What could happen in the Birmingham Bowl between South Florida and South Carolina?
On Thursday afternoon, South Florida and South Carolina will battle in the Birmingham Bowl from Birmingham, AL. This will be one of the latest college football bowl games as we approach 2017.
The first quarter was all about South Florida’s Quinton Flowers, who used his legs on multiple occasions. He ran in for an 11-yard touchdown to bring the Bulls up, 6-0 with a two-point conversion to follow. On the next drive, USF would again put the ball in Flowers’ hands to go down the field, scoring his second rushing touchdown of the game to bring the score to 15-0.
To get the Gamecocks on the board, Jake Bentley hit Hayden Hurst for the touchdown to get within eight points. This came after SC had trouble moving the ball down field.
In the second quarter, Flowers would score yet another rushing touchdown, his third of the game. This brought the score to 22-7 as South Carolina continued to show they have no way of stopping this stud quarterback.
To give South Carolina some more points, Bentley hit Samuel for a score before the second half. This made the score, 22-14. However, the Bulls quickly responded with a 37-yard passing touchdown from Flowers to D’Ernest Johnson to make it, 29-14. This gave Flowers 200 yards passing and four total scores heading into halftime. Bentley also had two touchdowns on 15 of 19 passing.
The second half saw South Carolina continue gaining momentum with Samuel taking the ball into the end zone for a four-yard rushing score. This made it, 29-21. A USF field goal would make it, 32-21.
As the Gamecocks took over, Bentley threw an interception directly to Tajee Fullwood, who took the ball to the house for the 47-yard touchdown. This made the score 36-21, USF.
In the fourth quarter, it would be all South Carolina. They scored 15 unanswered points to surprisingly tie the game up and send it into overtime. This came from two touchdowns in the final nine minutes of play, including a two-point conversion.
To begin overtime, Flowers threw a pass on the first play for a touchdown to Elkanah Dillon. USF then stopped South Carolina on fourth down to win the Birmingham Bowl, 46-39.
Three Stars
Quinton Flowers, South Florida – Flowers totaled five touchdowns to cap off his excellent day at the Birmingham Bowl.
Jake Bentley, South Carolina – Bentley totaled 390 passing yards to lead South Carolina.
Deebo Samuel, South Carolina – Samuel had 190 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the loss.
Highlights
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Next Season
On Saturday, August 26, 2017, South Florida will travel to San Jose, CA to face the San Jose State Spartans in the opening game of the season. South Carolina will open the 2017 season against North Carolina State at home on September 2.