Flowers, South Florida aim for 3-0 start against Syracuse

Louisville’s Lamar Jackson confounded the Syracuse defense in just about every way. Quinton Flowers is ready to keep the ball rolling against the Orange.

Flowers leads South Florida (2-0) into the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon, a week after Jackson led the No. 10 Cardinals to a 62-28 victory indoors. The Orange (1-1) allowed a school-record 845 yards as Jackson scored four times on runs and threw for another in the ACC opener for both teams.

“It was a tough loss,” said Orange wideout Amba Etta-Tawo, who has 20 catches for 313 yards in two games. “It was embarrassing. It hurt our pride a little bit, but we’re not going to tuck our tails between our legs and run away and try to hide because we lost one game. ... We just have to shake it off, just like you have to shake off a win. It’s not being rattled. It’s just getting ready for Saturday.”

And for what Flowers, another dual-threat quarterback, brings to the field. He accounted for 403 of his team’s 658 yards of total offense and was named AAC offensive player of the week after a four-touchdown performance in a 48-17 win over Northern Illinois.

The Bulls, chasing their first 3-0 start since 2011, are 4-0 in the Carrier Dome, those victories coming when both teams were in the Big East.

USF’s Gulf Coast offense ranks 10th nationally in scoring at 50.2 points per game, the Bulls’ best start ever. USF is averaging 551 yards per game and has had eight TD drives of two minutes or less. The Bulls’ longest touchdown drive this season is 3:56.

“We just get better and better,” said senior Darius Tice, who rushed for a career-high 120 yards last week.

USF tailback Marlon Mack returns after missing the previous game while going through a concussion protocol. Mack needs 251 yards to match USF’s career rushing record of 2,731 yards, set by Andre Hall in 2005.

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 12:30 AM with the headline "Flowers, South Florida aim for 3-0 start against Syracuse."