Are you guys as anxious as we are for this football season to finally start already? If you've been counting (which we're sure you have), then you know there are a mere 70 days until the Bulls kick off in South Bend. Luckily, we have figured out a way to make those ten weeks appear a little shorter. We've put together a collection of what we think were the ten best moments of last football season, and we'll be sharing one each week until kickoff. These moments are not necessarily the play of the game or a reminiscence the best player's performance, but rather they are the ten moments this season that excited us the most and got us up out of our seats, cheering with pride. Now, our last post will still be one week before September 3rd, but hopefully by then you've found something to occupy yourself for seven days (maybe spend that time driving up to South Bend?).
Read on as we begin the countdown with the #10 moment of the 2010 USF football season after the jump.
Number 10: JaQuez Jenkins's Interception in the Meineke Car Care Bowl
For the tenth best moment of 2010, I chose a play that happens to be from the most recent game. USF traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to play Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in what was essentially a home game for the Tigers. That majority of the fans were shocked by an unbelievable performance by B.J. Daniels and the entire USF defense. The #10 best moment occurred in the first play of the fourth quarter. USF had racked up a comfortable 24-13 lead and knocked Clemson starting QB Kyle Parker out of the game. Backup quarterback Tajh Boyd came on the field to try and fuel a comeback, but USF's secondary had other plans.
Boyd took the snap in shotgun and quickly released for a toss to fellow redshirt freshman Bryce McNeal in the center of the field. The pass sailed well over McNeal's head, and landed perfectly in the waiting arms of USF safety JaQuez Jenkins at the USF 48 yard line. Jenkins wasted no time turning the ball the other way, weaving in and out of pursuing Tigers. Within seconds, Jenkins was surrounded by stampeding Bulls laying blocks and clearing the path to the end zone. Jenkins looked like he was going the distance until he appears to have lost sight of the sideline. He lunged forward with more than enough of a jump to clear the end zone pylon, but the official marked him out at the Clemson 5 yard line. The interception return broke Quenton Washington's short-lived record for longest return in Meineke Car Care Bowl history, which was set in the second quarter when Washington picked off Kyle Parker for 45 yards. Fortunately for the Bulls, the five yards left by Jenkins proved to be no task as B.J. Daniels made the quick run into the end zone to put USF up by 18 in the 4th quarter as they cruised to their first bowl victory over a BCS team. If you want to relive this whole game, as I just did while researching this, go ahead and check out the stats, play-by-play, and game summary here and here.
I was at home for this game, watching with my roommate in the living room. We were sitting when the play began, but stood right up as soon as the action started happening. Come to think of it, we probably scared the neighbors as we cheered Jenkins on, but we weren't too concerned with anything else. As far as we were concerned, it was a great ending to a good season, and a great indication of an outstanding future.
Major sports events have different highlights.
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