USF holds off South Carolina comeback attempt, wins Birmingham Bowl in OT

South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers combined for five TDs in the win. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

South Carolina put up a valiant fight to come back from a three-score second half deficit against South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl, but turnovers would cost the Gamecocks in a 46-39 overtime loss.

USF, behind a huge game from star quarterback Quinton Flowers, built up a 39-21 lead midway through the third, but South Carolina was able to chip away and tie the game 39-39 with 1:11 to go, forcing overtime.

The Bulls opened overtime with a touchdown on the first play when Flowers found Elkanah Dillon behind the defense for a 25-yard score. It was Flowers’ fifth touchdown (two passing, three rushing) of the game, and South Carolina needed a score of its own to extend the game.

True freshman quarterback Jake Bentley moved the offense inside the 10, but he was strip-sacked by USF’s Mike Love on fourth down, ending the game. It was the fifth turnover of the game for the Gamecocks and the third that occurred inside the USF 10-yard line.

Though South Carolina was able to claw its way back, the outcome could have been different if not for two fumbles inside the five. Rico Dowdle lost a fumble at the one late in the third when the Gamecocks trailed 39-21. In the fourth, after the lead was cut to 39-31, A.J. Turner also fumbled at the one — this time with 4:19 left in regulation.

With the Bulls pinned against their own goal line after Turner’s fumble, the Gamecocks quickly forced a punt. That punt was fielded by Chris Lammons and returned all the way to the two. This time, there would be no fumble. On third-and-goal from the one, Turner punched it in to cut the lead to 39-37. Bentley, who threw for 390 yards, found tight end Hayden Hurst for the two-point conversion to tie the game and force overtime.

In the end, Flowers and the explosive USF offense was just too much to keep up with. Even after the Bulls were held scoreless in the fourth, Flowers did what he does best to open the extra frame. He used his legs to extend the play and find a wide open Dillon for what proved to be the winning score.

And though things got dicey at the end, USF really controlled things most of the way. Flowers rushed for three first half touchdowns to open up a 22-7 lead. That lead grew to 29-14 at halftime when Flowers found D’Ernest Johnson for a 37-yard score on a fourth down play with just seven seconds left before the break.

South Carolina opened the second half with a Deebo Samuel touchdown run, but it looked like USF would run away with things after Bentley threw a pick-six to Tajee Fullwood late in the third. But Bentley wouldn’t go away. He and Samuel, who caught 14 balls for 190 yards, picked apart the Bulls secondary to lead a comeback effort, but it wasn’t enough.

The win puts the bow on the winningest season in USF history. The Bulls (11-2) played without head coach Willie Taggart, who is now at Oregon, but showed new head coach Charlie Strong he has plenty to work with in 2017.

South Carolina finishes with a losing record (6-7), but a performance like this — from Bentley, especially — against a good USF team has to be encouraging heading into Will Muschamp’s second season.