Hey, in last year's opener, the Bulls were down to the lowly I-AA opponent at halftime.

The Bulls almost pulled off a score in the final minute but mismanaged their final seconds, going into halftime with a 7-3 lead on Elon at Raymond James Stadium.

USF got the ball on its 45 with 32 seconds to go, and Matt Grothe threw a 12-yard pass to Amarri Jackson to put the ball on the Elon 43. With nine seconds to go, Grothe found Ben Williams open, but Williams didn't go straight out of bounds, allowing time to run out with USF well within field-goal range.

Halftime stats? Grothe is 14-for-25 for 122 yards and the touchdown to Mike Ford, while Williams leads the Bulls rushers with 35 yards on eight carries. USF's outgaining Elon 166-132, but Elon actually has the edge in time of possession. The Phoenix will get the ball to open the second half, so this is looking more and more like last year's McNeese State game. Much the same way, I think Elon's going to start wearing down as the game drags on ...