Tampa Bay Football History Network - 2006 South Florida Bulls

2006 USF Bulls

On February's national signing day, 28 recruits would sign with the University of South Florida. The most notable of the bunch were WR Edner Alcin (Chamberlain High School), OL Zach Hermann (East Lake High School), DE LeBrandon Glover (Pensacola High School), QB Nate Allen (Cape Coral High School) and DT James Jackson (a transfer from Santa Monica (CA) College). The class would have been much stronger, however, DL Leslie Stirrups (Hillsborough High School), RB/DB Jerrell Young (Gibbs High School) and QB Alwan Lee (Miami Washington High School) failed to the meet college entry requirements. Transfers included center Ryan Schmidt from Kansas State, LB Marvin Peolpes from Maryland and DE Julian Riley from Florida. Head Coach Jim Leavitt of the newcomers, "It's a very, very solid group. To be honest, we didn't lose many guys we wanted."

USF at 50

Founded in 1956, the University of South Florida celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. There were special celebrations and a commemorative DVD titled “Green & Gold: A Half-Century of USF.” Another DVD was released covering the football program’s first ten years.

Carlton Hill was named the number one quarterback going into spring practice, then he had problems on and off the field. Hill, the most heralded recruit in USF history, ended up leaving the team and attending junior college. Ricky Ponton was the only experienced running back to take over for Andre Hall, so several unproven players would get a shot. A season ending injury in the first game to red-shirt freshman Moise Plancher, from Naples Barron Collier High School, would cause the Bulls to look further down the depth chart. Senior Walt Smith, out of Bartow High School, and freshman Keeley Dorsey, from Tallahassee Lincoln High School, looked like the top candidates. Red-shirt freshmen, and former walk-ons, Ben Williams (Lake Wales High School) and Colby Erskin (Seminole High School) would also get a chance to carry the ball.

Division I-AA McNesse State came to Tampa for the opener and the Louisiana based Cowboys lead the game 10-7 late in the third quarter. A botched punt recovered for a touchdown, ten penalties and three turnovers made USF look like a team with nine players making their first career starts. Pat Julmiste (5 of 8 for 38 yards, INT) left the game in the second quarter with a thigh bruise and Matt Grothe (9 of 13 for 171 yards) provided a spark. The red-shirt freshman tossed TD passes to Marcus Edwards and Ean Randolph, a freshman from Plant City Durant High School. Grothe also rushed for 58 yards and a score. Walt Smith ran for two touchdowns, while Trae Williams had an interception and blocked a punt. The Bulls scored five TDs in the final 17 minutes and won going away 41-10. Grothe said of his effort, "It was pretty good for my first real college game." Jim Leavitt said of his team's effort, "We looked like a young undisciplined team and that's what we are."

Matt Grothe would get his first career start in a home game against Florida International. An 82 yard punt return by Chandler Williams, who also caught ten passes for 129 yards, put the Golden Panthers on the board first. USF had it problems with three turnovers, Robert Mitchell returning an interception 14 yards for a score and Josh Padrick (20 of 33 for 238 with 1 INT) throwing a TD pass. The lone first half highlight for the Bulls was a 76 yard punt return by Ean Randolph, who had two other returns for TDs called back, as FIU took a 20-7 lead into the locker-room. In the third quarter, Taurus Johnson scored on a reverse to narrow the gap. The Bulls took advantage of an FIU fumble at the visitor's 30 yard line with 2:52 left in the game. Two plays later, Grothe (15 of 28 for 174 yards with 2 INTs) hit Johnson (6 catches for 196 yards) on a 29 yard scoring pass and the Bulls were up 21-20 with 2:33 showing on the clock. Ben Moffitt, who forced the key fumble, said of the one-point victory, "A win is a win is a win." Jim Leavitt commented on the new starting quarterback, "He did some good things and some not so good things. He knows he has to improve."

It would take some heroics at the end to pull out a victory against Central Florida at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Ben Williams scored his first career touchdown, Mike Benzer made his first career field goal and Trae Williams had two more interceptions, yet a blocked punt returned by UCF tied the game at 17-17 midway through the fourth quarter. Matt Grothe (21 of 31 for 302 yards with 3 TDs and an INT) lead the Bulls on a 90 yard drive capped by a 27 yard scoring pass to Ean Randolph (5 catches for 126 yards) with 3:20 left in the game. The Golden Knights would go on a drive of their own, getting to the USF 10 yard line before a fumble by quarterback Steven Moffett (19 of 44 for 219 yards with a TD and 2 INTs) would seal a 24-17 USF victory. Even though he was sacked five times, Grothe rushed for 73 yards for 375 total yards, which was a USF record for most total yards of offense against a D-1 opponent. Stephen Nicholas said of the win over nearby UCF, "They can make it a rivalry, but it ain't no rivalry. They can't win." Grothe added, "Maybe it will shut some of these fans up."

USF and Kansas played a scoreless first half at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. A 7 yard touchdown run by Matt Grothe gave the Bulls a 7-3 lead after three quarters, however, the Jayhawks quickly responded with a 2 yard scoring run by Jon Cornish. Kansas did move the ball with Cornish rushing for 105 yards and quarterback Adam Barmann (25 of 35) throwing for 273 yards. Unlike the first three games, the Bulls could not come back to win. Grothe's (17 of 32 for 196 yards) second interception of the night came in the end zone as time expired and the home team had a 13-7 victory. Leavitt remarked, "We didn't win the game and that's our bottom line."

Rutgers was ranked 23rd when they came to town for the conference opener. The Bulls fell behind 10-0 before Matt Grothe ran for two touchdowns and USF lead 14-10 at the half. Grothe has his problems in the second half with two interceptions and a lost fumble. While quarterback Mike Teel (11 of 20 for 100 yards with an INT) was contained, Ray Rice paced the Scarlet Knights with 202 yards rushing and two TD runs. Stephen Nicholas blocked a field goal and the Bulls had a chance at the end. Grothe (16 of 25 for 241 yards) threw a touchdown pass to Ean Randolph with 15 seconds left, but USF could not make the two point conversion. Jim Leavitt said of the 22-20 defeat, "It was heck of a ball game and we came out on the wrong end of it."

Ben Williams (108 yards rushing) ran for his first career touchdown and the Bulls took a 14-0 lead over Connecticut after the first quarter. Matt Bonislawski (20 of 40 for 201 yards with an INT) threw a TD pass to Deon Anderson, as the visiting Huskies pulled to within 14-9 at half. Matt Grothe (12 of 15 for 146 yards) ran for his second and third TDs of the game, along with tossing a short scoring pass to Amarri Jackson, and the Bulls were rolling 38-9. A late Connecticut score made the final 38-16. While USF did not turn the ball over, they were flagged 15 times for 113 yards. Stephen Nicholas said afterwards, "It was important to break out of the losing streak and get back on the right track." Jim Leavitt added, "I hope we build some momentum with this."

North Carolina took a 7-0 lead at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, then South Florida scored the next 20 points. The Bulls had 417 total yards, rushed for 234 yards and ran for four touchdowns. Ricky Ponton returned to action in a big way with 101 rushing yards and two scores. Tar Heels quarterback Cam Sexton (9 of 26 for 117 yards with a TD) was sacked five times and intercepted twice. Danny Verpaele and Stephen Nicholas had their first career interceptions in the second half. Freshman Delbert Alvardo, out of Tampa Robinson High School, took over place kicking duties in the second half. The 37-20 final gave the Bulls their first victory over an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Matt Grothe (14 of 21 for 158 yards), who tossed a TD pass to S.J. Green, said of the game, "It puts us a step closer to our goal of going to a bowl."

In USF's first Sunday night game, the defenses dictated the action at Cincinnati. The Bearcats tackled Ben Williams in the end zone for a safety and it was 2-0 at the half. The game's first touchdown came on a 39 yard fumble return by defensive lineman Kevin MuCullough with 1:05 left in third quarter. Bearcats quarterback Dustin Grutza (11 of 18) passed for 105 yards and Cincinnati ran for two fourth quarter scores for a 23-0 advantage. Matt Grothe (11 of 21 for 47 yards with an INT) was ineffective and Pat Julmiste (8 of 18 for 80 yards) tossed a TD pass to Amp Hill in the game's final minute to avoid the shutout. For Hill, a transfer from LSU out of Jacksonville First Coast High School, it was his first career touchdown. The Bulls had three turnovers in a 23-6 defeat. Jim Leavitt commented, "They clearly dominated us."

Pittsburgh was the homecoming opponent and trick plays helped the Bulls take a 14-3 lead at the half. Punter Justin Teachey, a sophomore from Palmetto High School, converted two fake punts and Taurus Johnson went 22 yards on a double- reverse for the game's first score. The USF defense took over in the second half, intercepting Tyler Palko (11 of 23 for 159 yards with a TD) three times and forcing him into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a safety. Matt Grothe (19 of 25 for 180 yards with 2 INTs) ran for a score and tossed a 46 yard TD pass to Amarri Jackson. While Stephen Nicholas recorded two sacks, the Bulls did have four turnovers and ten penalties for 105 yards. After the 22-12 victory, Patrick St. Louis said, "We just wanted to make sure we got bowl eligible, but we have to keep winning."

It was the freshman who made the plays against Syracuse on Senior Day at Raymond James Stadium. Matt Grothe (25 of 35 with 2 TDs and an INT) passed for a school record 364 yards on his way to breaking USF's freshman passing yardage record. Delbert Alvardo booted a Big East record 56 yard field goal on the final play of the first half to give the Bulls a 13-3 lead. The Bulls sacked Perry Patterson (15 of 29 for 174 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT) seven times with freshman Chris Robinson, a linebacker from Flagler Palm Coast High School, recording two sacks. Grothe hooked up with Taurus Johnson (5 receptions for 131 yards) on a 79 yard pass play and the Bulls were up 20-3. While USF rolled up 514 yards of total offense, they were penalized eleven times for 100 yards and had three turnovers. Jim Leavitt said after the 27-10 victory, "I imagine at this point we'll go to a bowl. I'm really not thinking about it at this point."

Both offense started slow and the first quarter was scoreless at tenth ranked Louisville. The Cardinals would dominate after that. Brian Brohm (19 of 33 for 274 yards) threw two short touchdown passes to wide receiver Harry Douglas and Anthony Allen ran for two scores. Tight end Gary Barnidge caught five passes for 112 yards and Louisville had a 24-0 lead before Matt Grothe (15 of 31 for 237 yards with an INT) hit Amp Hill on a late fourth quarter TD pass. Jim Leavitt said of the 31-8 loss, "We didn't have any offense." Grothe admitted, "We just didn't play very well."

Making the team's first trip to Mountaineer Field, the Bulls were 21 1/2 point underdogs in Morgantown. After a scoreless first quarter, seventh ranked West Virginia took a 6-0 lead. USF hassled quarterback Pat White (14 of 22 for 178 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs) all afternoon and sacked him four times. Josh Julmiste recorded two of the sacks and Chris Robinson forced a fumble by White that was returned 9 yards by for a touchdown. Freshman defense end George Selvie, out of Pensacola Pine Forest High School, scooped up the ball and put the Bulls up 7-6. A Matt Grothe touchdown run stretched the lead to 14-6 at the half. The first White to Brandon Myles TD pass narrowed the gap, then Grothe (22 of 30 for 279 yards with 2 INTs) hit Ean Randolph to extend the lead again. The Bulls forced four turnovers and twice held the Mountaineers scoreless inside their own 5 yard line. Jim Leavitt said of the 24-19 victory, "This is a big win, probably the biggest. It's so hard to win here. It's so hard to beat these guys anywhere." Grothe stated, "You beat the number seven team in the country, at their place, this is the best feeling in the world."

The Bulls second consecutive bowl appearance took played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. East Carolina was the opponent in the inaugural PapaJohns.com Bowl. Ben Moffitt recovered a fumble and, on USF's first offensive play, Ben Williams ran 16 yards and the Bulls were up 7-0 just 1:06 into the game. A second TD run from game MVP Williams, from 1 yard out on fourth down with 6:17 off the clock, made it 14-0. Pirates QB James Pickney (8 of 25 for 125 yards) heaved a 48 yard TD pass to Barry Good (5 catches for 116 yards) and the first quarter ended 14-7. Matt Grothe (5 of 10 for 81 yards) connected with Amarri Jackson on a 37 yard scoring pass and a Delbert Alvardo field goal gave the Bulls a 24-7 lead at the half. Grothe would suffered a hairline leg fracture midway through the second quarter, which brought Pat Julmiste (6 of 8 for 49 yards) into the game. The defense saved the day for USF. The Bulls recorded six sacks, two by Stephen Nicholas, and Pickney took a pounding and had to leave the game. ECU was inside the South Florida 20 yard line three times and came away with no points. USF went five for five on fourth down conversion in the school's first bowl victory. The second half was scoreless and the Bulls won 24-7. Jim Leavitt said of the victory, "We felt like if we would win, this would be the best team in the history of the University of South Florida. We had never won a bowl game, never won in December. I'm very proud of our football team."

Matt Grothe was named the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year. He was the first USF quarterback to lead the team in rushing (622 yards), had the highest completion percentage (63.7%), but also tossed a record 14 interceptions. Ean Randolph was Big East Special Teams Player of the Year, leading the conference in punt return yardage (14.8 yards), and was he was also named First Team All Big East. Trae Williams lead the conference with a USF record tying seven interceptions and was named to the First Team. Stephen Nicholas was also named to the First Team All Big East. Nicholas set career records for sacks (20), games played (50) and games started (45).

USF lost a dozen seniors from a team that tied the school record for wins in a season. The biggest losses were Stephen Nicholas, Patrick St. Louis, Pat Julmiste and S.J. Green.

It was a record year for the Big East Conference. After posting a 32-8 record in out-of-conference play, the Big East went 5-0 in bowl games and won the Bowl Challenge Cup.

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