Doughty wins finale, WKU tops USF 45-35 in Miami Beach Bowl

Western Kentucky trailed 14-10 at the half, but quarterback Brandon Doughty and the Hilltoppers offense came to life in the second half, beating South Florida 45-35 in a tremendously entertaining game.

Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty (12) throws during the second half of the NCAA college football Miami Beach Bowl game against South Florida, Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, in Miami.

Player of the game: Doughty completed 32-of-44 passes for 461 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. USF takes on No. 25 Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl in a 2:30 p.m. kick on ESPN today. The Bulls’ first victory over a ranked opponent since 2011 saw sophomore running back Marlon Mack (Sarasota) fly to 230 yards and three touchdowns as USF’s rushing offense (242.9 ypg) skyrocketed to 11th in the nation and shattered the USF season rushing mark with almost 3,000 yards on the year. He’s gotten handoffs 141 times this season, and has lost yardage on exactly three of them – with each of those being stuffs for just 1 negative yard. Whitehurst, who was previously suspended for the first two games of the season for an unspecified rules violation in the spring, did not make the trip with the team.

Remember, Taggart departed from Western Kentucky at the conclusion of the 2012 season, heading to USF.

USF: QB Quinton Flowers. The Bulls struggled to pass the ball in the first half but built an early 14-0 lead, with the help of Rodney Adams’ 34-yard touchdown run. That’s when Western Kentucky put the game away on Wales’ 42-yard touchdown run – he again hit the right pylon on the same side of the field – with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter. Norris had 120 receiving yards on five catches. The encouraging news is that the entire line returns, along with top rushers Anthony Wales and D’Andre Ferby and leading receivers Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris.

The over is 6-1 in Hilltoppers last 7 vs. a team with a winning record and is 6-1 in Hilltoppers last 7 games on grass while going 6-1 in Hilltoppers last 7 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game. But it was third-quarter production from the Hilltoppers (28 points, 222 yards) that changed momentum. He scored the Hilltoppers’ first touchdown on a 13-yard run midway through the second quarter. WKU went 8-5 in 2014 with the program’s first bowl win (a 49-48 epic over Central Michigan), then took a leap forward.

The Bulls also struck quickly with a two-play, 12-second drive – the payoff was Flowers’ 53-yard pass to Adams.

There will be skeptics, which is understandable since many others who posted monster college numbers in pass-happy offenses – like Tim Couch, David Klingler, Case Keenum, Tim Rattay, Colt Brennan, Graham Harrell and B.J. Symons – have done little to nothing at the National Football League level. Western Kentucky is the favorite to win but just by three points. Sankey had a school-record 27 tackles against Weber State.