Saturday, 3 a.m.
For more than a decade, it has been a program lost in the desert. All the bad plays, all the disappointing afternoons, were one long blur. The USF Bulls were a program that didn't matter, and so the bad moments were not particularly memorable.
Until Saturday night.
The USF Bulls were close to their biggest win in a decade for most of Saturday night, losing 31-28 to the Florida Gators.
And, in the frustration of losing, there were plays that will haunt the Bulls for some time.
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-- There was the bad hold as USF's Spencer Shrader tried to kick a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. The kick was wide right.
-- There was the bad snap two plays before that took the Bulls from a chip-shot field goal to a long one.
-- There was an interception on a tipped pass by Gerry Bohanon that set up the Gators for a 28-yard touchdown drive to go ahead.
-- There was a pick-six interception by Bohanon before the half.
-- There was a personal foul penalty against the Bulls when the game was 10-10. USF had seemingly stopped Florida to force a field goal. Instead, the Gators scored a touchdown.
It added up to the Bulls missing their shot at a stunning upset of the No. 18 Gators. The Bulls got 135 yards rushing from Brooke Battie and 102 from Bohanon as they amassed 402 yards.
In the end, however, USF had trouble stopping Florida's running game, too. The Gators averaged 7.2 yards per rush. Montrell Johnson rushed for 102 yards.
USF travels to Louisville to play Saturday at noon. Florida goes to play at Tennessee at 3:30 p.m.
Texas A&M 17, Miami 9: That quest to return Miami to its glory days? Evidently, it's going to take a while.
The Hurricanes kept bogging down in the red zone and dropped a decision to the Aggies. Miami kept getting close, but could not score a touchdown against A&M.
Tyler Van Dyke, passed for just 217 yards against A&M.
Miami plays against Middle Tennessee State at home at 3:30 p.m. o. Saturday.