The Bulls Turn the Mean Green of North Texas into Not So Mean

DENTON, TX – The No. 24-ranked South Florida Bulls (5-1, 2-0 American Now 19th) weathered a sloppy start and an energized home crowd to explode in the second half, handing the previously unbeaten North Texas Mean Green (5-1, 1-1 American) their first loss of the season in a dominant 63-36 victory at a sold-out DATCU Stadium on Friday night.

The game turned dramatically in the third quarter after the Bulls overcame a 21-21 halftime tie, scoring 28 unanswered points in a blitz of offensive firepower and defensive takeaways. USF’s defense forced five turnovers on the night, including three interceptions of quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who had not thrown a pick all season coming into the game.

Mestemaker and the Mean Green were also plagued by drops throughout the game and hurt any flow that the offense was trying to sustain

Bulls’ Defense and Trickery Spark Explosion

USF’s explosive run began right out of the locker room. The Bulls took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in four plays, taking the lead for good with a trick play: wide receiver Christian Neptune hit Keshaun Singleton with a 29-yard touchdown pass.

The Mean Green quickly imploded on their next three possessions. A Fred Gaskin interception led to an 11-yard Sam Franklin touchdown run. Then, linebacker Jhalyn Shuler scooped up a forced fumble and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown, giving USF a commanding 42-21 lead just three minutes and 25 seconds into the third quarter.

Shuler was named the defensive player of the week for his performance against North Texas.

USF Head Coach Alex Golesh credited the defensive unit for the game-changing stretch. “Defensively, to cause four turnovers against a really good offense, against a really good quarterback that hasn’t turned it over, I thought was really intentional by what our guys practiced, what our guys’ mindset was going into the game,” Golesh said after the win. “I thought our defense played on a mission the whole day… That looked like USF football.”

Brown Accounts for Five TDs Despite Early Mistakes

Despite committing three turnovers in the first quarter (two fumbles and an interception), USF quarterback Byrum Brown rallied to finish with a stellar performance, accounting for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) for the second straight week. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 245 yards and ran 21 times for 82 yards.

Brown acknowledged his early errors but focused on the team’s ability to bounce back. “Mistakes and turnovers by me,” Brown said. “But clean those up and should be more than 60 [points], should be 70-plus every game. We had to take a next-play mentality. Things like that happen in football. It’s not what you want. But you’ve got to keep swinging. We got it straightened out.”

North Texas, in front of a sellout crowd of 31,386, matched the Bulls blow-for-blow in the first half, tying the game twice at 7-7 and 14-14, and briefly holding a 21-14 lead. However, a muffed punt with 50 seconds left in the second quarter gave USF a short field, allowing Brown to hit tight end Jonathan Echols for a 2-yard score to tie the game at the break.

Mean Green Head Coach Eric Morris lamented the uncharacteristic turnovers and the missed opportunity in a nationally televised game. “I’ll beat myself up for a long time over this one, just because it was such a great opportunity for our fans, our program, our university, on national TV,” Morris said. “We made a bunch of uncharacteristic mistakes. They finished with five turnovers overall… that muffed punt right before halftime set up the game-turning span.”

USF wide receiver Jeremiah Koger was a key target, hauling in two touchdown receptions, including a 63-yard bomb in the third quarter that quickly answered a North Texas score.

The Bulls amassed 580 yards of total offense, including 306 yards on the ground, and are now 5-1 for the season, sitting atop the American Athletic Conference standings.

Next up for the Bulls: A 7:30 start time on Saturday night against FAU at Raymond James.