BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - South Florida started fast, made clutch defensive stops and cashed in on a series of fourth-down gambles.
Bowl neophytes? The Bulls hardly looked the part Saturday in a 24-7 victory over East Carolina in the inaugural PapaJohns.com Bowl, the first bowl win for the decade-old program.
South Florida's only previous bowl appearance was a shutout loss last year in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. But a team that had ended the regular season with an upset win over West Virginia might have topped that one for the Bulls' biggest victory.
“We talked about how important it was to win this game,” said South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, whose team finished 9-4 to tie its season high for wins set in 2002. “We felt like if we'd win today, this would be the best team in the history of the University of South Florida - which is a short history.
“Even so, that was a big thing.”
The Bulls played the scoreless second half without quarterback Matt Grothe. The Big East freshman of the year was kicked in the right shin in the second quarter and returned only for the next and final series of the half, but the defense kept turning back East Carolina (7-6).
Plus, the Bulls went 5-for-5 on fourth-down conversions on drives that resulted in 17 points.
Struggling to make a comeback, the Pirates drove inside the South Florida 30 five times in the second half only to fall short. Sacks, a missed field goal, a fumble and a failed fourth-and-goal pass doomed the threats on trips into the so-called red zone.
San Jose State wins New Mexico Bowl
Adam Tafralis threw three touchdown passes and San Jose State beat New Mexico 20-12 on Saturday in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl, extending the Lobos' postseason drought to 45 years.
One big pass play by Tafralis and one costly fumble by New Mexico -- both in the first half -- set the tone for the Spartans' first bowl win outside of California.
New Mexico (6-7) hasn't won a bowl game since it beat Western Michigan in the 1961 Aviation Bowl and is 0-5 since 1997.
For the Spartans (9-4), the win provided a final highlight in a season in which they won more games than they had in the three previous seasons.
Tafralis, who was 11-of-18 for 209 yards, threw scoring passes of 36 and 24 yards to James Jones and 76 yards to John Broussard. The pass to Broussard on the first play of the second quarter -- in which New Mexico's defense totally blew the coverage -- got the Spartans' offense rolling.
New Mexico's only touchdown came with 15 seconds left in the game on a 15-yard pass from Chris Nelson to Marcus Smith.
The rest of the Lobos' scoring consisted of a 40-yard field goal by Kenny Byrd with 1:11 left in the second quarter and a safety when San Jose State punter Waylon Prather stepped out of the end zone with 1:08 left.
South Florida's only previous bowl appearance was a shutout loss last year in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. But a team that had ended the regular season with an upset win over West Virginia might have topped that one for the Bulls' biggest victory.
“We talked about how important it was to win this game,” said South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, whose team finished 9-4 to tie its season high for wins set in 2002. “We felt like if we'd win today, this would be the best team in the history of the University of South Florida - which is a short history.
“Even so, that was a big thing.”
The Bulls played the scoreless second half without quarterback Matt Grothe. The Big East freshman of the year was kicked in the right shin in the second quarter and returned only for the next and final series of the half, but the defense kept turning back East Carolina (7-6).
Plus, the Bulls went 5-for-5 on fourth-down conversions on drives that resulted in 17 points.
Struggling to make a comeback, the Pirates drove inside the South Florida 30 five times in the second half only to fall short. Sacks, a missed field goal, a fumble and a failed fourth-and-goal pass doomed the threats on trips into the so-called red zone.
San Jose State wins New Mexico Bowl
Adam Tafralis threw three touchdown passes and San Jose State beat New Mexico 20-12 on Saturday in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl, extending the Lobos' postseason drought to 45 years.
One big pass play by Tafralis and one costly fumble by New Mexico -- both in the first half -- set the tone for the Spartans' first bowl win outside of California.
New Mexico (6-7) hasn't won a bowl game since it beat Western Michigan in the 1961 Aviation Bowl and is 0-5 since 1997.
For the Spartans (9-4), the win provided a final highlight in a season in which they won more games than they had in the three previous seasons.
Tafralis, who was 11-of-18 for 209 yards, threw scoring passes of 36 and 24 yards to James Jones and 76 yards to John Broussard. The pass to Broussard on the first play of the second quarter -- in which New Mexico's defense totally blew the coverage -- got the Spartans' offense rolling.
New Mexico's only touchdown came with 15 seconds left in the game on a 15-yard pass from Chris Nelson to Marcus Smith.
The rest of the Lobos' scoring consisted of a 40-yard field goal by Kenny Byrd with 1:11 left in the second quarter and a safety when San Jose State punter Waylon Prather stepped out of the end zone with 1:08 left.
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