Mark Joyce is just a true freshman.

He’s just the second-string free safety on South Florida’s 2-deep depth chart this season. But he made sure to make the most of his opportunities Saturday against Stony Brook.

On the opening kickoff, Joyce got down the field to tackle the Seawolves’ Brock Jackolski at his own 25-yard line, limiting him to a 15-yard return.

And he wasn’t close to being done.

In the third quarter, Joyce turned a deflected pass into six points, as he ran his first career interception 33 yards to the end zone. His two tone-setting plays helped the Bulls cruise to an easy 59-14 win in the season opener.

‘I just happened to be in the right place and took it to the house,’ Joyce said. ‘When I scored, I ran over to the student section, so that was an exciting thing. My teammates came over and knocked me down.’

It was a game of debuts for South Florida on Saturday, as it was also the first game for Skip Holtz as the Bulls head coach. Holtz was hired this offseason, leaving his position as head coach of East Carolina to join the Big East.

But Joyce’s debut turned out to be the most prolific. He did everything a coach could have asked of him — hustled down the field on special teams, played well in his spots on defense. When he got his big opportunity, he made sure to make it count.

It was certainly a treat for Joyce’s family, who were in the stands. The safety said his mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle and cousin were all in attendance.

‘They came to my room (after the game) and they were all excited, hyped up,’ Joyce said.

In order to get the season started on the right foot, Holtz relied on some other newcomers. The three true freshmen on South Florida’s depth chart — Joyce, quarterback Bobby Eveld and wide receiver Stephen Bravo-Brown — all got significant playing time.

Eveld completed his first eight passes of his collegiate career, finishing 9-for-12 for 119 yards and a touchdown. Bravo-Brown finished second on the team with four receptions for 48 yards. They were the debuts Holtz was looking for out of the true freshmen, as he gave South Florida fans the debut they were looking for.

And of course, Joyce met his coach’s expectations and exceeded them. It’s certainly not a common feat for a true freshman to score a touchdown on defense in his first career action.

‘He’s one of those guys that when you sit down and you look at whether or not you redshirt a freshman or you play him, you have to look at not only his athletic ability and how he can help the team,’ Holtz said in a Big East coaches conference call Monday. ‘But where he is from a physical standpoint and where he is from a maturity standpoint, Mark is a really good football player. He’s got a good sense of the game, and he’s a very talented player.

‘I think he’s got the chance to be a special player here, as he continues to mature and develop.’

 

Big East doesn’t play so ‘big’ in season openers

To say the Big East struggled in Week One would be an understatement.

Three of the top four teams in the Big East preseason poll lost this past week, as Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Cincinnati failed to win games on the road. In fact, Syracuse was the only team in the Big East to defeat a Football Bowl Subdivision team. The conference went 1-4 against FBS opponents.

Pittsburgh, the preseason pick to win the conference, lost 27-24 to Utah on Thursday.

‘I was disappointed that we didn’t play better,’ said Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt in a Big East coaches conference call Monday. ‘We gave up two easy scores on defense because of mental mistakes, really. Offensively, we were so good last year in the red zone, and twice (Thursday) we were inside the 10, and we settled for field goals rather than touchdowns.

On Saturday, UConn was blown out by Michigan 30-10, and defending Big East champion Cincinnati blew an early 14-point lead in a 28-14 loss to Fresno State. Louisville was the other team in the conference to lose to a FBS team, falling to Kentucky 23-16.

For a conference hoping to make some noise in 2010, it wasn’t the start it was looking for. Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis, a Heisman Trophy candidate, was held to 75 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Bearcats loss to Fresno State snapped an 18-game regular season winning streak dating back to October 2008.

 

Big Man on Campus

RB Bilal Powell

Senior

Louisville (0-1)

Powell had a banner day against Kentucky Saturday, rushing for 153 yards and a touchdown on only 16 carries. It was only his second career 100-yard rushing game, and his first since rushing for 112 yards against Connecticut in 2008. Powell, who is part of a one-two punch along with junior Victor Anderson, scored Louisville’s lone touchdown of the game in a 23-16 loss to Kentucky.

It was a beauty of a touchdown, though: an 80-yard run on the first play from scrimmage after a Wildcats field goal. The touchdown run also set a record for longest rush of Powell’s career.

‘Bilal has been solid ever since I got here in the spring,’ Louisville coach Charlie Strong said. ‘(He’s) just a solid football player. Works hard, doesn’t say much. Just leads by example.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on September 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr