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Miami Beach Bowl: Brandon Doughty leads WKU to win over USF
Houston’s within the Peach Bowl, still Houston did not have to play LSU.
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The showdown of quarterbacks with roots in Southeast Florida and contrasting styles took quite some time to develop in Monday’s Miami Beach Bowl before delivering an entertaining conclusion.
Doughty finished the season with 5,055 yards for the Hilltoppers (12-2), the 14th time in FBS history a quarterback has reached the 5,000 mark. Garrett Schwettman then added a 39-yard field goal to cut USF’s lead to 14-10 at the break. Passer rating: 70.8. On the following play, Wales ran 42 yards for another Hilltopper touchdown.
Though the game ended up swinging in WKU’s favor, the Bulls controlled things early on.
The high-powered Hilltoppers offense more than lived up to the hype, gaining 612 total yards for the game.
There will be skeptics, which is understandable since many others who posted monster college numbers in pass-happy offenses – like Tim Couch, David Klingler, Case Keenum, Tim Rattay, Colt Brennan, Graham Harrell and B.J. Symons – have done little to nothing at the National Football League level. And in the process, Wales found his rhythm.
Just like when he was coach at Western Kentucky, Taggert has put together a strong rushing attack led by running back Marlon Mack and quarterback Quinton Flowers. He’s played against good opponents…. Once it got rolling, it was a stunning sight. Average since: 83.4 percent. For USF, a rebound season would have to already be considered a success and a bowl win would only make it that much sweeter.
USF was left to rue missed opportunities. Then, DB Johnny Ward and DE Eric Lee combined for back-to-back sacks of Doughty, forcing WKU to punt from the 38.
2 With three touchdowns against the Bulls, WKU sixth-year QB Brandon Doughty broke the Division I-A record with 97 the past two seasons. Despite strong recruiting, Taggart’s tenure began with 21 losses in 28 games. They’ve enjoyed a breakout season themselves, winning seven of their past eight after a 1-3 start. He interviewed for the SC job a couple of weeks ago.
“We gave up way too many big plays, ” USF defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. Junior receiver Rodney Adams rushed five times for 45 and caught six passes for 130.
They appeared set to control the game early, but they couldn’t finish off the explosive Western Kentucky offense. “(He is) one of the ultimate competitors and has a bright future.
HOME GAME: Just about every college roster has a Miami flavor, and USF and Western Kentucky aren’t exceptions.
“It’s not about me”, said Taggart, who recruited Doughty to WKU and now is tasked with trying to beat one of the nation’s most prolific quarterbacks.
USF leads 14-10 over WKU at halftime.
The Hilltoppers are the second conference champion to take the field in this bowl season.
The Hilltoppers were briefly ranked in the AP poll in 2015 and headed into bowl season 14th in the F/+ rankings.
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This game went from unimpressive to shootout in a matter of a quarter. The Tops have a chance to tie the best record in school history with a 12th win. The Hilltoppers won the toss, and took the ball.