Coach Tom O’Brien looked stoic as he stood in front of the podium after his team’s 31-point loss Saturday night. O’Brien said South Florida was better than State’s coaching staff saw on tape.
“They came in and did a couple of things that we haven’t seen before,” O’Brien said. “We had trouble adjusting, and that’s on us. [South Florida’s] quarterback, he’s something special. He’s the real deal.”
With quarterback Russell Wilson and star linebacker Nate Irving both out for the game, new players had to step up. But injuries kept coming.
Quarterback Harrison Beck had his left arm wrapped after the game, but wouldn’t comment on the injury. Offensive lineman Julian Williams, safety Justin Byers and linebacker Ray Michel all hobbled off the field at one point.
When talking about his performance, including a chance to score a touchdown on the Bulls’ two-yard line, Beck said it was frustrating.
“That just seemed to be kind of what happened,” Beck said. “I feel like we were down there a few times and we just didn’t capitalize. When you’re on the six or seven yard line, we have to punch it in and that’s on us.”
No. 13 South Florida wasted no time putting points on the board. On a second and one play in the first quarter, quarterback Matt Grothe passed a 38 yard pass to teammate Marcus Edwards for a first down. Two plays later, USF sophomore running back Jamar Taylor ran in for a 1-yard touchdown.
N.C. State received the ball and quarterback Harrison Beck threw a 41 yard pass to Steven Howard. The play would eventually lead to a field goal by kicker Josh Czajkowski for 32 yards. The 7-3 score was the closest the Pack would be for the rest of the game.
It began to rain early in the second quarter, and so did the Bulls’ offense. The Bulls showed why they are ranked No. 13 in the polls by capitalizing on mistakes made by the Wolfpack.
The Pack was penalized heavily and was on the losing end of two safeties putting the Bulls up 25-3.
One of the bright spots in the game was sophomore wide receiver Owen Spencer, who caught two deep passes from Beck for 48 and 36 yards respectively. The 48 yard pass eventually set up a one-yard run by Andre Brown, bringing the score to 28-10 Bulls.
The offense ran only 20 plays in the first half, leaving the defense on the field most of the time. Defensive end Willie Young said by the time the team got things moving, it was too late, and that the defense’s job is to stop the opponent’s offense, regardless of how long they are on the field.
“Those are some of the things that the defense has to cope with,” Young said. “Hoping that our offense can get things on track and the defense just has to keep pounding.”
By halftime, the stadium was half-empty as fans left either because of the rain or the score.
A Beck interception in the fourth quarter would lead to another touchdown by the Bulls, putting them up for good, 41-10.
