USF-FSU: Bulls Make a STATEment, Stun Noles 17-7

There have been signature victories at South Florida before. They've won in Auburn, West Virginia, and Kansas.

Saturday took it to another level.

For the longest time, it's been the Big Three in the state of Florida—Florida, Florida State, and Miami. Move over Noles, the Bulls have proved worthy of a seat at the table.

The South Florida Bulls stunned Florida State at Doak Cambell Stadium using a ferocious defense and outstanding play of young redshirt freshman quarterback BJ Daniels.

A week after losing senior quarterback Matt Grothe for the season, forcing the young, athletic Daniels into prominence. A product from Tallahassee, Daniels first career start was against the Seminoles. He made a few mistakes, but wasn't phased by it. He threw for 215 yds and two touchdowns while adding 148 yds rushing on the ground.

Meanwhile, USF's defense held the Seminoles to seven points, 287 yards, and forced four turnovers.

FSU Junior QB Christian Ponder tried to weather the USF storm, throwing for 272 yards but would be held without a touchdown and be sacked five times.

Did the Noles take USF lightly? Perhaps their players did, but the coaches were concerned. FSU Head Coach Bobby Bowden said in the week leading up to the contest that they weren't looking forward to facing the Bulls.

They knew USF was a talented football team and determined to make a statement. Did they ever.

This one will go down as one of the biggest victories in school history. The question now is what can they do with it? USF has had big wins and good starts in previous seasons only to hit a wall down the line. Can USF sustain this level of play and compete for their first Big East championship?

On this day, they don't care about any of that. All BJ Daniels and company are interested in is how to celebrate a win against one of the Big Three. Florida State has gone down and gone down hard. All hail South Florida.