TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Quinton Flowers eclipsed 3,000 yards career rushing and scored one touchdown Saturday night to help No. 18/15 USF extend the nation's longest winning streak to 11 games with a 33-3 victory over Cincinnati.
The dual-threat quarterback also set up a TD with a long completion to Temi Alaka and linebacker Auggie Sanchez scored on a 65-yard interception on the final play of the first half for the Bulls (6-0, 3-0 American Athletic Conference), who've matched the best start in school history.
USF also began 6-0 in 2007, climbing to a No. 2 ranking in The Associated Press Poll.
The Bulls scored at least 30 points in a game for the 23rd consecutive game, tying the longest such stretch in college football since 1936. Oregon did it during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, while USF's streak began in 2015.
Cincinnati (2-5, 0-3), which fell to a Florida team ranked in the Top 25 for the second straight week, has lost seven straight American Athletic Conference games dating to last season.
The Bearcats fell at home the previous week by UCF, which is tied with USF for first place in the league's East Division.
Flowers scored on a 1-yard run in the third and finished with a team-high 80 yards rushing on 15 attempts. In addition to increasing his career rushing total to 3,069, the senior completed 16 of 29 for 184 yards.
Cincinnati's defense played considerably better than the previous week when UCF's McKenzie Milton threw for five TDs and the Bearcats yielded 515 yards and 51 points in just three quarters.
Flowers, however, had difficulty finishing drives early, with the Bulls settling for first-half field goals of 38, 28 and 21 yards before Darius Tice scored on an 11-yard run to hike USF's lead to 16-3 with 2:24 remaining in the opening half.
Cincinnati dug a deeper hole when Moore — on an untimed down awarded because USF was penalized for being offside on what should have been the final play of the half — was way off the mark on the pass Sanchez picked off and returned for his TD.
The Bearcats avoided a shutout with a 30-yard field goal by Ryan Jones, who also missed a 39-yarder with the Bearcats trailing 5-3 in the second quarter.