Football's Comeback vs. No. 16/13 USF Falls Short, 34-28

Saturday, October 21

Yulman Stadium

6 p.m.

Tulane University

3-4 , 1-2

USF

7-0 , 4-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

USF

Tulane

Photo by: Parker Waters

Football's Comeback vs. No. 16/13 USF Falls Short, 34-28

Oct 21, 2017 | Football

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NEW ORLEANS – Senior running back Dontrell Hilliard ran for 94 yards and two, fourth-quarter touchdowns as Tulane scored 21 unanswered points in the second half, but fell short to No. 16/13 USF, 34-28, Saturday evening in front of a crowd of 17,256 at Yulman Stadium.

Junior quarterback Jonathan Banks passed for a season-high 221 yards and a touchdown, while Hilliard scored on a 24-yard reception and a 16-yard run in the fourth quarter to make the score 34-28. Junior wide receiver Terren Encalade led the Green Wave with 93 yards on two catches, including a 73-yard reception from Banks. Tulane (3-4, 1-2 American Athletic Conference | West) totaled 415 yards of offense, including a season-high 221 passing yards.

USF (7-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference | East) totaled 505 yards of offense, including 378 rushing yards. Senior quarterback Quinton Flowers passed for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 138 yards and a score, while senior running back Darius Tice rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown.

"I was proud of our guys fighting through to the end of the game," head coach Willie Fritz said. "Those guys are ranked as high as 13th in the country and to come within a touchdown, we don't have moral victories, but it didn't look good for us at the beginning of the second half. We kept fighting throughout the second half and made it a very competitive ballgame."

Tulane trailed 34-7 when redshirt junior cornerback Donnie Lewis Jr. picked off a Flowers pass that was deflected off the hands of freshman safety Chase Kuerschen and the foot of the intended Bulls receiver. The Green Wave took advantage of the turnover, scoring three plays later when senior running back Sherman Badie bowled through a would-be tackler and raced to the pylon for a 36-yard touchdown.

Two possessions later, Banks found Hilliard wide open for a 24-yard strike to cut it to 34-21 with 7:40 to play in the game. The touchdown capped 54-yard drive covered in four plays. USF then drove to the Tulane 19-yard line, but its 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Lewis and picked up by senior cornerback Parry Nickerson to give the Green Wave the ball with 4:08 remaining.

On the next play, Banks hit sophomore wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a 36-yard gain to the USF 35-yard line. Banks followed that play with an 18-yard scramble and Hilliard then ran the final 16 yards, fighting through defenders to reach the end zone, cutting the deficit to 34-28 with 2:45 to play. The Bulls, however, recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Kuerschen led the Wave with a career-high 14 tackles, while senior safety Jarrod Franklin tallied a career-best 12 stops.

The Bulls extended their halftime lead to 34-7 with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Flowers to Marquez Valdez-Scantling and a two-yard run by D'Ernest Johnson.

USF scored on its opening drive of the game, traveling 85 yards in 10 plays off the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead on a 21-yard run by Flowers. It was the first touchdown the Tulane defense had allowed on the opening possession all season.

After a pair of punts, the Bulls extended their lead to 13-0 on a 45-yard run by Tice. The point-after attempt was blocked by junior safety Roderic Teamer Jr.

The Tulane offense, after an interception and a turnover on downs on its previous two possessions, found the end zone on the ensuing drive to cut the deficit to 13-7 with 2:49 left until halftime. Banks found Encalade on a slant pass, and the junior wide receiver raced 73 yards to the end zone. The scoring play was a career-long reception for Encalade, and a career-long pass for Banks at Tulane.

The Bulls took a 20-7 lead into the break after a 38-yard touchdown pass from Flowers to Darnel Salomon with 0:42 left in the half.

The Green Wave have a short turnaround to a Friday night road contest at Memphis. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and carried live on CBS Sports Network.

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