South Florida 17, Connecticut 14

[September 20, 2014]  South Florida 17, Connecticut 14: Marlon Mack and Rodney Adams scored first-quarter touchdowns as the host Bulls overcame a heavy rainstorm to defeat the Huskies in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Mack rushed for 103 yards on a career-high 31 carries for South Florida (2-2, 1-0 AAC), which matched its win total from last season and held the Huskies to 132 total yards. Adams made four catches for 68 yards and Mike White was 10-of-18 for 113 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Byron Jones returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half and Geremy Davis hauled in a 32-yard TD pass with 1:19 remaining to extend his streak of recording at least one catch to 30 games for Connecticut (1-3, 0-1). Max DeLorenzo paced the Huskies with 36 yards rushing and Chandler Whitmer finished 6-of-9 for 88 yards and a score.

Chris Dunkley recovered a fumble on the Connecticut 19 after sacking Whitmer on the Huskies™ first drive and Mack put South Florida in front three plays later, when he scored from a yard out. The Bulls forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and White connected with Adams on a 30-yard scoring strike to make it 14-0 with 3:24 left in the opening quarter.

Connecticut, which amassed only 28 yards in the first half, got on the board with five seconds left before the break as White™s throw bounced away from Adams and into the waiting hands of Jones, who narrowly avoided stepping out of bounds on his way to the end zone. After the teams traded punts on their first two drives of the second half, Marvin Kloss made it a 10-point lead with 6:03 remaining with a 19-yard field goal.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Huskies managed one first down in the first half “ on DeLorenzo™s 17-yard run on the first play of the game “ and were limited to 57 total yards before their final drive. ¦ The home team has won 10 of the 12 all-time meetings between the schools. ¦ Each of the last eight meetings between the former Big East rivals has been decided by seven points or fewer.

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