1998 USF Bulls

In early April, USF played its first Spring Gold and White game, which the green team won 14-3. Lance Hoeltke, who switched from backup quarterback to defensive back in the off season, played his new position in that game. Soon after, Hoeltke would leave the team. Sophomore Glen Gauntt moved up the depth chart to the number two quarterback. Jim Leavitt said of the Spring game and upcoming season, "Our aspirations are very high."

The Sporting News annual college football guide ranked the Bulls a preseason number twenty-four in the county. They also ranked four of USF's opponents. Freshman tight end Mike Snellgrove, from Dothan, Alabama, became the first USF player from out of state.

Slippery Rock, a Pennsylvania based Division II power, came to town for the second season opener before 21,553 fans. South Florida scored on its first three possessions to grab a 13-0 lead. Chad Barnhardt (12 of 22 for 205 yards with an interception) connected with Clif Dell (3 catches for 136 yards) on two long touchdown passes, including a school record 75 yarder. Dell became the first Bull to snag two TD receptions in a game. Rafael Williams and LaFann Williams added touchdown runs. Place kicker Bill Gramatica booted four field goals (37, 38, 37 and 27 yards) and had a total of fifteen points. USF did have a dozen penalties for 101 yards in a 39-10 victory over the Rockets.

Valparaiso, a Division I-AA school from Indiana, were the guests for the last football game at Tampa/Houlihan's Stadium. Even with three turnovers, USF built the largest first half lead in school history 34-0. The Bulls finished with 520 total yards, a team record 331 yards rushing and held the Crusaders to 93 total yards. It was the first time two bulls rushed for 100 yards. Rafael Williams ran for 125 yards with a touchdown and LaFann Williams rushed for 117 yards with a couple of TDs, including a school record 86 yard scoring run. Linebacker Demetrius Woods and cornerback Bernard Brown, a sophomore from Jacksonville Lee High School, each returned interceptions for scores. On the negative side, USF's sixteen penalties for 119 yards set a record for the second straight week. After the 51-0 victory, South Florida was 6-3 at the old stadium. Jim Leavitt said of closing out the 31 year history of football at Tampa Stadium, "There was some nostalgia tonight."

The Bulls took to the road to play the Liberty Flames at A.L. Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. The stadium was named after then Tampa Bay Lightning owner Art Williams, who is a major contributor to the school and a friend of University founder Jerry Falwell. The Flames coach, former Cleveland Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano, was named AFC Coach of the Year in 1979 and NFL Coach of the Year in 1980. It was USF's first game on artificial turf, which helped Tony Umholtz kick a USF record 55 yard first quarter punt. A few plays later, Liberty quarterback Christian Newsome (15 of 24 for 272 yards) hit Brannan Duncan on an 80 yard bomb, which was the longest scoring pass allowed in USF's short history. Chad Barnhardt (16 of 33 for 293 yards with a TD) was sacked four times and Bulls totaled zero yards rushing, as they entered the locker room trailing 7-0. South Florida came out in the third quarter and scored on three possessions, however, Liberty's Stacy Nobles ran for two fourth quarter touchdowns. It took a 44 yard field goal by Bill Gramatica, as time expired, for the Bulls to win in dramatic fashion 24-21. Jim Leavitt declared, "Our effort was just fantastic." With a 3-0 record, and after playing just fourteen games, USF was ranked number twenty-three in the Sports Network Division I-AA football poll and twenty-fifth by ESPN/USA Today.

After a week off, 32,598 greeted the Bulls for the first collegiate football game at Raymond James Stadium. With The Citadel in town, it was the first time USF faced a team they had played before. The home team sacked Bulldog quarterback Stanley Myers five times and intercepted him three times. Strong safety Roy Manns returned one of the picks for a touchdown, while linebacker Bernard Brown snagged the other two. Charlie Jackson caught a pass for the game's first score and later threw for a touchdown. Rafael Williams became the first 1,000 yard career rusher for USF and ran for a TD. Fullback Otis Dixon, a sophomore from Clearwater High School, rushed for two scores. The Bulls lead 21-0 after one, 35-0 at half and 45-0 before The Citadel got on the board. Jim Leavitt said of the 45-6 victory, "I didn't expect this." Chad Barnhardt said of RJS, "It's a football palace. If you can't get inspired to play here, you can't get inspired." South Florida moved up four spots in the polls.

Next at the new stadium was Elon College. Chad Barnhardt (12 of 19 for 238 yards with an interception) connected on three long first half touchdown passes and the Bulls were off to another quick start. A 75 yard connection with Clif Dell equaled the team record the two had set earlier in the season. Running back Dyral McMillan rushed for his first USF touchdown and South Florida had a 35-0 lead. The visitors did score in the last 30 seconds to avoid the shutout. The Bulls out-gained Elon 405 to 186 in total yardage and the Fighting Christians completed only two passes on the night. A 35-7 victory avenged last year's defeat. USF now had the number one defense in Division I-AA, averaging 206.6 yards and 8.8 points per game.

With South Florida now twelfth in the polls, a home game against number nineteen Western Kentucky was the first time the Bulls were involved in a battle of ranked teams. Again, the Bulls got off to a good start and an Otis Dixon TD run put USF up 17-0 in second quarter. Willie Taggart, a fifth year senior quarterback, lead a comeback victory for the Hilltoppers. Taggart rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns, both records against the Bulls. Other records for the short history of USF included WKU's 21 first downs, 59 rushing attempts and 436 yards in total offense. South Florida lost two fumbles and Chad Barnhardt (19 of 27 for 202 yards with two TDs) was intercepted twice. The 31-24 defeat was the Bulls first at Raymond James Stadium and Western Kentucky became the first school to beat the Bulls twice. USF dropped to fourteenth and fifteenth in the polls.

Another shot at a ranked team took place in Hempstead, New York against Hofstra. The Flying Dutchmen were eighteenth and twentieth in the polls. Chad Barnhardt (19 of 41 for 331 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INTs) had career highs in passing yardage and touchdowns, but it was not a good afternoon for the Bulls in Long Island. While Barnhardt was sacked six times, Hofstra QB Giovanni Carmazzi (20 of 27 for 257 yards) threw for two touchdowns and scored on three short runs. Running back Vaughn Sanders caught two TD passes for a quick 14-0 lead, went on to rush for a career high 165 yards and closed out the scoring with a 1 yard run. The home team rolled for 572 total yards in a 50-30 victory, which were records for most yardage and points against USF. Jim Leavitt admitted, "The playoffs - that's over." On the positive side he noted, "We're 5-2, last year we were 2-5." USF was now twentieth and twenty-third in the polls.

The following Saturday afternoon, before just 884 fans in Charleston, the Bulls would guarantee the school's first winning season. The defense got back on- track against Charleston Southern. USF forced five fumbles, recorded five sacks and held the home team to five pass completions. Defensive tackle Therriman Edwards, a sophomore of out Lake Wales High School, made two of the team's fumble recoveries, while linebacker Demetruis Woods had two sacks and a punt block. Chad Barnhardt (6 of 10 for 99 yards) hooked up with Leon Matthews, a sophomore from Sebring High School, on a scoring pass for a 14-0 second quarter lead. Just before the half, while being sacked, Barnhardt landed on his shoulder and had to leave the game. Glen Gauntt (6 of 10 for 68 yards with an INT) threw his first career touchdown pass to close out the scoring. The 24-0 victory over the Buccaneers was the first time USF had beaten a team twice. Of a game were USF again set a team record for penalties, seventeen for 143 yards, Jim Leavitt said "It was kind of a sloppy win, but it's a win." The Bulls remained twentieth in the Sports Network poll and rose to twenty-first in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

1998 I-AA Top 25

Final USA Today/ESPN Poll

1. Massachusetts

2. Georgia Southern

3. Northwestern State

4. Western Illinois

5. Florida A&M

6. Appalachian State

7. Connecticut

8. McNeese State

9. Richmond

10. Hampton

11. Troy

12. Lehigh

13. Tennessee State

14. Montana

15. Illinois State

16. Southern

17. South Florida

18. Hofstra

19. William & Mary

20. Murray State

21. Colgate

22. Western Kentucky

23. Bethune Cookman

24. Delaware

25. Montana State

For the first time, Chad Barnhardt did not start a USF game. He was nursing a sore shoulder, so Glen Gauntt made his first start at quarterback against Cumberland. The Bulls started slow and lead 3-0 after the first quarter. Gauntt settled down in the second, completing 7 of 9 for 102 yards in that quarter, and South Florida took a 20-0 lead at the break. Gauntt (13 of 19 for 266 yards) threw for three scores with Charlie Jackson catching two third quarter touchdowns. Dyral McMillan had his first 100 yard day in the Bulls backfield (102 yards) and ran for three scores. Cumberland could not get much going right. The Bulldogs completed one pass, lost four of six fumbles, had two punts blocked and were penalized a dozen times. 31,272 watched USF win in a rout 69-3 for the school's first homecoming victory. South Florida climbed to number sixteen in the ESPN/USA Today poll and nineteenth in the Sports Network rankings.

To have any chance of making the playoffs, the Bulls would need a victory over the undefeated and top-ranked Georgia Southern. Even though he was not 100 percent, Chad Barnhardt got the start in Statesboro, Georgia. That afternoon, USF did not turn the ball over and Otis Dixon ran for a pair of scores. Eagles running back Adrian Peterson ran for 122 yards, two touchdowns and set the all- time freshman rushing record at 1,932 yards. Quarterback Greg Hill (6 of 8 for 83 yards) rushed for 105 yards and also ran for two TDs. Chad Barnhardt (7 of 8 for 82 yards) had problems with his shoulder and was replaced temporarily by Glen Gauntt (3 of 4 for 19 yards). The 101 yards passing was the lowest in USF history and coach Jim Leavitt admitted "Chad couldn't throw." The crowd at Allen Paulson Stadium watched the home team prevail 28-23 for an 11-0 regular season. The Bulls found themselves ranked twenty-first in both polls.

Senior quarterback Chad Barnhardt (10 of 11 for 109 yards with a TD and an INT) started his last game in a Bulls uniform against Morehead State. After a slow start, the Eagles lead 7-0 after the first quarter and 14-10 at the half, South Florida's running game got in gear. USF rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns in a 21 point third quarter. Rafael Williams finished with 119 yards rushing and ran for two TDs, while LaFann Williams added another 122 yards on the ground. Morehead State did register five sacks, however, the home crowd was not disappointed in USF's 38-22 victory.

South Florida just missed the Division I-AA playoffs with an 8-3 record. Jim Leavitt said, "A chance at a playoff spot in the second year of our program is impressive." The team finished sixteenth in the ESPN/USA Today poll and nineteenth in the Sports Network poll.

Bill Gramatica was named USF's first Division I-AA All-American. The place kicker (46 of 47 extra points and 16 of 24 field goals) set a new school record for scoring with 94 points. While Chad Barnhardt (114 of 193 for 1,776 yards with 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions) was slowed a bit by a shoulder injury, he did throw more touchdown passes than the year before. Rafael Williams (586 yards and 6 TDs) again lead the team in rushing, this time narrowly beating out LaFann Williams (580 yards and 3 TDs). Clif Dell (23 catches for 537 yards) lead the team in receiving yards for the second straight year and Rj Anderson (25 catches for 418 yards) had the most receptions. Defensively, Bernard Brown lead the Bulls with five interceptions and Demetrius Woods had five sacks. The average attendance for season two of 27,143 was tops in Division I-AA. The Bulls had a senior class of twelve players.

Related Links

1998 USF Bulls Results

1998 USF Bulls Statistics

Back to USF Bulls History

Back to USF Bulls Main Menu

Back to Home Page