South Florida Bulls find inspiration from injured Grothe, late teammates Dorsey and Bleakley

TALLAHASSEE — As improbable as USF's 17-7 upset of No. 18 Florida State was Saturday, the Bulls had no shortage of emotional inspiration.

Playing for the first time since learning that senior QB Matt Grothe's college career was ended by a torn ACL suffered last week, the Bulls played well by dedicating the game to him and other former teammates.

"We came together and we were inspired," said senior TE Ben Busbee, who caught his third touchdown in the past five games. "We were playing for Matt, playing for so many things. It's such a huge win, and I couldn't be more happy and more proud about a group of guys."

All season, the Bulls will remember former RB Keeley Dorsey, who collapsed and died during a team conditioning workout in January 2007. LB Chris Robinson wore Dorsey's No. 10 jersey, but it meant more this week because Dorsey played nearby at Tallahassee Lincoln.

There were other teammates to play for — after the game, Busbee talked with Bob and Betty Bleakley, whose son Will, a former USF tight end, died in March with two NFL players in a boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bleakleys, who drove up from their Crystal River home, got a hug from USF coach Jim Leavitt on his way to the team bus after the win.

CHAMPS RETURN: About 40 members of FSU's 1999 championship team, the lone undefeated team in coach Bobby Bowden's tenure, were recognized before the game. Said WR Peter Warrick: "That was the best thing when they said my name, the crowd yelled, it almost felt like old times. It made me feel good."

At that moment, Warrick said he didn't flash back to the game-clinching touchdown catch against Virginia Tech, but to those times when he'd go a few plays without getting the ball and he'd hear the crowd chant, "Peter-Warrick."

FIRST-TIMERS: FSU's Rhonne Sanderson, a redshirt freshman from Plant, made his first college start at RT. Fellow redshirt freshman DT Everett Dawkins and freshman FB Lonnie Pryor also started for the first time.

HANGING IN: As magical as USF QB B.J. Daniels' first half was, with two touchdowns passes and 253 yards of offense, the freshman struggled in the second half, battling fatigue and cramps.

"We wanted him to go sprint out and throw more, but he started cramping so bad, he couldn't do it," offensive coordinator Mike Canales said. "Middle of the third quarter, he was cramping so bad we almost took him inside to get him IV'd up."

After going 4-for-9 for 166 yards in the first half, Daniels was 4-for-12 for 49 in the second, with two interceptions. Daniels had just 20 career attempts in the past two seasons before taking every snap Saturday.

NUMBERS GAME: FSU junior CB Ochuko Jenije had the first two interceptions of his career. … FSU sophomore TB Ty Jones, the former Middleton High star, had a 3-yard touchdown run in the final quarter. He has four scores, one in each of his three starts. … FSU redshirt sophomore WR Bert Reed had a career-high nine catches for 114 yards. … The Seminoles were shut out for three quarters, something that hadn't happened since they lost 30-0 to Wake Forest on Nov. 11, 2006. After that game, offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden announced he would resign effective at the end of the season.

THIS AND THAT: Walk-on USF S Mistral Raymond got his first start and had four tackles. … USF's kicking specialists had busy days tackling — Eric Schwartz had two tackles and Delbert Alvarado made a touchdown-saving tackle on Greg Reid's 63-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.