USF Beats Texas Tech in Birmingham Bowl Thriller; Quinton Flowers Scores 5 TDs

A Tyre McCants touchdown catch with 16 seconds left allowed South Florida to emerge from a seesaw battle with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon in the 2017 Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field in Alabama.

Quinton Flowers put together another terrific performance for the Bulls, who scored a 46-39 win over South Carolina in the same bowl game last year. The USF quarterback threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns and added 106 yards on 14 carries while finding the end zone once on the ground.

His counterpart, Nic Shimonek, also shined for the Red Raiders despite the loss. He connected on 32 of his 59 attempts for 416 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Keke Coutee caught 11 of those passes for 187 yards and a TD.

The expected shootout between teams that combined to average 72.6 points during the regular season didn't develop in a first half that finished 10-10.

After the sides exchanged field goals in the early going, the first touchdown was finally scored late in the opening quarter by Texas Tech.

Shimonek led an impressive 10-play, 81-yard drive that he capped with a five-yard strike to Coutee, who made a key 20-yard grab on third down earlier in the drive, for the Red Raiders' score:

South Florida got back even shortly before halftime. A Texas Tech three-and-out that burned just 24 seconds off the clock gave the Bulls an extra possession, and they capitalized.

A 15-yard punt by Dominic Panazzolo gave USF terrific field position at the TTU 25. Two plays later, they were in the end zone as Flowers connected with McCants for a 21-yard TD.

USF Football‏ noted the touchdown pass allowed Flowers to set a new school record:

The offenses came alive after the break as the teams put up more points in the third quarter (21) than they did in the entire first half.

Texas Tech grabbed a 24-17 lead late in the period with a four-yard touchdown run by Tre King, but Flowers matched that with a five-yard scamper of his own with just under 10 minutes left in the contest to tie the game for the fourth time.

The Bulls' offense stole the show in the fourth. They scored three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground, and Flowers was involved in all of them.

After the Red Raiders grabbed a 34-31 lead with 1:31 to play on a touchdown grab by T.J. Vasher, USF responded by covering 75 yards in 75 seconds for the winning score.

ESPN College Football highlighted McCants' bowl-winning TD:

The teams overcame a sluggish start to put up 1,110 yards of offense in the thriller.

Looking ahead, each program will be tasked with replacing its senior quarterback before next season. McLane Carter is in line to become the next leader of Texas Tech's high-powered attack, while USF could see a competition between Chris Oladokun and Brett Kean in the spring.

Both of the departing QBs have a chance to get selected in the latter stages of the 2018 NFL draft. Landing in the right system will be crucial for their development with Shimonek operating as a traditional pocket passer and Flowers bringing a dual-threat skill set to the table.