Tigers Topped By Bulls In Inaugural magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl

Saturday, December 20

St. Petersburg, Fla.

3:30 PM

University of Memphis

6-7

USF

8-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

MEMPHIS

USF

Tigers Topped By Bulls In Inaugural magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl

Dec 20, 2008 | Football

Box Score

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This was the bowl game head coach Tommy West wanted for his program. Sure, he and his Tigers enjoyed their bowl trips four of the previous five years. But, this invitation to the inaugural magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl was — in Coach West's eyes — an opportunity to see where Memphis stood on the national scene, no matter the game's outcome.

The bowl game had Memphis playing its first BCS league foe in school postseason history, as the Tigers faced the USF Bulls. While the previous bowl trips were important in their own right, Coach West believed this bowl would set the course for the direction of the program's future.

The Bulls won the game 41-14 before a predominantly pro-USF crowd of 25,205 at Tropicana Field, home of the MLB American League champion Tampa Bay Rays. The appearance at Tropicana Field made history for the Tigers, as it was the first time Memphis played in a Major League Baseball stadium.

As for the game, it pitted one of the nation's best rushing offenses (Memphis) against one of the country's top rushing defenses (USF), and on this day, the defense won the battle. The Tigers entered the contest averaging over 200 yards via their ground game, but the Bulls had the nation's ninth-best rushing defense and it showed. USF held Memphis to only 66 yards on 30 carries, and Tiger running back Curtis Steele, a 1,000-yard rusher, gained most of those with 48 yards on 12 rushes.

While the Bulls' defense shut down the Memphis offense, the Tiger defense had no answer for USF quarterback Matt Grothe, who was named the bowl game's MVP. Grothe was 17-of-24 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards on 15 carries. He also had one reception for 14 yards. Grothe did all of his damage in the first three quarters, as he sat out the final period.

The Bulls got started early and never looked back. On the game's opening kickoff, USF's Dontavia Bogan took Matt Reagan's kickoff at the 1 yard line and returned it 56 yards to the Memphis 43. Three plays later, the Bulls were on the board when Grothe hit Taurus Johnson with a 28-yard scoring strike for a 7-0 lead. The USF scoring drive only took 1:02 off the clock.

Later on in the first period, USF struck again on a short six-play drive. Grothe was 3-of-3 passing for 57 yards in putting the Bulls at the Memphis 4 yard line. From there, Ben Williams gained the final four yards and increased the USF lead to 14-0.

However, West's Tigers did not go away. On the ensuing drive, Memphis marched 73 yards on six plays and cut the USF advantage in half at 14-7. The drive only took 2:19, and it ended when Tiger quarterback Arkelon Hall hit paydirt from three yards out.

The Bulls, though, took the momentum back on their next possession. After striking quickly on its first two scoring drives, USF put together a lengthy 14-play, 63-yard possession that ended in a Maikon Bonani 23-yard field goal for a 17-7 advantage. The drive took 5:51 off the clock.

After holding the Tigers on their next possession, USF had another five-minute scoring drive — this time, 5:24 — that culminated in a Grothe-to-Ben Busbee 13-yard touchdown connection to give the Bulls a 24-7 lead with only 4:15 left before halftime.

Again, the Tigers mounted a response. With a little over four minutes before intermission, Memphis started on its own 20, and Hall led the way. The Tiger quarterback was 7-of-10 passing for 60 yards, including a two-yard touchdown pass to Duke Calhoun with 0:08 left in the second quarter. The score cut the USF lead to 24-14 at the break and pulled momentum back to the Tigers' side.

That momentum, however, swung back to the Bulls in the third quarter. The USF defense held Memphis to only 60 yards on its first two second-half drives, while the Bulls' offense capitalized with 10 points to increase their lead to 34-14 by the end of the third quarter. Bonani added a 37-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and Grothe threw his third touchdown pass near the end of the period to put the contest out of reach.

The Bulls added a final touchdown early in the fourth quarter for the 41-14 final.

Hall was 15-of-31 passing for 154 yards and one score. Calhoun was the Tigers' leading receiver with a game-high six catches for 39 yards and one touchdown. Brandon Patterson led the Tiger defense with nine tackles.

Grothe's primary targets were Carlton Mitchell (60 yards) and Johnson (40 yards, 1 TD), who each had four receptions. Tyron McKenzie led the USF defense with a game-best 11 tackles.