The USF Bulls travel to “the Windy City” and save their best for last in a thrilling rally to defeat Big Ten opponent Illinois 25-19 Saturday.

Transfer quarterback Blake Barnett led an 18-point fourth-quarter rally throwing for 411 yards and the game-winning touchdown, as the Bulls improved to 3-0.

Trailing 19 to 7 entering the final frame, Barnett (above) threw a touchdown to Darnell Salomon from 14 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter to trim the lead to 19-14. Later at the midway point of the 4th, Barnett guided another 71-yard drive into the red zone, but when it stalled, Coby Weiss kicked 26 yard field goal to bring USF within two.

After the Bulls defense got to stop, and starting from his 15-yard line, Barnett got them rolling again. He hit completions of 17 and then, 25 yards to get the Bulls to the Illinois 40.

Then, after an incompletion and a couple of false start penalties, USF was facing 3rd and 20 at Midfield. That’s when Barnett lofted a pass down the left sideline to a wide-open Salomon for 50 yards and the eventual game-winning score.

Illinois secondary had blown the coverage leaving Solomon by himself. The Bulls got the two-point conversion and a six-point lead at 25-19.

Illinois had one last chance left, and freshman quarterback M.J, Rivers led them into USF territory, including converting a fourth down in the final :30. However, they could get no closer with Rivers throwing incomplete out of the back of the end zone on the final play of the game.

The win gives USF a second straight 3-o start under coach Charlie Strong and completes back-to-back wins over the Illini, including last year’s victory in Tampa in September.

The loss is especially stinging for Illinois and embattled Coach Lovie Smith, who used to coach the Buccaneers and the Bears. Smith, who did not win a Big Ten game a year ago, is under fire and has now lost 14 of his last 18 games dating back to the end of the 2016 season.

The Bulls also got a 136 yard rushing performance from Jordan Cronkrite that included a first-quarter three  yard touchdown run.

USF will next put their unbeaten record on the line, when they take on East Carolina next Saturday.

There is no substitute for speed in big time college football, and we know that for most of the prominent teams in the state, they have it everywhere.

And for USF on Saturday, a guy that they knew about but most did not, burst upon the American Conference and national scene. Terrence Horne (above), a true freshman and former track star at Miramar High School, set a USF and American Conference record for return yardage. This after he blazed down the sidelines with 2 kickoff returns for touchdowns in the Bulls 49-38 upset of Georgia Tech.

That earned Horne the American’s Special Teams Player of the Week honors for weekend #2 of the season.

Horne very nearly broke his first kickoff return for a touchdown Saturday before being tripped up, but then put together two spectacular runs to the end zone in a wild first quarter in Tampa.

When it was all said and done, Horne had 264 yards worth of kickoff returns. At only 5’7, he doesn’t “stand tall” in stature, however, his play was large for the Bulls. Horne followed a 98 yard TD return, with an equally impressive 97 yard kickoff return- cutting from the middle down the Bulls sideline and uut racing everyone easily, again to the goal line

If you know Horne’s background, then it becomes more clear. He won the 4A State 100m dash championship earlier this year with a time of 10.4, and was being recruited by several prominent programs. Those included UCF, Cincinnati, Colorado and Florida Atlantic before signing with the Bulls in February

Interestingly, Horne had never had a kickoff return for a touchdown at Miramar High.

Saturday he told the media afterwards,

“It just shows what I can bring for the team. I’m always remaining humble. If you remain humble, God does great things for you. And, today was one of those days.”

The Bulls and head coach Charlie Strong, who’s staff found Horne in South Florida and coached him up to be in the second game of the season making big plays, hope there are more of those days, too.

In what is probably the best match-up of the weekend of any of the prominent college teams in the state, USF will have its hands full hosting Georgia Tech.

And, that’s not because of one specific offensive player but rather, something that Georgia Tech has been known for over a decade: “the triple option.”

The Jackets and head coach Paul Johnson have made “the old school” offensive scheme a trademark of theirs in Atlanta and the ACC.

Two Bulls linebackers who know that they will have their hands full are Khalid McGee and Greg Reeves. And, they had these comments Tuesday afternoon to the media:

Bulls D prepares to put on for The Bay Saturday in Ray Jay.
Noon vs. Georgia Tech on ABC.@_KMCGEE_ & @4_caneboi_1 #BullStrong 🤘💪 pic.twitter.com/Ua4INAffit

— USF Football (@USFFootball) September 4, 2018

And when McGee is talking about, “you know they’re going to come at your legs,” he’s referring to a specific blocking scheme that the Yellow Jackets use. The “cut block,” where defenders will dive at an unsuspecting defensive players knees and ankles are a staple of Tech’s triple-option.

However, it’s not something that USF is completely unfamiliar with. The Bulls have regularly seen a triple-option offense from American Conference rival Navy over the last few seasons. And, that will be of benefit to the green and gold.

The Jackets quarterback is senior Taquon Marshall, who had 1146 yards rushing, a 4.6 yards per carry average and ran for 17 touchdowns a year ago. Marshall ran for 77 yards and a touchdown (shown above) and also threw for a touchdown in Georgia Tech’s easy blowout win over Alcorn State last week.

Bulls coach Charlie Strong is a defensive mind and knows his team had better be ready for numerous dangerous running weapons from Georgia Tech,

“If they can get the quarterback and fullback going in this game, then they will feel like they can have some success,” Strong told the media Tuesday. “The thing we gotta do is come off blocks. It’s gonna come down to ‘assignment football.’ Who has the quarterback? Who has the ‘Dive’ (fullback)? Who has the pitch (running backs). We get all three of those things handled? We gotta chance.”

The Bulls debuted transfer QB Blake Barnett last week and he was solid with three TD passes and one on the ground in the win over Elon at home. And USF’s offense can put pressure on Georgia Tech’s offense, if they are able to score and race out to a significant lead. Then, the Yellow Jackets may be forced to try to throw more than they want to get back in the game.

It’s a sturdy test for USF, for sure, this week and ABC will show it to a lot of the country