Ford leads Bulls to win

TORONTO – Mike Ford played the best game of his career in just two quarters.

Ford ran for a career-high 207 yards and scored one touchdown, B.J. Daniels threw two scoring passes to A.J. Love, and South Florida beat Northern Illinois 27-3 in Saturday’s International Bowl.

Ford had just one carry in the first half, an 18-yard gain in the second quarter. He broke out in the third, rushing 12 times for 106 yards, then capped his day with a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

“I thought it was extraordinary the way our team changed at halftime, especially our offense,” South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. “I told our offensive coaches that we really need to put the ball into Mike Ford’s hands.”

It’s the third straight year a Big East running back has topped 200 yards in the International Bowl. Ray Rice of Rutgers turned pro after rushing for a game-record 280 yards and four TDs in 2007, while UConn’s Donald Brown ran for 261 yards last year.

Carlton Mitchell caught six passes for 94 yards for the Bulls, who won back-to-back bowls for the first time. South Florida beat Memphis 41-14 in last year’s St. Petersburg Bowl.