TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – It was a busy Thursday for Tampa-area sports teams. The Buccaneers, Lightning, and the USF Football team were all in action, and the Bucs and the Bolts were able to come away with big wins.<\/p>\n
There was no Baker Mayfield for the Bucs on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas against the Dallas Cowboys. There were also no win entering the contest, and a short week since Sunday\u2019s home loss to the Packers.<\/p>\n
Still, the undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels stood under center and guided Tampa Bay to a big win on the road, their first of the season.<\/p>\n
The Bucs were down 10-7 at halftime, with a Daniels to Bucky Irving 5-yard touchdown pass the lone score in the second quarter for Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
The Bucs moved the ball better after the break, including a 72-yard breakaway for Irving that set up a 14-yard rushing score for Emeka Egbuka and a 14-10 lead.<\/p>\n
Later Daniels found a wide open Tez Johnson on a 64-yard strike down the right sideline that led to an Irving rushing score. He had a career-high 165 yards with a rushing and receiving touchdown.<\/p>\n
The team weathered a late Cowboys rally and intercepted Dak Prescott late in the game while Dallas was threatening to score, securing their first win of the season, 24-16.<\/p>\n
The Bucs are next at home on Sunday, October 18th against the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n
The USF Bulls football team was a five hour drive south of Arlington on Thursday night, taking on the Road Runners of UTSA in San Antonio, Texas.<\/p>\n
The Bulls were up 24-23 late, but UTSA scored with :15 seconds left in regulation for the 31-24 win.<\/p>\n
USF falls to 4-2 on the season, and Michael Van Buren had two passing touchdowns in the loss.<\/p>\n
The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Minnesota Wild at home on Thursday as well, looking for a third-straight home win in the early stretch of the season.<\/p>\n
They got off to a hot start. Eric Cernak shot from distance thirty seconds into the game, and it was tipped in at the net by Anthony Cirelli for the 1-0 advantage.<\/p>\n
Less than a minute later, defenseman John Carlson shot from almost the same spot as Cernak, and notched his first goal as a member of the Lightning after his shot was deflected in off a Wild defender. Tampa Bay was up 2-0 a little over a minute into the contest.<\/p>\n
In the second period with the Lightning up 2-1 and on the power play, Nikita Kucherov found John Carlson, who connected on his second goal of the night. <\/p>\n
The Lightning hung on for a 3-2 win and a third-straight victory after an opening night loss on the road at the New York Rangers.<\/p>\n
Now the Lightning will head back up to New York for Saturday\u2019s matchup with the Islanders, and follow that up with a rematch with the Rangers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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