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Wisconsin Badgers hold off USF Bulls

 
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 27:  Running back Melvin Gordon #25 of the Wisconsin Badgers stiff arms Nate Godwin #36 of the South Florida Bulls on September 27, 2014 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Photo by Tom Lynn/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 27: Running back Melvin Gordon #25 of the Wisconsin Badgers stiff arms Nate Godwin #36 of the South Florida Bulls on September 27, 2014 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Tom Lynn/Getty Images)
Published Sept. 28, 2014

MADISON, Wis. — What initially shaped up as the biggest statement game of the Willie Taggart era was cut off in mid-sentence Saturday.

Had negative hiccups not supplanted positive syllables at critical junctures, USF might have made a stunning national proclamation in one of the Midwest's football shrines.

Instead, the Bulls (2-3) were left to pick up the pieces. And penalty flags. And dropped balls.

Now, in the immediate wake of a 27-10 defeat to No. 19 Wisconsin, only one statement seems fitting: Oh, what might have been.

"You can't beat a top-25 team with 11 penalties and two turnovers at their place," said Taggart, whose team was tied with the Badgers 3-3 at halftime. "Hard to beat a team like that."

Instead of seizing this warm afternoon before their biggest audience of the year (78,111), the Bulls let it slip through their fingers or — depending on which pivotal play you recall — bounce off their numbers.

For the second game in a row, a catchable pass from quarterback Mike White bounced off his receiver and into an opponent's arms. This time, senior Deonte Welch couldn't bring a ball in, and Badgers linebacker Derek Landisch snagged it.

Turned out, that miscue wasn't costly. But others were downright spine-snapping.

On three Badgers scoring drives, USF was whistled for a penalty on third down, preserving the possession. Those three infractions were only one fewer than Wisconsin (3-1) totaled the entire afternoon.

"I just saw the flag on the ground and they called 'em," Taggart said. "I saw we had 11 and they had (four). That's what I saw."

Then on the fourth quarter's first play, with the Bulls trailing by 10 and Camp Randall Stadium still quaking from a student section bouncing to the final strains of House of Pain's Jump Around, White found fullback Kennard Swanson isolated in the left flat for a 52-yard completion.

But Swanson fumbled at the Badgers 10 at the end of the run, and Wisconsin answered with an 18-play TD drive covering 9:33.

Ballgame.

"I think it was pretty cool coming from that Jump Around, that they do; we didn't let it faze us," White said. "We came right back and we had a huge play and it just so happened that we fumbled. I'm not too worried about it. Kennard never puts the ball on the ground. It's one out of a million."

Preceding the untimely flags and fumbles was arguably the best half of defense in Taggart's 17-game tenure, putting USF in position to end Wisconsin's 31-game non-conference home winning streak.

With senior nose tackle Todd Chandler sidelined after sustaining a poked eye in Thursday's practice, the Bulls still had consistent penetration that stonewalled the nation's top-ranked rushing offense.

At halftime, Heisman Trophy candidate Melvin Gordon (32 carries, 181 yards, two touchdowns) had 50 yards on 17 carries, a 2.9-yard average. With 25 seconds to play in the half and the ball at the Bulls 5, Gordon was met in the backfield by senior lineman Elkino Watson, who forced a fumble recovered by safety Nate Godwin.

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"The first half we were getting great penetration," said Godwin (14 tackles). "We were filling gaps, everybody was swarming to the ball."

But Wisconsin scored on the second half's opening drive, in part via a USF third-down penalty. Then Gordon got loose for a 43-yard TD run midway through the quarter. Then the defense wore down and the offense — on the field only 19:09 — couldn't sustain drives to provide rest.

And instead of making a fresh statement, Taggart had to recycle an old one: "At the end of the day that killed us — penalties and turnovers."

"We didn't listen to all the critics and everything that was being talked about coming into this game," White said of USF being a 34-point underdog. "We knew what it took to beat this (defense) and we had a good game plan and we trusted it. I think one thing we didn't do well was obviously we hurt ourselves."

Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampbay.com. Follow at @TBTimes_Bulls.