Box Score GAME BOOK (pdf)
TAMPA, Fla. – Wofford College was defeated 40-7 by the University of South Florida in the season opener at Raymond James Stadium. The game was tied at 7-7 late in the first half, but two bad snaps on punts, plus two fumbles in the third quarter, turned the tide in favor of the Bulls.
The Terriers open the season 0-1, while the Bulls are 1-0. Wofford was led by Eric Breitenstein with 121 yards on 13 carries. Mitch Allen added 54 yards and he was 3-of-9 passing for 27 yards. The Bulls were led by quarterback Matt Grothe with 19-of-23 passing for 155 yards and a touchdown. Mo Plancher had 78 yards with two touchdowns.
“If we had been sharp, it would have come right down to the wire,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We had opportunities in the ball game. We might have been able to go up 14-7 at the half, but we have a penalty and next thing you know we have to kick the football. We execute the quick kick and get exactly what we want, but have a penalty and have to punt. The snap goes over the head, and the bad thing is I don’t think Chris (Cummings) has had a bad snap the whole time he has been here and he has two in one game. It is just one of those things. I don’t know why it happened the way that it did, but that being said, I think we still came back.
“Defensively we were very competitive against some tremendous athletes. We had our shots. We broke one with Eric (Breitenstein), but they kept chasing it and knocked the ball out. Instead of a touchdown, we have turned the ball over again. We had way too many turnovers and mistakes. You can’t play a team like South Florida and a team as good as they are in all phases. Defensively they did a nice job, but at the same time I think there were some things that we were able to execute against them. The big thing was we were not as consistent tonight. We just were not the football team that we needed to be tonight.”
The Bulls took the opening kickoff and put together a twelve-play drive that went 65 yards. Mo Plancher took the ball in from four-yards out for the touchdown at 9:46 and a 7-0 lead.
Wofford was able to respond with a 13-play drive that took 6:46 off the clock and went 69 yards. The Terriers picked up five first downs on the drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Eric Breitenstein that tied the game at 7-7 at the 3:00 mark of the first half.
On the next series by USF, after two first downs the Terrier defense was able to force a punt at the end of the first quarter. Wofford took over and converted a 4th and one on a run by Mitch Allen, but the drive stalled and the Terriers punted.
USF turned the ball over on the first play from scrimmage as Mike Niam forced Aston Samuels to fumble and it was recovered by Tommy Irvin. Eric Breitenstein picked up a 16-yard first down. The Terriers attempted a 38-yard field goal at the 6:55 mark, but the kick was just wide left.
With the ball back, Bulls quarterback Matt Grothe ran for 39-yard to set up a first down at the ten-yard line. Ricco Braxton came up with a sack, but a personal foul penalty gave the Bulls a first down. After getting the ball to the two-yard line, Tommy Irvin intercepted Matt Grothe in the endzone to end the drive.
The Terriers went three-and-out on the drive. On the punt, the snap was high and Chris Tommie was taken down at the eight-yard line. Matt Grothe found Theo Wilson in the endzone for a six-yard touchdown reception and the Bulls took a 14-7 lead with 36 seconds left in the first half.
Wofford gained one first down on the final drive of the half before being forced to punt. The snap was high again and the ball was kicked out the back of the endzone for a safety with just one second left on the clock. After the free kick, the half was over with the Bulls having a 16-7 lead.
To open the second half, the Terriers were sacked, had a holding penalty and sack by All-American George Selvie to go three-and-out and punt. The Bulls took over on the 39-yard line and in just four plays Mo Plancher ended the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run to take a 23-7 lead at the 10:47 mark in the third quarter.
On the next possession for the Terriers, Stev Davitte was in at quarterback and fumbled the ball on the second play of the drive after a gain of 18 yards. The Bulls were able to convert the turnover into three points as Delbert Alvardo hit a 30-yard field goal with 5:57 on the clock in the third quarter for a 26-7 lead.
Wofford then had a 44-yard gain by Eric Breitenstein up the middle, but Jerome Murphy came from behind and forced a fumble that was recovered on the sideline by Tyson Butler. Coach Mike Ayers challenged the call on the field, but the call was upheld and the Bulls gained possession. The Bulls gained one first down before being forced to punt. Wofford then gained one first down, but the drive stalled at the 46-yard line and the Terriers turned the ball over on downs.
USF picked up a first down and then converted a fourth-and-three on the ensuing drive. Lindsey Lamer scored on a 13-yard run at the 8:18 mark of the fourth quarter to take a 33-7 lead. After Wofford went three-and-out, the Bulls answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from B.J. Daniels to Jeffrey Wilson with 5:06 left in the game for the 40-7 final score.
Wofford had 211 total yards of offense, including 177 on the ground. USF had well balanced 359 total yards, with 174 rushing and 185 passing. The Bulls were 4-of-8 on third down and converted one fourth down. Wofford was 3-of-13 on third down and 3-of-6 on fourth downs.
The Terriers will return home on Saturday at 7:00 pm when Wofford hosts Charleston Southern.
Wofford vs. USF Post-Game Notes
The start of the game was delayed for approximately 25 minutes due to a thunderstorm near the stadium during pregame warm-ups.
The game was the first collegiate start for Mitch Allen, Matt Vick, Ben Wilmoth, Clark Bishop, Brenton Bersin and Devin Reed on offense. Jordan Ingman, SeQuan Stanley, Ameet Pall, Keaton Thompson, Eric Eberhardt, Alex Goltry, Mike Niam and Kendall Bratcher recorded their first career starts on defense.
Game captains were Gary Blount and Johnson Richardson.
The loss ended a streak of five-straight season opener wins for the Terriers.
Ricco Braxton and SeQuan Stanley both recorded their first career sacks in the game.
Tommy Irvin notched his third career interception and recorded his first career fumble recovery.
The safety allowed by the Terriers at the end of the second half marked the first safety allowed since October 8, 2005 against Elon.
Attendance was 40,360 at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
