NO. 21 SOUTH FLORIDA 43,
TEMPLE 7
TAMPA, Fla. -- Darius Tice rushed for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns as No. 21 South Florida dominated defending American Athletic Conference champion Temple 43-7 on Thursday night for its school-record ninth consecutive victory.
The Bulls (4-0) have not lost since falling by 16 points to Temple last October in Philadelphia -- a setback that wound up costing them a berth in the AAC championship game.
Coach Charlie Strong (Batesville, Central Arkansas) said rather than dwell on what transpired last year, he and his players focused on the importance of setting a tone for this season's conference race.
"When you play with passion and enthusiasm, that's the kind of performance you'll get," Strong said.
Tice scored on runs of 47 and 3 yards. Quinton Flowers, coming off accounting for 386 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 24-point blowout of Illinois, also ran for two touchdowns to take sole possession of first place on the Bulls' career rushing touchdown list with 34.
USF's defense, meanwhile, forced six turnovers, including the first three interceptions of the season thrown by Temple's Logan Marchi.
Backup quarterback Frank Nutile was intercepted once, and the Owls also lost two fumbles.
"You're not going to lead very many games when you turn the ball over six times," Temple Coach Geoff Collins said.
"The thing that we talked about all week was being plus-three in the turnover margin," Collins added. "They're way too good of a team to be negative, especially negative six."
The Owls (2-2) were held to minus-4 yards net rushing and were outgained 408 yards to 85. Marchi threw for 767 yards, five TDs and no interceptions in his first three starts for Temple, but was just 3 of 13 for 32 yards on Thursday night.
Defensive end Jacob Martin scored Temple's only touchdown, sacking Flowers and forcing a fumble that the defensive end returned 44 yards in the second quarter.
The teams have developed a little bit of a rivalry over the past three seasons. USF knocked off the then-No. 21 Owls 44-23 in Tampa two years ago and Ryquell Armstead rushed for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns to key Temple's 46-30 victory in Philadelphia last October.
Both teams finished 7-1 in league play, with the Owls representing the Eastern Division in the AAC Championship Game for the second consecutive year under former coach Matt Rhule, who left for Baylor in December.
Sports on 09/22/2017