South Florida 31, Clemson 26
When: 12:00 PM ET, Friday, December 31, 2010
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Temperature:
48°
Head Official:
Thomas Ritter
Attendance:
41122
By SportsDirect Inc.
South Florida sophomore B.J. Daniels passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Clemson's furious comeback fell short, as the Bulls held on for a 31-26 victory in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Friday in Charlotte, N.C.
South Florida made sure Clemson got a look at the quarterback of its future, ending Kyle Parker's day -- and his career at Clemson -- breaking his ribs with a hit on an option run at the goal line near the end of the first half, and Daniels gave the Tigers a glimpse of what they hope freshman Tajh Boyd develops into.
Daniels rebounded well after throwing an interception on South Florida's first offensive play. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 188 yards and threw first-half touchdowns to Demetris Murray and Dontavia Bogan to stake South Florida (8-5) to a 17-3 lead.
After a shaky start to the second half, Boyd showed signs of a bright future, throwing two touchdowns to tight end Brandon Ford in the final 1:47 to finish 13-for-23 for 112 yards with two scores. He also threw an interception that set up Daniels' 8-yard touchdown run to make it 31-13 early in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers recovered an onside kick to set up Boyd's second touchdown pass, and they snagged a second onside kick, but it did not travel 10 yards, resulting in a penalty and allowing South Florida to run out the clock.
Parker, who put off his professional baseball career to return to Clemson for his sophomore season, capped a forgettable campaign by going 11-for-17 for 134 yards with an interception.
The Tigers, playing without leading rusher Andre Ellington, were limited to 50 rushing yards. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins had a big game for Clemson, though, catching nine passes for 105 yards.
Clemson (6-7) finishes the season with a losing record for the first time since 1998 and only the third time since 1976.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| South Florida
|
279 |
90 |
189 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Clemson
|
296 |
50 |
246 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3.0 |
2 |