Sunday, 2 a.m.
For the USF Bulls, the task was daunting enough. It started with a game against a ranked opponent on the road without the starting quarterback.
What made it even worse was that the Bulls had to play with most of their starting defense.
For the third straight game, the Bulls' defenders were pushed around in a 35-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bulls, who were 7-0 at one point this season, fell to 7-3. In their three losses, USF has given up 133 points.
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It didn't help that USF played without starting quarterback Blake Barnett, who injured his shoulder in a loss to Tulane. Instead, the Bulls alternated Chris Oladokun and Brett Kean at quarterback, although each completed less than half of their passes.
For the season, Kean had thrown only seven passes. Oladokun had thrown five.
"The first half we played well," said USF coach Charlie Strong. "Then the second half we come out and give up three touchdowns in the third quarter. We just were never able to put it together and sustain drives. We only scored one touchdown (in the second half). We’ve got to be able to play for 60 minutes and that’s what we didn’t do.”
The Bulls weren't able to run effectively against the Bearcats. Jordan Cronkrite had his third straight sub-100-yard rushing day, running for just 36 yards on 10 carries.
The Bulls have an excellent chance of losing their final games. They next play at Temple Saturday before finishing against undefeated UCF.
Notre Dame 42, FSU 13: In their latest example of just how far a program can fall, and how fast, the FSU Seminoles did their best to contribute to the lore of Notre Dame.
The Seminoles were dominated by the Irish, falling behind 17-0 after one quarter and 32-6 by the half. FSU was only sort of in the same game as the Irish rushed for 365 yards.
Of that total, Dexter Williams rushed for 202 yards on 20 carries. Williams scored on runs of 58 and 36 yards.
Florida 35, South Carolina 31: It might have been easy for Florida to ease up on Saturday. After all, the team trailed the Gamecocks 35-14, and the defense that had once led the team seemed to be backpeddling.
But the Gators turned it around late and rallied for a comeback victory.
At one point, however, things looked tough for the Gators, who gave up 27 points to Vanderbilt, 36 to Georgia, 38 to Missouri and then 31 to South Carolina. But the Gators held South Carolina to just 29 yards total in their final three series to allow the win.
For the Gators, the road to the win was on the ground. The Gators ran for 367 yards against South Carolina, with 159 yards coming from Jordan Scarlett and 107 (and two touchdowns) coming from LaMical Perine.
“We came out and I told the guys, ‘If you don’t think we are going to win, stay in the locker room," Florida coach Dan Mullen said. "I don’t want anyone taking the field that wasn’t ready to do whatever it takes to win the game. If you don’t think you can do it, stay in the locker room.’
Quarterback Feleipe Franks, booed at the start of the game, ran for two short touchdowns and threw for a third.
“He did a good job managing the game,” Mullen commented. “One of the things he did, he ran the ball well. He doesn’t have to be a great runner, he has to be a willing runner. He showed his toughness, he came out and showed his toughness today.”
Georgia Tech 27, Miami 21: There for a while, the Hurricanes seem to have things well in hand. That was before a season slipped between their fingers.
Miami lost its fourth straight game Saturday night, losing to a Georgia Tech team that attempted only four passees the entire game. The Yellow Jackets scored 13 points off of three Miami fumbles.
Georgia Tech has won five of its last six games.
Miami started N'Kosi Perry at quarterback and played him the entire game. Perry threw for only 165 yards.
UCF 35, Navy 24: On a day when the teams took the air out of the football, McKenzie Milton made an impression with his feet.
Milton ran for 62 yards, including a 21 yard scamper that eclipsed former Knight Daunte Culpepper's rushing total. Milton also threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Navy gave UCF a bit of trouble despite not completing a pass (two attempts) all day. Navy ran for 374 yards.
“(Milton was) really accurate with the football, a great decision maker, the ability for him to adjust to something that had not been seen on tape within the course of the ballgame speaks to his understanding and knowledge of football,” said UCF coach Josh Heupel.
Running back Greg McCrae ran for 101 yards to lead the Knights.
“Structurally, they were completely different from anything they showed on tape the entire season," said Heupel. "I thought our coaches and players did a great job of adjusting after that first series and to find a way to go score some points."
FAU 34, Western Kentucky 15: Florida Atlanta had little trouble disposing of the Hilltoppers, who fell to 1-9 on the season.
Running back Devin Singletary ran for 148 yards on the night. He also scored twice and moved past former Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne into eighth place all time with his 64th touchdown.
It wasn't a bad night for a guy who didn't even lead his team in rushing. FAU also got 163 yards rushing from Kerrith Whyte Jr.
FIU 45, UTSA 7: Quarterback James Morgan set a school record with his 22nd touchdown pass in an easy win over Texas-San Antonio.
The Panthers scored 17 points in the second period, then built a 45-0 lead before UTSA scored.
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