Sophomore quarterback Mike White teamed with senior wide receiver Andre Davis for three scoring strikes in the second half that led USF to the largest comeback in program history in a 38-30 victory at Tulsa. The Bulls roared back from a 27-7 halftime deficit with Davis scoring on an 85-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass from White in the fourth quarter at Chapman Stadium. It marked Davis’s third touchdown catch of the game, which tied a school record, and moved the Tampa native into a tie for the career record with 14. The 20-point turnaround topped USF’s 17-point comeback win over No. 13/11 Kansas on Nov. 12, 2008. The Bulls improved to 2-1 in American Athletic Conference play, 3-4 overall.
Head coach Willie Taggart was impressed with his team’s mental toughness in the first-ever USF-Tulsa meeting. “Anyone could have quit, and any team that hasn’t won in a while could have quit, but these guys have been fighting,” Taggart said. “They’ve been working hard and things weren’t going the way we wanted early in the season but it’s a new season. Like we said, we’re trying to make it a new season with our mentality, our effort and the way we play on the football field. Our guys did that today, the players and the coaches.”
“Whatever I have to do for my team to make a play, that’s what I’m going to do. If I’m out there and I have to make a block, I’m going to make the block,” Davis said. “I know eventually the ball is going to fall in my hands. We have great coaches and they do whatever it takes to get the ball in my hands. I appreciate them for that.”
“We just said, ‘We’ve been here before,’ and we talked to these guys about adversity and not quitting,” Taggart said. “Rather than when things get tough, asking, ‘Why me? Ask the question, ‘Why not me?’ We talked about that at the half and we brought it up earlier in the week.”
Despite the slow start, USF exploded out of the gates during the first drive of the second half that resulted in a 54-yard touchdown run by Mack. The Sarasota native started things off with a 6-yard run and White directed the Bulls near midfield with an 18-yard pass to senior tight end Sean Price (Citra, Fla.). That set the table for Mack, who followed a pulverizing block by fullback Kennard Swanson (Lakeland) and sprinted to the end zone for his eighth touchdown of the season, which is double the amount USF totaled on the ground in 2013. The dazzling play helped ensure Mack of his third 100-plus yard rushing game after he tied the school record with 275 yards against Western Carolina and posted 103 yards against UConn.
“The entire Bulls Nation, just believe in this football team,” Taggart said. “We’re going to get it right, we’re all going to be happy and we’re all going to make it the way it’s supposed to be.”
USF looks to keep a good thing going on Friday, Oct. 24 at Cincinnati in the program’s seventh nationally televised game this season. Start time for the ESPN2 broadcast is set for 8 p.m. The Bulls return to Raymond James Stadium to host Houston on Saturday, Nov. 1.
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