Went back and watched the USF-Louisville game again on ESPN360.com and have a few more notes before we move on to USF-Miami on Saturday ... Ten thoughts:

-- Unsung hero of the game might be sophomore cornerback Quenton Washington, who saved three points with two big plays. When Louisville took the lead on Trent Guy’s punt return, Washington got in to block the extra point, which allowed USF to have a 17-16 lead at halftime.

And when the Cardinals scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and trailed 27-22, that lost point prompted Louisville to go for two, and Washington – a 5-foot-10 cornerback covering 6-foot-8 receiver Josh Chichester – made a leaping play to deflect the conversion away from the big target. He's giving up 10 inches on that matchup ...

-- We’ve seen this before, but the Rutgers loss is clearly sticking with Leavitt, who brought up his frustration with that 31-0 loss several times in his postgame news conference. Take this quote on Rutgers’ defense:

"Certainly we don’t have any idea how to play against it. We haven’t done very well there. This win doesn’t help that situation at all," Leavitt said. "That will burn up my rear forever. It just will."

-- Can’t remember a game where more Bulls players slipped and fell on the turf at Raymond James Stadium, most notably B.J. Daniels on the second-to-last play of the first half.

I counted at least five other plays where Bulls players fell trying to make cuts – Dontavia Bogan on a reverse and on a kickoff return, and Daniels near the goal line on USF’s second drive. Not sure whether there was some kind of change in cleats, but the home surface wasn’t kind to USF.

-- Most encouraging thing about USF's offense: lots of long, sustained drives. Bulls had five scoring drives of 70 yards or more, including a 16-play drive right before halftime that marks the most plays in any drive this season. The Bulls had four drives of at least 10 plays on Saturday, after having just six in the previous nine games this season.

-- USF had six penalties for 44 yards, which is low by Bulls standards this season, but Leavitt was still frustrated by the lack of discipline, and that was part of why he wasn’t a happy coach at halftime.

"I was hot, because of the way we played. I was so hot," Leavitt said. "Whether we got the field goal or not, it was more about playing good football and doing the right things, doing things with discipline. Again, I saw the flags thrown again today, and that just irritates the dog out of me. It’s laziness, laziness on some guys. They didn’t move their feet and they’re grabbing. I know exactly what they did. We work on it, but obviously we don’t work on it enough."

-- If you watch an entire game on ESPN360.com, it amounts to like 20 times through the "world’s most interesting man" commercial for Dos Equis beer. So if you’re counting at home, that’s quarenta equis.

-- Rough game for USF’s running backs, as Mo Plancher – who had some nice runs - lost a fumble late and dodged another when a screen pass he dropped was ruled an incompletion. Mike Ford fumbled inside the USF 10-yard line on his first carry and was fortunate that fullback Richard Kelly fell on the loose ball. Ford had 3 yards on four carries – in the last four games, he has 30 yards on 17 carries.

-- If you watched the TV broadcast, the undisputed star was … offensive assistant Mike Lube. I counted seven times the ESPN Regional crew showed a shot of USF’s coaches up in the booth, thinking they were showing a shot of Bulls QB Matt Grothe. Each time, they showed Lube, wearing shades and a Bulls cap. Telltale sign for me? Lube was drinking a Diet Coke, and I don’t know that Grothe does that.

-- On review, USF’s defense played better after a second look – Louisville had 199 yards of total offense after three quarters, with 68 of their yards coming in the final six minutes when USF had a 12-point lead. Linebacker Kion Wilson needs just nine tackles now to go over 100 for the season …

-- Interesting local note – Western Kentucky is expected today to name Stanford running backs coach Willie Taggart as its new head coach. Taggart, a Bradenton Manatee graduate from Palmetto, will certainly be recruiting the Tampa area more in his new job.

No real surprise, but USF quarterback B.J. Daniels has been named Big East Offensive Player of the Week after piling up 445 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the Bulls' 34-22 win against Louisville.

Daniels set career highs with 304 passing yards and 141 rushing yards, becoming the first player in Big East history to throw for 300 and rush for 100 in the same game. He wasn't the only Bulls player honored by the league, as linebacker Kion WIlson made the conference's weekly honor roll after leading USF with 12 tackles, including two for losses.

It's the third time this season a USF player has earned one of the Big East's weekly honors -- defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul got the defensive nod on Sept. 28 after USF's win against Florida State, and Wilson was defensive player of the week after the West Virginia game. Daniels is the second freshman to win the conference's offensive award this season, following Pittsburgh running Dion Lewis on Oct. 19.

TAMPA – Two months ago, when senior Matt Grothe was lost to a season-ending knee injury, USF’s coaches were adamant that they wouldn’t scale back the Bulls’ offense for redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels.

But after Daniels piled up 445 yards of total offense in the Bulls’ 34-22 win against Louisville on Saturday, those same coaches conceded part of Daniels’ comfort against the Cardinals came from a decision to simplify things.

"We’ve kind of tried to narrow down his reads a little bit," offensive coordinator Mike Canales said after Saturday’s win. "Say just go (to pass option) one to two and then take off and go, because you can make explosive plays, instead of trying to force the ball in. That’s something he’s really done. We’ve had to do some things to help him."

Though Grothe led the Bulls (7-3, 3-3) in rushing in all three of his seasons as starter, Daniels has shown himself to be even more of a game-changing runner, rushing for more than 100 yards in four of the last eight games. USF coach Jim Leavitt acknowledged Saturday that the offense is "a lot different" under Daniels, and getting everyone in the same direction has been an ongoing process.

"Mike and him, the whole deal, they have to get on the same page. They’ve got to get together," Leavitt said, putting his two fists together as he described the two (check out the 11:00 mark on his postgame presser). "We’re evolving into an offensive system that we’re trying to develop right now. … I know what I want, and we’re going to get there. We’re taking steps there. We’re learning together. If we get on the same page, this offense can be extremely explosive. We’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet."

Canales also credited Daniels’ calm in the pocket to the time he spent preparing for the game. Daniels, who played on USF’s basketball team last season, didn’t attend the Bulls’ home opener Monday because he was busy watching tape of Louisville.

"His preparation – I think he was up in the film room until 11:15. I had to get him out of there. 'Get out of here. Go home!' But he was determined to come out and play well this week," Canales said. "When he goes, we go obviously, a little bit."

Daniels, who had three first-half turnovers in USF’s 31-0 loss to Rutgers, said he had a better sense of what he was up against with Louisville. "The picture as far as the defense was a little more clear," Daniels said.

Daniels had 34 pass attempts and 22 carries without a turnover, something that has gone hand in hand with his team’s success in his seven starts. He led USF on five scoring drives of 70 yards or longer – the Bulls had four such drives in the previous five games – which was welcomed by USF’s defense.

"The offense played great," safety Nate Allen said. "They were able to get it rolling, and that helped us out as a defense. Eighty-yard drives and everything, that was good."

USF's men's basketball finished a solid showing in the Charleston Classic with a 74-66 win against UNC-Wilmington on Sunday, giving the Bulls a 4-1 record as they return to Tampa.

Junior guard Dominique Jones had 28 points, including 10 during a key 12-1 run after the Seahawks had cut USF's lead to 52-51 with nine minutes to play. Jarrid Famous added 13 points, and Gus Gilchrist overcame a slow start to finish with 14. Here is the boxscore from ESPN.com.

With a 4-1 record, the Bulls have matched their best five-game start since 2001-02, the last time the Bulls played in the postseason in the NIT. The Bulls, who also beat Davidson and lost to South Carolina while in Charleston, next play Wednesday night in the Sun Dome against Kent State, the school that gave Stan Heath his first job as a head coach.

Good week for USF's bowl status, with the Bulls picking up the seventh win they needed to get bowl-eligible, then two unexpected bonuses, with Rutgers losing at Syracuse and Connecticut beating Notre Dame in double overtime.

The Notre Dame loss is good for the Big East, and for the St. Petersburg Bowl as well. With Notre Dame dropping to 6-5, it makes it less likely that the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville will exercise its right to choose the Fighting Irish instead of the No. 2 Big East team.

If Notre Dame were to win at Stanford next week, the Gator Bowl could still contractually choose the Irish, even over a 10-win Cincinnati or Pittsburgh team. If a Big East team fills the Gator Bowl slot, it's one less team USF is competing with for the remaining bowls.

If, for instance, Cincinnati won the league and Pittsburgh went to Jacksonville, the Bulls (7-3) would be competing with Rutgers (7-3) and West Virginia (7-3) for a spot in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte -- those two teams play each other on Dec. 5.

If Rutgers or West Virginia weren't picked by Charlotte, they would be possibilities for St. Petersburg, which is joined by the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham and the International Bowl in Toronto as the last three bowls in the Big East lineup.

Connecticut's win puts the Huskies at 5-5, and they can clinch bowl eligibility with a home win this week against Syracuse. That'd be a plus for USF, as the Bulls wouldn't want to go to East Hartford with Connecticut's bowl fate hinging on a win or loss against USF.

So where do you see the Bulls playing in the postseason? Which Big East team do you see playing in St. Petersburg?

TAMPA -- When USF coach Jim Leavitt took the podium after Saturday's 34-22 win against Louisville, he looked as if he'd played in the game himself, with a bloody gash across the bridge of his nose and a red mark above his left eye.

Asked about the injury, Leavitt deadpanned that he "fell in the locker room," but his players revealed a familiar Leavitt halftime motivation: headbutting players while they still have their helmets on.

"He was fired up. He grabbed somebody -- I think it was (walk-on linebacker ) LaDre Watkins," safety Nate Allen said. "He headbutted him and fell backwards. I couldn't help but laugh, because that's the best one I've seen. ... We were fired up about that one."

The Bulls scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, then Allen intercepted a Louisville pass on the next play, setting up a field goal and a 27-16 lead.

"I just heard about it when I got back to the press box (after) halftime, and they said 'Did you see Coach Leavitt?" coordinator Mike Canales said. "I said 'Why, what's wrong with him?' They said 'He's bloody.' I thought 'Oh, golly, OK.' ... That's Coach. That's who he is. You know what you're getting, and the kids love it."

(Times photo by Chris Zuppa)

TAMPA – There were enough wild ups and downs to match USF’s promising, frustrating season in a single afternoon, but in the end, there was enough B.J. Daniels for Bulls fans to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Daniels threw for 304 yards and rushed for 141, both personal bests, and the Bulls escaped with a 34-22 victory against Louisville, a win that assures USF of playing in a bowl game for a fifth consecutive year.

"You know, we got a win," said Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, unhappy with his team’s uneven performance before a Raymond James Stadium crowd announced at 49,388. "I guess it’s always good to win a game. I mean that. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I’m thinking about some mistakes we’ve got to correct and get better."

Still, the Bulls (7-3, 3-3) now have more Big East wins than they finished with last season, and some much-needed momentum on offense heading into a final home game against Miami on Saturday.

A week after the Bulls were held to 159 yards in a 31-0 loss at Rutgers, they piled up 160 yards on their first two drives, finishing with 538. Daniels, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, became the first Big East player to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game.

"It’s big for our morale and our team confidence," said Daniels, who set career highs for completions (20) and attempts (34). "It was really important for us to get back on a winning track, click on all cylinders and come out with a win."

The Bulls jumped out to a 14-0 lead, with Daniels engineering a pair of 80-yard touchdown drives, the first ending on a pass to Dontavia Bogan, the second on a 2-yard run by Mo Plancher after Daniels converted a fourth-and-1. In those two drives, the Bulls had more yards than in the entire Rutgers game.

"They knew we didn't play very well last week," offensive coordinator Mike Canales said. "I was embarrassed by the way we played, but we showed we can rebound, that we have the ability to do that. Our kids executed, and I'm just so proud of them."

But Louisville (4-7, 1-5) stormed back in the second, first with a field goal, then a touchdown to receiver Scott Long, then a 16-14 lead after a 60-yard punt return by Trent Guy. 

USF got the lead back on a last-second field goal before halftime, but the Bulls were in such need of an emotional boost that Leavitt cut a bloody gash in the bridge of his nose giving a motivational headbutt to a player’s helmet.

The sacrifice worked, as USF opened the second half with another 80-yard touchdown drive, with Daniels converting two third downs on passes to receiver A.J. Love, then scoring on a 20-yard scramble.

USF led 27-16 late in the third, but went for it on fourth and 2 from the Louisville 24 and missed, and Louisville went 77 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth, cutting the lead to 27-22. The Cardinals had one chance for a go-ahead touchdown, but USF’s defense didn’t allow them past midfield. Daniels capped a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown, two plays after he hit tight end Ben Busbee for a crucial 28-yard gain.

Bouncing back from a stretch of three losses in four games, the win takes some pressure off USF heading into a much-anticipated home game against Miami, another shot to beat a major in-state rival.

"We’ve got a big one coming up this week," said safety Nate Allen, who had his fourth interception for USF’s only takeaway. "It should be fun this week."

Archie Manning. Steve Young. Tim Tebow.

USF quarterback B.J. Daniels put himself in elite company on Saturday afternoon, becoming the first Big East player to throw for more than 300 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game. It's been done 28 times in Division I-A history, by the likes of Manning, Young and Tebow, and Daniels' rushing total is the fifth-highest ever by a I-A quarterback on a 300-yard passing day.

(The record? Since you asked, it's Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo, who rushed for 207 yards while throwing for 302 against Stanford in October 1999. Thanks to the Big East office for their research on this.)

The 445 yards of total offense is the second-most in USF history, trailing the 457 yards that Matt Grothe piled up against Cincinnati in 2007. Daniels set personal bests in both rushing and passing, as well as completions (20) and pass attempts (34). His 22 carries are one off his career high.

It's hard to imagine, but Daniels, in just seven career starts, now has more 100-yard rushing games (four) than Grothe totaled in his 42 career starts. Daniels has topped 100 yards against Charleston Southern, Florida State, West Virginia and Louisville, and with 671 rushing yards this season, he now needs just 202 in the remaining three games to break Grothe's QB season record of 872 rushing yards.

The only Bulls player ever to rush for 100 yards more times in one season? Running back Andre Hall, who did it six times in 2004 and six in 2005.

It was a seesaw game back and forth at Raymond James Stadium, but B.J. Daniels had a record-setting day in guiding USF to a 34-22 win against Louisville.

Daniels threw for 304 yards and rushed for 141, becoming the first Bulls player -- and first Big East player -- to top 300 and 100 in the same game. He's accounted for three touchdowns, and the Bulls (7-3, 3-3) have clinched bowl eligibility and a better conference record than they finished with last season.

It was a game of big runs -- USF jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, then Louisville struck for 16 straight points, then a field goal just before halftime sparked a 13-0 run by USF.

Leading 27-16, the Bulls went for it on fourth down and 2 from the Louisville 22, but they didn't convert, and Louisville answered with a touchdown drive. The two-point conversion failed, and the Bulls led Louisville 27-22 early in the fourth. Daniels scored on a 1-yard keeper in the fourth for the final margin.

The Bulls had marched 80 yards for touchdowns on each of their first two drives, with quarterback B.J. Daniels connecting with receiver Dontavia Bogan for a 16-yard score and Mo Plancher getting a 2-yard score. In those two drives, the Bulls had more yards than they totaled at Rutgers last week.