Raymond James home, sweet home for Bulls

South Florida extended its opening-game home record to 6-0. They also own a 13-game home-winning streak, which is tied for third in the nation with Washington and Toledo.

Lightning crashes

When lightning caused a 45-minute delay with 54 seconds left in the first quarter and USF up 10-0, it marked the first time in Bulls history that a game was delayed due to lightning.

Unlucky 13

Also adding to the lengthy game was the amount of penalties. USF committed 13 penalties for 105 yards.

The total penalties was four shy of the school record of 17 penalties in a game, recorded against Connecticut last season.

“It’s frustrating we stopped ourselves over and over again,” coach Jim Leavitt said. “We just killed ourselves over and over again.”

Don’t play in traffic

Another distraction for the Bulls was a familiar one: rush-hour traffic.

USF arrived at the game about 20 minutes late due to the traffic on Dale Mabry and Fletcher.

Sacks aplenty

USF had seven sacks including two by Maurice Jones for five and eight yards. Courtney Davenport started the sack parade with a tackle for a 21-yard loss. The Bulls were one sack shy of the single-game record recorded against Pittsburgh last season.

Gramatica kicks 3 FGs

Santiago Gramatica’s three field goals tied his career total. Last season, Gramatica, as a freshman, was 3-for-11. Gramatica also connected on all six of his extra point opportunities.

A friendly wager

Before the game, South Florida student body president Mike Griffin and Florida Atlantic student body president Pablo Paez made a friendly bet on the outcome of the game. The agreement had the loser wearing the winning team’s apparel for a full day, including to classes, meetings, etc.

“I know we (were) going to win,” Griffin said. “So I have a shirt picked out for him.”

The two presidents are hoping to start a rivalry similar to the University of Florida and Florida State rivalry.