1999 USF Bulls
1999 USF Bulls
1999 would be USF's last season as a full-fledged playoff eligible Division I- AA team. They were ranked number twenty-three in The Sports Network preseason poll. The season opener would be the Bulls first game against a Division I-A opponent. Jim Leavitt said of facing San Diego State, "I am sure they are not too worried about us."
Qualcomm Stadium was the site for South Florida's first road season opener.
San Diego State, now playing in the new Mountain West Conference, featured
seventeen returning starters from a team that went to a bowl game the previous
season. While the Aztecs dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the
ball, USF did set a team record for time of possession (33:09). The home team
sacked the quarterback six times and compiled 414 total yards to 219 for the
Bulls. While Dyral McMillan rushed for 78 yards, USF finished with 36 net
yards rushing on 31 carries. Larry Ned (145 yards rushing) ran for two
touchdowns and San Diego State held a 24-3 halftime advantage. Marquel
Blackwell (6 of 9 for 90 yards) replaced Glen Gauntt (12 of 26 for 93 yards and
an interception) in the fourth quarter and hit Reshod Durant on a 20 yard
touchdown pass. It was the first TD reception for the freshman wide receiver
from Gainesville Eastside High School. Bill Gramatica did connect on a pair of
field goals, as South Florida dropped the season opener for the first time.
After the 41-12 trouncing, Jim Leavitt said, "They're better then us. That was
obvious." USF found themselves ranked twenty-fifth.
The home opener brought Southwest Texas State and, for the first time during a USF game, rain to Raymond James Stadium. Driving rain was a factor in a scoreless first half and some sloppy play. The game featured 21 punts, ten South Florida penalties and four Bulls turnovers. USF held the Bobcats to 75 yards of total offense and a team defensive record 32 yards rushing. Just 64 seconds into the second half, USF free safety Anthony Henry returned an interception for a touchdown. The senior from Fort Myers Estero High School ran 12 yards for the game's first score. Marquel Blackwell (8 of 18 for 100 yards and an interception) replaced Glen Gauntt (2 of 3 for 21 yards) in the first quarter and finished with a game high 57 yards rushing, the majority of which came on a 45 yard scoring run. Referring to the quarterback position, Jim Leavitt admitted after the 17-10 victory, "Marquel is probably the guy right now." The Bulls moved up to number twenty-one in The Sports Network poll.
Western Kentucky was the only team to appear on the Bulls schedule the first
three seasons. Quarterback Marquel Blackwell (16 of 27 for 169 yards) made his
first start in Bowling Green and threw three first half touchdown passes.
Deandrew Rubin, a freshman from Dixie Hollins High School, caught two of the
scoring passes for his first career touchdowns. South Florida held the home
team to 48 yards passing and, after a scoreless second half, beat the
Hilltoppers for the first time 21-6. The Bulls were now ranked fifteenth.
Things looked good for awhile at Richard M. Scrushy Stadium in Troy, Alabama. A Marquel Blackwell quarterback sneak gave the Bulls a 21-7 second quarter lead against fifth ranked Troy State. All of USF's points came off Trojans turnovers and for a game between ranked teams things were sloppy at times. Troy State lost four of six fumbles, while South Florida fumbled the ball away twice. The zebras had a busy night, with TSU flagged eleven times for 101 yards and USF twelve times for 104 yards. The Bulls lead 21-14, and on the first possession of the second half, drove to the Troy State 36 yard line. Then the momentum would shift in a big way. Trojans linebacker Jimmy McClain returned a Blackwell (11 of 18 for 81 yards with a TD) interception 71 yards for a touchdown. When the Bulls fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and Troy State scored a TD one play later, the home team lead for the first time. McClain added an interception of Glen Gauntt (4 of 8 for 31 yards) with a minute left to seal a 41-24 Troy State victory. Jim Leavitt said of turnovers leading to two Trojans touchdowns in a twenty second span, "That was the ball game right there." South Florida fell to number twenty-three in the Sports Network poll.
The Bulls lead 14-0 in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium, but Southern Illinois came back to tie it up 14-14. It took a 3 yard run by Marquel Blackwell with 1:38 left in the game to pull out a victory for the home team. USF was penalized eleven times in a 21-14 victory. Blackwell (10 of 24 for 149 yards with a TD and an INT) was sacked five times and admitted, "I'm a little inconsistent right now." Jim Leavitt provided a vote of confidence, "Marquel's a warrior." South Florida moved up to a number twenty-one ranking.
South Florida again jumped to an early lead when the Liberty Flames came to
town. On the team's first possession, a short pass from Marquel Blackwell to
Scott McCready, a senior from King High School, gave the Bulls a 7-0 lead.
Blackwell (15 of 22 for 238 yards) would later toss another short TD pass, this
one to Charlie Jackson. Dyral McMillan, who finished with 110 yards and his
best rushing output as a Bull, ran 1 yard for a score and a 14-0 first quarter
lead. The USF defense held the Liberty quarterbacks to just five completions
in twenty five attempts and recorded five sacks. The team generated 423 total
yards, but the majority of USF's fifteen penalties for 109 yards were against
the offensive unit. Even with a 28-0 victory, Jim Leavitt said, "We made too
many mistakes." The Bulls edged up to a number nineteen ranking.
On Monday October 11, Conference USA member presidents approved an expansion plan for the future. While South Florida had hoped for football membership by 2001, the conference voted to add the Bulls for the 2003 season. It was felt that a couple seasons as a Division I-A independent would be beneficial to USF and C-USA. Athletic Director Paul Griffin commented, "It's not what we most desired, but there are a lot of reasons to be pleased. We're going to be in an equity conference in our seventh year." Jim Leavitt said "I'm excited we got in." To help with scheduling for USF's 2001 and 2002 seasons, the conference agreed to provide home and home series with four C-USA teams each year. That motivated Leavitt. "The feeling I get is they think we probably can't be ready by 2001. We play some Conference USA teams in 2001, it's my vision and my focus that people know we're ready. It gets me more fired up, it makes me want to work harder, so I think our players know what's at stake."
South Florida was 0-6 against ranked teams when number six Illinois State came to Tampa. The Redbirds defense blitzed Marquel Blackwell (14 of 24 for 128 yards with an INT) all night and got to the Bulls quarterback six times. It was the worst offense effort in USF history. Team record lows were set with 150 total yards and 22 yards rushing. Even still, Blackwell connected with Rj Anderson twice on scoring passes, an Illinois State extra point was blocked and USF held a 14-13 lead with just six ticks left on the clock. The visitors lined up for the winning field, a 24 yard attempt by Jake Strader, but the kick was wide left. South Florida players and coaches stormed the field. There was still time on the clock, so the penalty flags flew for excessive celebration. Jim Leavitt joked, "The penalty flag was on me. I was running all over the field." During the week, the Bulls found themselves ranked number seventeen and quarterback Glen Gauntt quit the team.
When New Hampshire came to Tampa, for the second straight week the outcome would be decided on the final play. It was a wild game against the Wildcats. There were 962 yards in total offense, 470 for USF and 492 for UNH, in a game that would take two overtimes to determine a victor. New Hampshire's Jermaine Washington rushed for 107 yards, broke away on a 75 yard scoring run in the second quarter and caught a touchdown pass for the game's final score. Dyral McMillan was the star for the Bulls with a career high 144 yards on the ground. He ran for two TDs in regulation and another in the first overtime. McMillan then caught a touchdown pass from Marquel Blackwell (16 of 30 for 189 yards with 2 TDs and an INT) in the second overtime to give the Bulls the lead. The Wildcats would respond with their own touchdown pass, but a two point pass attempt to win the game fell incomplete. South Florida's nail bitting 42-41 victory equaled the most total points scored in a USF game. Jim Leavitt said "I don't care if we win 2-0 or 100-99. It was a great win. Every win is a great win. We're 6-2 and that's the bottom line." The Bulls gained one spot in the polls.
| 1. Georgia Southern |
| 2. Youngston State |
| 3. Illinois State |
| 4. Florida A&M |
| 5. Hofstra |
| 6. Troy |
| 7. Massachusetts |
| 8. Montana |
| 9. Appalachian State |
| tie N.C A&T |
| 11. Tennesse State |
| 12. Furman |
| 13. James Madison |
| 14. Lehigh |
| 15. Northern Iowa |
| 16. Northern Arizona |
| 17. Southern |
| 18. Colgate |
| 19. Jackson State |
| 20. Portland State |
| 21. Elon |
| 22. Stephen F. Austin |
| 23. South Florida |
| 24. Villanova |
| 25. Brown |
The season's only afternoon game took place at Bridgeport Stadium in
Harrisonburg, Virginia. Tenth ranked James Madison took the lead on a 52 yard
first quarter field goal by Mike Glover, which was the longest against South
Florida. Tony Umholtz tied the score with his first career field goal in the
second. Umholtz, who was filling in for injured place kicker Bill Gramatica,
also kicked a team record 65 yard punt. Running back Curtis Keaton broke loose
on an 80 yard touchdown run, the longest ever against the Bulls, and the Dukes
lead 10-3 early in the second half. Keaton would finish with 210 yards on the
ground. Marquel Blackwell (9 of 19 for 75 yards) tossed three second half
interceptions and it was all she wrote. Blackwell was hurt on the game's final
series, so Mike Usry (2 of 3 for 22 yards) did see his first action at QB for
the Bulls. Each team recorded three sacks in James Madison's 13-3 victory. Of
a game where USF did not get inside the JMU 20 yard line, Jim Leavitt uttered
"They stopped our run, stopped our pass, everything." The Bulls fell to a
number twenty-one ranking.
New Haven, the only Division II team on the schedule, was South Florida's homecoming opponent. The first kickoff returned for a score against USF came when Ketric Barnes returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a Chargers score. An 85 yard interception return by Adam Kasper gave the visitors a 20-7 lead in the second quarter. The Bulls blunders, New Haven would later return a fumble 41 yards for a touchdown, kept the visitors in the game. Dyral McMillan ran for three touchdowns and set USF records with 258 yards rushing on 34 carries. Marquel Blackwell (19 of 41 with an INT) passed for career high 239 yards and twice hit Deandrew Rubin on touchdown passes. The South Florida defense forced six turnovers, including three interceptions, and recorded three quarterback sacks. Jim Leavitt said "We made a lot of mistakes" in the 41-27 victory. The Bulls moved up to a number eighteen ranking.
Dyral McMillan had another big night when sixth ranked Hofstra came to Raymond
James Stadium. With forty carries for 221 yards rushing, he not only became
the first USF back to have consecutive 100 yard games, but the first to have
back-to-back 200 yard games. McMillan also became the first Bull to rush for
1,000 yards in a season. It was not enough, as quarterback Gio Carmazzi had a
huge night for the Flying Dutchmen. Carmazzi (22 of 31) not only threw for
321 yards and three scores, but ran for 80 yards and two fourth quarter
touchdowns to put the game away. A 42-23 Hofstra victory ended USF's eight
game home winning streak. Mistakes, including ten penalties, caused Jim
Leavitt to say "We didn't play real smart."
South Florida finished its last season in Division I-AA with a 7-4 record and number twenty-three ranking. The Bulls scored a team low 246 points, allowed a team record 248 and for the first time allowed more than they scored. Individual highlights included Tony Umholtz, who broke his own record with a 41.4 yard average on a record 74 punts, being named as a Division I-AA All- American. Dyral McMillan ran for a team record 1,017 yards on a record 181 carries and was also the leading scorer with ten touchdowns for sixty points. Rj Anderson had a school record 36 receptions and Marquel Blackwell tossed a USF record ten interceptions. The Bulls were 6-1 at home for second consecutive year. The average attendance of 25,053 was a three year low and fourth best in Division I-AA.
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