Inside the Numbers: USF Falls to Louisville 24 to 34

The Cardinals offense dominated the day as the Bulls continued to fall apart (Picture: AP)

Where do we start after this game? The Bulls dropped another bad game where all aspects of the team failed to do their job. The defense, special teams, and offense failed to get the win as the Bulls drop to 5-6 (1-5) on the season and are most likely out of bowl contention unless they can pull off a miracle against WVU (don't hold your breath on that either).

The offense got going in the first half, scoring 17 points, a lot more than they managed against Miami. B.J. Daniels, who warmed up with the team before the game, did not get the start as he recovers from the AC joint bruise to his throwing shoulder. Bobby Eveld made his second start of his career. He went 20 of 35 for 210 yards, including a touchdown in the first half and a bad interception at the end of the game, but the game was over. Eveld made a few nice passes, throwing a few fades routes, but he made a lot of bad throws too. He overthrew players and missed on certain routes. It was a combination of the Louisville defense and his inability to simply read and make the throws he needed to do. Demetris Murray threw one pass for a 37 yard touchdown to Deonte Welch in the second half as the Bulls used a few trick plays to try to open it up in the game.

The running game was bottled up the entire game. The Bulls blocked well, but credit the Cards to swarm to the ball and bottle up everyone. The team struggled to get runs going ahead without the zone read of Daniels in the game. Without Daniels in the game, the fear of a mobile quarterback was gone and the running backs could not get free. Darrell Scott had 16 carries for 55 yards. Victor Marc had 2 carries for 10 yards on a new look with him in the Wild Cat formation (please no more of that). Demetris Murray had 6 carries for 11 yards and a touchdown as no one could get free.

The receivers didn't get a lot of chances to get downfield as the passing game struggled. Deonte Welch had 4 receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. Demetris Murray had 4 for 44. Lamar had 1 for 35 and a touchdown. Andre Davis had 4 for 30 yards and a crushing fumble in the second half that allowed the Cards to get the ball back and get a huge score to put the game away for USF. Evan Landi had 3 for 27 yards. Chris Breit had 1 for 22 yards. Marc had 3 for 17 yards. Scott had 1 for 10 yards.

The special teams was a complete disaster in this game. Marc had a fumble on a punt return that allowed the Cards to get another score. Holtz stated there were no returns set up in this game, so Marc should have just fielded the ball, but dropped it and hurt the team big time. Lindsey Lamar had 5 returns for 144 yards as he finally got a chance to break free on a few returns. JBK continues to struggle and frustrate everyone. He punted 5 times, averaging just 34 yards a kick. Holtz put in Bonani for a rugby kick, kicking it 72 yards, but a stupid personal foul penalty by the snapper, negated the kick and allowed the Cards to re-kick, get better field, position, and get another score.

The defense was just as bad today (Webster did not play due to a concussion). DeDe Lattimore had 11 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Michael Lanaris had 9 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Sam Barrington had 6 tackles and Qunenton Washington had 5 tackles. The defense was a complete joke in the game. The Cards converted 9 of 18 3rd down conversions. It seemed every time the Bulls had a chance to get off the field, the Cards converted. Bridgewater made huge throws down the field, finding seam routes and hitting 9 different receivers. He targeted George Baker, making nice passes over him, getting him and others out of position the entire game. The defense gave up 373 yards of offense to the Cards, allowing a true freshman to pick them apart. It was a terrible performance by everyone out there.

Holtz came out and stated that he was disappointed on the poor performance and that everyone, from players to coaches, was responsible for this game. Maybe it was the lack of fans, only 19115 showed up, maybe everyone was out shopping this morning, but no matter what it was, the team has hit rock bottom.

At 5-6, the Bulls are facing their worst season since 2004 when they lost 7 games. The offense is pathetic, special teams is awful, the defense is wearing down, and the coaches are not doing a good enough job to get anyone prepared for this game. The Bulls will have to pick up the pieces and try to show up to the game next Thursday night (another Thursday night game, this will only end well), as they take on WVU.