USF Secures A Bowl Bid By Beating Charlotte 48-14

USF got an impressive victory on Saturday Night at Raymond James Stadium against the Charlotte 49ers by playing rock solid defense, some trickery and of course behind the legs and arm of their record setting QB in Byrum Brown.

In front of an announced crowd of over 29,000 fans on Senior Night, The Bulls got off to a slow start as Charlotte moved the ball at will and scored on their first possession of the game with some thinking” Oh no, here we go again” in refence to the matchup the following week where the Bulls got crushed 49-21 by the UTSA Roadrunners.

But that would not be the case as after Charlotte went for it on 4th and inches from their own 9 yard line and missed on a long pass down the side line, Byrum Brown hit Sean Atkins on a beautiful post route to tie the game at 7.

Atkins was once again a monster for the Bulls as he has been all season, partnering with Brown for his seventh-straight game with seven or more receptions and extended his season receiving yards record to 961 on the year.

After the Bulls got the ball back, Atkins took a backwards pass from Brown and then threw the ball to Kelley Joiner for a 62 yard score that got the fans on their feet with the chants of “USF” bellowing throughout the stadium.

Atkins on the play:

“What did you see on that big play to RB Kelley Joiner Jr.?” “I saw my best friend running wide open. It was pretty easy to hit him when he was that wide open, so
that is what I saw.”

Coach Golesh on the fans:

“First I want to start out by genuinely thanking that fans that came out tonight. It was a cool crowd with a
bunch of fans in the house making noise, and I really appreciate that. My job is to fill our stadium, and
we’re going to continue to do so.

After the Bulls took a 21-7 lead capped by a 4 yard run by Joiner, Byrum Brown connected with Jaden Alexis for a 60-yard touchdown and the Bulls took a three-score lead just two plays into the third quarter.

The 49ers needed only five plays to answer, scoring on freshman Steven Johnson‘s first touchdown pass in his first appearance — a 47-yarder to Jairus Mack, to get within 28-14 at the 12:09 mark.

That was all the scoring for Charlotte though as the Bulls defense stiffened up with three interceptions (Berryhill, Evans and Harris) and LB Jhalyn Shuler and DE D.J. Harris had nine tackles.

The running game was also strong for the Bulls all night as Michel Dukes rushed for 104 yards on 15 carries, Joiner had an additional 33 and Brown also put up 43 for a team total of 188 yards.

Brown wasn’t done putting up his Bulls record numbers as he ran 35 yards for a score, giving the Bulls a 41-14 after three quarters then he tossed a 1-yard pass to Naiem Simmons for the lone score of the fourth quarter to go to 48-14.

Brown on his record and the celebration

Q: “What does it mean to be the first USF QB to throw for 3,000 yards in a season?”
A: “It is truly a blessing. It is a testament to the whole organization, my teammates, the coaching staff,
and the fans they are just building us up. It comes down to everyone going out there and executing. It is
not just me, it is about the whole team. I am glad for the whole team. I can’t wait to go bowling.”

Q: “What was it like on the field and in the locker room with this celebration?”
A: “Everybody was turnt up. I don’t know what to say, everyone was just happy, smiling, and dancing.
Anything you can name, we were doing it and having a blast.”

As the Bulls took the field with about 5 minutes to play, Brown and his teammates took the field. Coach Golesh took a timeout and took the starters out to a huge applause as it could be the last time the fans see some of the players on their home field for various reasons. Some are graduating while others including Brown may hit the transfer portal.

Lets hope that doesn’t happen as this young man has provided this team and this community a huge spark of interest in the Bulls once again.

After the game, the players high fived the crowd and took pictures with their families prior to going into the locker room.

No matter which team or whatever bowl game they get invited to, this team is must watch football while he is under center or in the shotgun just like Quentin Flowers was a few years back.

Many are hoping for a home town USF-UCF matchup in the Gasparilla Bowl, but I’m hoping that the team gets a trip out to Hawaii as they deserve it for what the team and Coach Golesh has done this season.

We will know on December 3rd who they are matching up with and their destination. The best part is that they will get more time to practice which will help them get ready for the game and for recruiting which is huge for this program and their future.

Coach Golesh:

Q: “What does it mean to be bowl-eligible?”
A: “It is special. Going home for the whole month of December while everyone else practices and gets to
go to bowl games, eats at you mentally. Being in a position to go out and play in December, and play
your best football in November, is something that you cannot buy. That is priceless.

Notes:

USF recorded its 100th win in Raymond James Stadium.

USF has registered over 5,000 yards on offense on the season, the sixth time in program history to
reach the mark and first since 2018.

USF posted its fourth game with 500+ offensive yards on the year