After a two and a half hour weather delay in Tampa (ugh!), the 2022 season was underway for the USF Bulls. However, it was unceremonious fashion as the team fell flat, falling 50-21 in an ugly defeat.
Coming into the game, the series was tied at one each, with each team winning at their respective home turfs and looking to build off polar opposite seasons for each program.
This was also a rematch game in terms of the QB play, as Bohanon and Hall both played each other last season, with Baylor and Bohanon knocking off BYU in Waco.
Game Recap
The opening drive of this game did not favor the Bulls and set the tone for the entire first half.
BYU WR Puka Nacua opened the gates to the scoring by kicking things off with a 75-yard option touchdown that got BYU out front and also quieted the USF faithful early.
Puka Nacua would end up finishing the first quarter alone with two touchdowns and a yard short of 100 in the quarter, one of many BYU positives leading them to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first.
USF’s offense and Bohanon struggled for a majority of the first half in his first game as the new QB1 and that translated over to the defense as well.
Bohanon had completed a little over 50% of his passes but only had 31 yards passing and a pick six toss that was taken back by sophomore BYU defensive back Dean Jones that added to BYU’s lead in the first.
There was a bright drive with a little under 2:00 minutes in the half, though. Bohannon and USF’s top receiver from 2021, Xavier Weaver, connected for back-to-back chunk receiving plays for 71 yards with the first reception resulting in a 50-yard gain.
Shortly after, USF RB Jaren Mangham would score on a short “push” run for USF’s first touchdown of the year.
The defense didn’t come out to play for South Florida either, as the secondary struggled early with the speed and tempo of BYU’s offense. They were out of sync for a majority of the first half with BYU controlling the pace, showing a bit of dysfunctional play under first year DC Bob Shoop.
USF defense did have an “almost” moment that would have gave them six on a defensive backwards pass by Jaren Hall, however, it was called back and USF would stay quiet on the defensive side for the first half.
The second half did bring some bright spots, though, as Mekhi LaPointe, one of four defensive backs with two picks last year, grabbed an interception. Also, the special teams got the team started in the second half with an 89-yard return TD from Jimmy Horn Jr., his first in his collegiate career.
While the team had its moments, the fighting Scott’s were out of sync and taken out of the game early, showing no energy and affecting the team’s overall performance for the night, which WR Xavier Weaver, QB Gerry Bohanon, DB Mekhi LaPointe and Head Coach Jeff Scott all agreed upon in their post-game press conferences.
Overall Thoughts
In all, this was a poor opening performance for South Florida on both sides of the ball. Since the first snap, BYU controlled all of the pace of the game and even played in their tempo and style perfectly.
While you can sometimes say that one side of the ball performed at a higher level, in the case for the Bulls tonight, everyone will be held accountable for the loss.
On defense, the Bulls seemed lost at some points, resulting in QB Jaren Hall putting together a solid performance, passing for 261 yards with two touchdowns.
In terms of BYU’s rushing attack, they put 314 rushing yards up on the stat sheet, with Brooks and Nacuna both doing the work out of the back field.
In his press conference, Jeff Scott stated that he was “very surprised” on the performance of the team coming off of what he stated was a “prepared” team heading into the game.
This team has a lot to work on heading into next week, and while no game in football is easy, the Howard game next Saturday may provide an opportunity for Scott and the team to work on some things heading into the “tough slate” of the season.