 79.0 yards per game, TD)
Rushing: Adam Moore (134.9 yards per game, 6.1 ypc, 26 TD)
Receiving: James Mason (73 receptions, 27.0 yards per game, 8 TD)
Defense: Brett Marshall (46 tackles, 9 INT, 10 PBU, 2 FF)
USF's Malcolm Francois Sr. is in no rush to officially name a starter despite standout performances from Jet Millines
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles
Through the first two games of the season, junior quarterback Jet Millines is completing 77 percent of his passes, averaging 211 passing yards per game, 70 rushing yards per game on 10.1 yards per carry and five touchdowns with no interceptions or fumbles. He's doing all of that while only being on the field for half of USF's offensive drives this season, splitting time with true freshman Mark Cunningham.
Even with those numbers, USF head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. confirmed that they'll continue the rotating of quarterbacks in Saturday's home game against Southern Miss.
"I like what I've seen from both guys," Francois Sr. said, "I'd like to see some more from both of them and I don't think it's hurting the team, I think it helps to have a fresh guy in there to re-energize the team and give the defense a different look. They're different quarterbacks so teams have to prepare for them differently and offensively, the staff is doing a good job of both preparing them and also the guys around them to deal with a different guy in that huddle."
Cunningham has dealt with drops but is still completing 61 percent of his passes for 132 passing yards per game with three touchdowns, all in the Florida game, along with an interception. He's not the athlete that Millines is, rushing for only three yards.
Bulls leaning into 'Smith Family Reunion' as Smith triplets set to crash
Around this time last year, five-star offensive tackle Brian Smith Jr. had just announced his surprise commitment to the University of Southern Miss, spurning his father's alma mater USF.
The Bulls would go on to sign Brian Jr's triplet brothers, Brandon and Marcellus, who have both played quite a high number of snaps this season already. Marcellus has four tackles and a tackle for loss, primarily being used as an outside linebacker in the team's 3-4 fronts while Brandon at 345 pounds has been the team's nose tackle in their odd man fronts. He's got two tackles on the year but has been instrumental in USF's top 50 rushing defense.
"I'd love to see them two go at it," said linebacker Kyle Locher of Brandon and Brian, "They're probably the two biggest guys they've each ever seen so you want to see that but my guy Marcellus, he's strong too so it should be a fun matchup, we've been talking about it all week."
In his first career start last week, Brian Jr. finished the game with 3 pancakes and no sacks given up according to Pro Football Focus.
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The Sapp Experiment is off to the expected start
Francois Sr. says he also thought about moving William Sapp to receiver when the true freshman first walked onto campus but feared that the comparisons to his father, Franklin Sapp, could derail his development.
New receivers coach Marco Mason pulled the trigger, moving the five-star running back to receiver this past offseason and its already paying dividends.
Sapp exploded against Florida to the tune of 188 yards on just five receptions and three touchdowns, the kind of stat-line Bulls fans saw from his father plenty of times. Mason isn't surprised by the production, it's what he expected.
"He's fast and sudden," Mason added, "It's really hard to stop him on that 'go' route because of his suddenness, he does a good job of making everything look like its vertical until it's not so if you're a defender, you can just bail out of there, he'll stop and catch a comeback or break inside. He's not just a 'go' ball junkie, he can do it all."
Sapp will have his first real challenge of the season this week with defenses now aware of his big play ability.
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Montgomery, Williams want more balance in the running game
Both running backs coach Anthony Montgomery and run game coordinator/offensive line's coach Ryan Williams stressed on Monday the need for USF's running attack to be more consistent and balanced as the Bulls are currently ranked 85th in rushing offense, an improvement from last season but still work to be done.
"We're still figuring out the rotation," Montgomery said of the carries split, "We're learning the guys and what they do best, what running schemes best match their running styles and abilities so we'll figure it out as the season goes on."
True freshman Jacob Wheeler is dominating the caries with 23 while Kellen Wright and Eric Valentine are tied at seven. Valentine does have two touchdowns but have all been short yardage, averaging less than a yard per carry. Wright hasn't had much success, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry compared to Wheeler's 5.8.
South Florida takes Southern Miss to school 52-10
As soon as five-star offensive tackle Brian Smith Jr. committed to Southern Miss over his father's alma mater, the University of South Florida, Bulls fans were counting the days until the two schools would meet on the gridiron after losing the surprising battle on the recruiting pitch.
Armed with Smith's two brothers, Brandon and Marcellus, USF's defense overwhelmed the Golden Eagles, grounding them to just 194 yards of total offense and just 16 yards on the ground in USF's 52-10 win on Saturday night.
Southern Miss senior running back Adam Moore rushed for over 200 yards in the opener for Southern Miss but rushed for just 28 yards on 17 carries with his longest carry going for six yards.
On offense, USF's offense continued the rotation of quarterbacks with Mark Cunningham leading the way with 287 yards and three touchdowns but threw two interceptions in the second half. Jet Millines rotated in, as usual, throwing for 241 yards and completing sixteen of his eighteen pass attempts.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[USF] E. Valentine, 1 Yd run (2:07)
Quarter 2
[USF] K. Wright, 14 Yd run (7:05)
[USF] C. Graham, 16 Yd pass from J. Millines (4:03)
[USM] A. Price, 28 Yd FG (1:37)
[USF] C. Sanders, 19 Yd FG (0:00)
Quarter 3
[USF] K. Wright, 2 Yd run (4:48)
[USF] A. Marks, 67 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (2:53)
[USF] J. Rutledge, 15 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (0:03)
Quarter 4
[USM] R. Stewart, returned interception 15 Yds (5:05)
[USF] J. Wheeler, 22 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (1:13)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #13 South Florida Bulls
QB Mark Cunningham: 17 of 26, 287 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
QB Jet Millines: 16 of 18, 241 yards, touchdown
HB Eric Valentine: 9 carries, 34 yards, touchdown
HB Kellen Wright: 7 carries, 35 yards, 2 touchdowns, 5 receptions, 50 yards
HB Jacob Wheeler: 6 carries, 28 yards, 3 receptions, 79 yards, touchdown
WR Joseph Moses: 8 receptions, 118 yards
TE Jeff Rutledge: 6 receptions, 93 yards, touchdown
WR Alston Marks: 5 receptions, 107 yards, touchdown
WR Carl Graham: 5 receptions, 67 yards
WR William Sapp: 1 reception, 14 yards
S Kyle Locher: 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss
LB Adrian Bolden: 5 tackles, tackle for loss, interception
LB E.J. Young: 4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
#11 Southern Miss Golden Eagles
QB Scott Fulton: 16 of 27, 178 yards, interception, sacked 3 times
HB Adam Moore: 17 carries, 28 yards
WR Shane Salas: 5 receptions, 74 yards
WR Nick Simmons: 4 receptions, 51 yards
WR James Mason: 4 receptions, 43 yards
S Nathan Nelson: 9 tackles
CB Shane Smith: 9 tackles, tackle for loss
CB Anthony Givens: 4 tackles, interception, touchdown
CB R.J. Stewart: 1 tackle, interception
Week 3 Top Stories
1. Army's 38-10 loss to unranked Tulane is a shocker.
2. Thomas kicks his way to a Longhorns' victory over USC.
3. Penn State finishes off Tennessee to get back to winning ways.
4. Florida State holds on to beat Arkansas 21-20.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3 Champions Division Results
MIA 28 - UF 17 | STAN 36 - KSU 35 | ALA 42 - LSU 21
TEX 25 - USC 20 | PSU 38 - TENN 35 OT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4 Champions Division Schedule
#9 USF (3-0, 2-0) at #6 Alabama (2-1, 2-1)
#20 Michigan (0-1, 0-0) at Tennessee (1-2, 1-2)
#13 Texas (1-1, 1-1) at #5 Stanford (3-0, 2-0)
Florida (0-3, 0-3) at #12 Penn State (1-2, 1-2)
Kansas State (1-2, 0-2) at #10 USC (1-1, 1-1)
LSU (1-2, 1-2) at #1 BYU (2-0, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4 Notable Games
#15 Georgia Tech (1-1, 0-1) at #7 Northern Illinois (1-0, 0-0)
Nebraska (1-1, 1-0) at #16 Middle Tennessee State (2-0, 0-0)
Ole Miss (2-1, 2-1) at #11 Florida State (1-1, 1-1)
Texas Tech (2-0, 0-0) at #4 Rutgers (1-0, 0-0)
Washington State (2-0, 0-0) at #2 Michigan State (3-0, 1-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
QB Daniel Kiely (Washington State): 11 of 15, 83 yards, 22 carries, 173 yards, 6 total touchdowns
OLB J.J. Odom (Ball State): 5 tackles, 3 interceptions
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QB Emmanuel Mays (Michigan State): 15 of 26, 211 yards, 26 carries, 145 yards, 5 total touchdowns
CB Darryl Franklin (Penn State): 2 interceptions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 247 Five-Star Commitments
#5 Eddie Watson [ATH #4]: 6'1", 208lbs | Center Point, AL | 5-star | University of Alabama
#6 Scott Price [ATH #5]: 6'3", 211lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of South Florida
#15 Nate Brown [WR #3]: 5'10", 191lbs | Southside, AL | 5-star | University of Alabama
#22 Ricky Maxey [T #1]: 6'5", 280lbs | Hacienda Heights, CA | 5-star | University of Southern California
#30 Shawn Thomas [DT #1]: 6'1", 291lbs | Mount Olive, NC | 5-star | University of South Florida
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Florida Recruiting Commitments
#6 Scott Price [ATH #5]: 6'3", 211lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of South Florida
#176 Matt Harris [TE #9]: 6'3", 220lbs | Fort Myers, FL | 4-star | University of Oklahoma
Week 4 Preview: at #6 Alabama Crimson Tide
Season Record: 2-1, 2-1 Champions Division
Head Coach: Kevin Sherrer (189-45 at Alabama, 18th year, 244-71)
Offensive Coordinator: Dabo Swinney (Spread)
Defensive Coordinator: Andrew Christensen (3-4 D)
Team Leaders
Passing: Melvin Ingram (1221 yards, 15 TD, 0 INT, 254.7 rating)
Rushing: Terrance Miles (202 yards, 5.9 ypc, 2 TD)
Receiving: Tyler Brown (27 receptions, 588 yards, 9 TD)
Defense: Anthony Page (17 tackles, 6 TFL, 2.5 sacks)
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 7th
Total Offense: 2nd
Rushing Offense: 10th
Passing Offense: 1st
Total Defense: 112th
Rushing Defense: 109th
Passing Defense: 87th
Turnover Differential: 39th
Team Schedule
vs. #2 Michigan State: L 52-36
at #12 Penn State: W 56-35
vs. LSU: W 42-21
South Florida, Alabama exchange haymakers in thrilling 61-56 victory for the Tide
Alabama's sensational sophomore Melvin Ingram threw two interceptions in the first quarter before being knocked out of the game, Terrance Miles became college football's all time leader for rushing yards in a single game and somehow, those all became after thoughts by the end of their game against USF.
The Bulls and the Tide combined for 38 points the fourth quarter with 24 of those coming in the final ninety seconds of the Tide's 61-56 win over USF on Saturday afternoon.
The fireworks began in the end of the third quarter as USF's defense, beaten up throughout the game by Alabama's running game, had a pick six and a forced fumble to give the Bulls the ten point lead.
Terrance Miles responded with his fourth touchdown of the game and after two drives by Mark Cunningham that led to USF punts, Alabama was able to retake the lead on a jet sweep to receiver Tyler Brown with 1:39 remaining.
Jet Millines re-entered the game and after a controversial no-call on the sidelines where he was tackled out of bounds, the junior threw an interception after being the catalyst for USF's comeback in the third quarter. USF's defense was able to force Alabama to kick a field goal with 1:09 remaining and that's when things went into turbo drive.
Jacob Wheeler returned the ensuing kickoff 107 yards for the touchdown and instead of tying it with an extra point, the Bulls went for it and got it with Millines keeping the football on a read option play. Ten seconds later, it was William Powell's turn as he returned the kickoff 102 yards to retake the lead.
The Tide went for the two-point conversion as well but for one of the few times all game, Miles was stopped. He finished the game with 411 yards on 39 carries, an Alabama and NCAA record.
Millines and USF's offense did not go down quietly, getting as far as the Alabama 12-yard line before surrendering a sack with four seconds left. With the game on the line, Millines scrambled out of the pocket and threw a jump ball to Alston Marks that was batted down as Alabama secured the win.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[USF] C. Sanders, 41 Yd FG (6:04)
[USF] T. Jones, returned interception 11 Yds (3:18)
[ALA] T. Miles, 30 Yd run (2:05)
Quarter 2
[ALA] C. Bass, 31 Yd run (7:28)
[USF] J. Rutledge, 7 Yd pass from M. Cunningham (4:31)
[ALA] J. Gibson, 46 Yd FG (2:52)
[ALA] C. Bass, 7 Yd run (1:31)
[USF] C. Sanders, 24 Yd FG (0:01)
Quarter 3
[ALA] T. Miles, 7 Yd run (5:12)
[USF] A. Marks, 60 Yd pass from J. Millines (4:30)
[ALA] T. Miles 8 Yd run (3:26)
[USF] J. Wheeler, 4 Yd run (1:17)
[USF] K. Locher, returned interception 29 Yds (1:03)
Quarter 4
[USF] J. Rutledge, 7 Yd pass from J. Millines (7:56)
[ALA] T. Miles, 12 Yd run (6:54)
[ALA] T. Brown, 13 Yd run (1:39)
[ALA] J. Gibson, 45 Yd FG (1:09)
[USF] J. Wheeler, returned kickoff 107 Yds -- 2pt (0:58)
[ALA] W. Powell, returned kickoff 102 Yds -- 2pt failed (0:47)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #9 South Florida Bulls
QB Mark Cunningham: 21 of 31, 251 yards, touchdown, 2 interceptions, sacked 3 times, fumble (recovered)
QB Jet Millines: 16 of 32, 240 yards, 2 touchdowns, interception, sacked once, 9 carries, 52 yards
HB Jacob Wheeler: 7 carries, 43 yards, touchdown
HB Kellen Wright: 3 carries, 18 yards, 3 receptions, 40 yards
WR Joseph Moses: 11 receptions, 122 yards
WR Alston Marks: 7 receptions, 122 yards, touchdown, drop
TE Jeff Rutledge: 5 receptions, 98 yards, 2 touchdowns
WR William Sapp: 3 receptions, 60 yards
S Michael Robinson: 12 tackles
LB Kyle Locher: 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, interception
LB Adrian Bolden: 9 tackles, tackle for loss, interception
CB Travis Jones: 6 tackles, interception
DT Brandon Smith: 3 tackles, tackle for loss, sack
Week 4 Top Stories
1. #3 Purdue is embarrassed at home to ECU 27-14.
2. #1 BYU couldn't keep the opportunistic Tigers from the upset.
3. OT spells doom for #5 Stanford as Texas comes away with the victory.
4. Florida State keeps it exciting but loses 35-28 to Ole Miss.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4 Champions Division Results
ALA 61 - USF 56 | MICH 27 - TENN 7 | TEX 34 - STAN 31 OT
PSU 45 - UF 40 | USC 35 - KSU 21 | LSU 24 - BYU 17
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5 Champions Division Schedule
Kansas State (1-3, 0-3) at #12 USF (3-1, 2-1)
#21 Georgia Tech (1-2, 0-1) at #18 LSU (2-2, 2-2)
Tennessee (1-3, 1-3) at #20 Miami (4-0, 3-0)
#7 USC (2-1, 2-1) at #19 Michigan (1-1, 1-0)
#9 Stanford (3-1, 2-1) at #1 Michigan State (4-0, 1-0)
#3 Alabama (3-1, 3-1) at Florida (0-4, 0-4)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5 Notable Games
#16 Ohio State (4-0, 3-0) at Vanderbilt (2-1, 0-0)
#23 Oregon (2-0, 0-0) at Auburn (3-0, 2-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
HB Terrance Miles (Alabama): 39 carries, 411 yards, 4 touchdowns
LB Thomas Sanders (Georgia Southern): 6 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
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HB Terrance Miles (Alabama): 39 carries, 411 yards, 4 touchdowns
LB Lorenzo McDowell (Georgia Tech): 10 tackles, tackle for loss, 2 forced fumbles, interception
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 247 Five-Star Commitments
#5 Eddie Watson [ATH #4]: 6'1", 208lbs | Center Point, AL | 5-star | University of Alabama
#6 Scott Price [ATH #5]: 6'3", 211lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of South Florida
#15 Nate Brown [WR #3]: 5'10", 191lbs | Southside, AL | 5-star | University of Alabama
#22 Ricky Maxey [T #1]: 6'5", 280lbs | Hacienda Heights, CA | 5-star | University of Southern California
#30 Shawn Thomas [DT #1]: 6'1", 291lbs | Mount Olive, NC | 5-star | University of South Florida
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Florida Recruiting Commitments
#6 Scott Price [ATH #5]: 6'3", 211lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of South Florida
#176 Matt Harris [TE #9]: 6'3", 220lbs | Fort Myers, FL | 4-star | University of Oklahoma
