GREENVILLE, N.C. — The early evening downpour Saturday preceded a different sort of deluge, this one borne of Bulls self-infliction.
Two unnecessary-roughness penalties. A false-start flag at the goal line followed by a shanked 23-yard field goal. A fumble at the Bulls 7 setting up a Pirates touchdown. A pass-interference penalty.
Enough miscues to prompt prior USF teams to wither.
This one, on the season's rainiest night, weathered.
Give the Bulls points for resilience, if not style, for their 22-17 victory over East Carolina before an announced crowd of 45,194. Quinton Flowers' 67-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rodney Adams with 4:40 to play was the clincher, transforming a dreary night into a dramatic one.
"I've said it all year, man, we have a special group of guys, a team full of guys that really do love each other," Bulls coach Willie Taggart said. "I think what we're seeing right now is a team that's playing for each other."
As a result, the Bulls (5-4, 3-2 American Athletic Conference), who haven't been above .500 this late in the season since 2011, find themselves a victory shy of being bowl eligible for the first time in half a decade.
But only after a night of stingy defense and self-destruction.
USF outgained the Pirates 277-29 in the first half, forcing five punts and converting a safety. It also held Isaiah Jones, the conference's second-leading receiver, to two catches for the game.
"All week, No. 7 (Jones) was on our board," said middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez, who had 11 tackles. "He had, what, 70 catches coming into this game? So he was definitely circled on our board."
Yet at halftime the Bulls led just 12-7.
"I told our guys (at halftime), especially offensively, 'Right now we're where we're at because we're playing sloppy football,' " Taggart said.
USF initially gained traction on its third drive of the game, but the 53-yard march was thwarted when left guard Thor Jozwiak was whistled for unnecessary roughness. Mattias Ciabatti's punt pinned ECU inside its 5, and on first down, quarterback James Summers was whistled for intentional grounding in his end zone, giving USF a safety and 2-0 lead.
After the ensuing free kick, USF drove 69 yards in 10 plays, capped by Flowers' 16-yard rollout TD pass to Price (four catches, 56 yards), his first scoring reception since his freshman year.
But later, two plays after a false-start penalty, sophomore Emilio Nadelman shanked a 23-yard field goal wide left for his sixth miss in 12 tries this season. And Bulls running back D'Ernest Johnson fumbled inside his 10 and Summers scored on a 7-yard keeper on the next play.
Nadelman hit a 36-yarder for a 12-7 lead at intermission, but freshman Ronnie Hoggins' pass-interference penalty helped ECU take its first lead at 14-12 in the third quarter. The teams traded field goals before the winning Flowers-to-Adams connection.
Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene
Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter
You’re all signed up!
Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.
Explore all your options"It was just a go route," said Flowers, who totaled 279 yards, 200 in the air, with a brace on his left thigh. "It was just something he just slow-played, and they ran up and he took off."
East Carolina (4-6, 2-4) had two more possessions to score, its final gasp ending with Summers being sacked by defensive end Kevin Bronson and linebacker Zack Bullock.
Another storm weathered, with a postseason looming in the forecast.
"We can either talk about one win, or we can talk about three more wins for a really big goal (the AAC East)," Taggart said. "That's the one we're going after, we want to win this conference championship."
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com.