College football: N.C. STATE 14-USF 0

Muffled and miserable

In their first postseason appearance, the Bulls experience another first: being shut out.

By GREG AUMAN
Published January 1, 2006

	[Times photos: Melissa Lyttle]
	USF defensive back Carlton Williams tries to bring down North Carolina State tight end T.J. Williams. The Wolfpack finished with only 5 yards more offense than the Bulls, but its passing game helped it to score twice.
	Andre Hall, who gained 118 yards, ends his career with all of USF's career rushing and touchdown records. He says he is "always and forever a Bull."
	The Wolfpack's A.J. Davis bats a pass away from the Bulls' Amarri Jackson during the fourth quarter. 
	Junior Ryan Wendt watches USF finish consecutive seasons with three-game losing streaks.
	[Times photos: Melissa Lyttle]
	Photos | Gary Shelton column Multimedia: Day 1 | Day 2

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Just by lining up Saturday in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, USF went somewhere no Bulls team had gone before.

Next year's small step forward? Find out what it's like to score in a bowl game.

The first postseason appearance in USF's nine-year history also wound up as its first shutout in 100 games, a disappointing 14-0 loss to North Carolina State before a crowd of 57,937 at Bank of America Stadium.

The recurring themes of the Bulls' 6-6 season were at the forefront again, but their relentless defense and the running of senior Andre Hall (118 yards) were not enough to make up for another woeful passing game.

Two quarterbacks struggled to establish any passing threat, and largely as a result, the Bulls ended their season with a three-game losing streak for the second season in a row.

"It's disappointing to have a big goose egg on the scoreboard at the end of the game," senior guard Chris Carothers said. "You expect to come in and win this game, but it is what it is. ... Their defense is a good bunch of players, and they took it to us. The passing game is a huge part of why the offense couldn't succeed, and it hurt us."

The Bulls defense gave up two second-quarter touchdowns but shut out the Wolfpack after that, proving especially tough at the goal line. N.C. State, playing before a partisan home-state crowd, had 10 plays inside the 5-yard line with only one score. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they never got closer than the N.C. State 17.

"We moved the ball. I imagine if you look at yards, we're probably about the same," said Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, whose team was outgained 300-295. "But the bottom line is you've got to get the ball into the end zone."

The Wolfpack (7-5), which came in with four wins in its past five games, got its only scores in the second quarter. Receiver Brian Clark, a Chamberlain graduate, caught a 9-yard lob on third and goal to give N.C. State a 7-0 lead, then caught a 41-yard pass to set up Andre Brown's 1-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half. The Wolfpack defense did the rest, sacking USF quarterbacks six times and forcing three turnovers. The Bulls didn't breach the N.C. State 30-yard line until the fourth quarter.

USF had just 66 yards in the first half, and starter Pat Julmiste's ineffectiveness forced Leavitt to play freshman Carlton Hill in the third quarter. Hill completed a 37-yard pass to Hall, then lost fumbles on consecutive plays, earning a spot on the bench and a return for Julmiste.

Wolfpack defensive ends Mario Williams and Manny Lawson, who entered with a combined 23 sacks, had three. Linebacker Stephen Tulloch had 15 tackles, including five for losses, to earn MVP honors.

For all the offensive problems, the Bulls had momentum in the fourth quarter when Hall broke off a 41-yard run to the N.C. State 17. Hall then went to the bench for three plays. His backup, redshirt freshman Ricky Ponton, was stopped for no gain, then dropped a short pass. With Hall still on the sideline and third-string back Chad Simpson in, Julmiste lofted a pass to the end zone, but receiver Amarri Jackson never got there and rover Garland Heath intercepted the pass.

USF had one passing touchdown in its final six games, allowing defenses to collapse on the line of scrimmage and focus on stopping Hall.

"The defenses, they know what we do, know every move we make," Hall said. "So they just key in, stack the box. They knew our passing game was struggling, so they blitzed, blitzed, blitzed, and we couldn't get as many points on the board."

Asked if the lack of offensive balance made the Bulls more predictable, Hall said, "Big time." In terms of completion percentages, three of the five worst games in USF history have come since October. Saturday's only true downfield completion came on a fake punt, with Brandon Baker throwing a sharp pass to a wide-open S.J. Green for 31 yards.

The result was disappointing, but the bowl itself is another key step in the program's first season in the Big East. The bowl offered a payout of $750,000, and counting the Big East supplement, the Bulls will get $1.1-million in bowl revenue, a major boost for a small athletic budget.

Leavitt remained positive after the loss, pointing to 70 freshmen and sophomores on his roster and an optimism that next year's team can improve on this year's progress.

"The one thing I'm proud about is we battled," Leavitt said. "I don't think you saw us quit ever, all the way to the last snap, and I'm real proud of our players for that."

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]