We’ve had some debate recently over USF’s “rivals” and whether or not Rutgers is the big one. The Scarlet Knights are obviously among the few given their recent history against the Bulls. Whether they’re #1 is up for interpretation. Here’s a brief look at the past matchups between the Big East programs.USF would travel to Rutgers for the first game in 2005. What could have been considered as a fairly even matchup ended in a 45-31 Bulls’ win. USF got out to an early 21-point lead in the 1st quarter thanks to an interception return for a touchdown and a fumble return for another score. Rutgers pulled to within 6 early in the 4th quarter, but was never able to get the lead. The Bulls would score again late to put it away. This game was a battle of the running backs. USF got its first taste of Rutgers star Ray Rice. Rice would total 158 yards, but wasn’t able to find the end zone. The Bulls’ Andre Hall would end up having the bigger game. Hall ran for 168 yards and 3 scores in USF’s victory.
2006 was an especially painful game for Bulls’ fan to stomach. Rice did his thing again, this time to the tune of 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. USF had the lead going into the 4th quarter, but a touchdown and field goal by the Scarlet Knights put them ahead 22-14. The Bulls would pull to within 2 thanks to a touchdown pass from then freshman Matt Grothe to Ean Randolph with only 15 seconds. USF would not convert the 2-point conversion. I won’t get into why the conversion failed because I’m sure it’s not a fun memory for Bulls’ fans.
Going into the 2007 contest, USF was the #2 team in the nation (no seriously, look it up). The Bulls were 6-0 and thanks to a number of unlikely upsets, had climbed all the way to the #2 spot in the rankings. And then came Ray Rice once again. This would be another game in which Rice wouldn’t find the end zone, but he definitely did his part, totaling 181 yards on 39 carries. USF wasn’t able to pull out the win thanks in part to only converting 2 of their 14 3rd-down conversions. The Bulls scored to pull to within 3 in the 4th quarter, but their next 3 drives ended with punt, punt, interception. Rutgers wins 30-27.
And then last season. I’ll be brief because 33-point losses are never fun to dwell on, but USF actually kept up on offense with Rutgers. The Bulls totaled 404 yards to the Scarlet Knights’ 421. But 6 turnovers did USF in.
2 comments:
I went to school with Ean Randolph, he was a very explosive player and very fun to watch. All of those were painful losses, which is why I think USF loathes the Rutgers so much. They will do anything to win the game against us, they never stop.
Look at what they did to UCONN. Ouch.
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