TAMPA – The scene might have left a few straggling fans slightly confused. That was a South Florida player holding the football in the end zone. And that was an official signaling a touchdown with his arms straight up in the air. And the clock did say 14:52 in the first quarter.
So it must have meant the Bulls had scored a touchdown just eight seconds after they kicked off to Ball State, tying a school record for the fastest touchdown. It was just the start of a game Ball State would rather forget, as No. 22 South Florida rolled to a 37-7 rout Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium in front of 45,113 fans.
It began with a 17-yard fumble return by safety Mark Joyce, who made sure to make the Cardinals pay for their first turnover of the season. Wide receiver Phil Dudley was hammered by linebacker Mike Jeune as he was returning the kickoff and the ball popped loose. Joyce was there ready to collect the fumble and Ball State quickly had an idea of why South Florida (2-0) is ranked No. 22 in the country.
"That's about the worst possible thing that could happen," quarterback Keith Wenning said. "Things like that are going to happen. We've got to overcome stuff like that."
By the time it was over, the Cardinals (1-1) knew for sure why the Bulls were ranked. South Florida racked up 486 yards of total offense and quarterback B.J. Daniels completed 28 of 34 passes for 354 yards, before being replaced by his backup at the start of the fourth quarter.
Cornerback Jason Pinkston said he was impressed by how accurate a passer Daniels was.
"He impressed me a lot today," Pinkston said. "He was hitting his targets, his percentage was pretty high."
Ball State managed to keep the game within two touchdowns in the first quarter, but couldn't contain South Florida in the second. The Bulls exploded for two touchdowns and two field goals and took a 30-point lead into halftime.
"Obviously, it was a very, very good opponent," coach Pete Lembo said. "I don't think we brought our 'A' game tonight, and we need our 'A' game."
Still, the first half could have been worse for Ball State. South Florida failed to score on two of its seven possessions in the first half, once when Pinkston made a diving interception on one of Daniels' few mistakes, an overthrown pass, and at the end of the half when defensive tackle Joel Cox blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt.
Ball State's offense, which had so effectively picked apart Indiana last week, was stagnant Saturday. Wenning completed 22 of 31 passes for 142 yards, but fumbled twice in the pocket. He said he didn't feel the defenders coming before he was hit from behind. Wenning's pocket presence is something Lembo would like to see improved going forward.
"The last fumble we felt like he probably could have felt that rush and protected the ball a little bit better," Lembo said. "I don't know that it was one thing, but it was a combination of things."
The Cardinals' running game was also halted. Freshman Jahwan Edwards led the Cardinals in rushing yards for the second week in a row to start his career, but gained only 42 yards on eight carries. Edwards provided Ball State with its lone points of the night, finding the end zone on a 13-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
Lembo praised Edwards and remained upbeat after the loss. But he, Wenning and Pinkston all used the word "humbling" to describe their trip to Florida after an emotional victory a week ago.
"The good news about tonight is we did some good things, but we also did some things that are going to get us back down to earth here a little bit and humble us a little bit," Lembo said. "Guys are going to watch the film tomorrow and see some basic mistakes that it doesn't matter if you're playing the New York Giants or South Florida or an FCS team, you can't do those things and win.
"So hopefully this will be a good humbling and learning experience for our guys."
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