At one point down 28, the USF Bulls came surging back to take the lead 39-38 with 7:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. The entire crowd was behind the home team with an energy that hasn’t been felt in years at Ray Jay.
Unfortunately, the UCF Knights would come down and finish off the Bulls with an incredible game-winning one-handed catch by Alec Holler. With only 20 seconds remaining, the Bulls came up empty on a Hail Mary to the back of the endzone. That’s the end of the story, but how did we get here?
Tale of the Conflict Player
Gus Malzahn has always done a fantastic job putting edge players in conflict. For example, a play UCF often runs is the jet sweep read option. This makes the outside linebacker or defensive end have to choose between the wide jet sweep, the inside give to the running back, or the QB run back to the outside. It’s nearly impossible for one player to cover all three options, and this made the Knight’s defense churn down the field.
John Rhys Plumlee is such a dynamic runner (leads UCF in rushing) that the play becomes even more difficult to defend. The Bulls needed to have eyes on him constantly, a spy would have been a great option, but all night long he was free on scrambles and draws. When Mikey Keene entered the game in the 3rd quarter, USF had a much easier time dealing with his abilities.
The tempo was also a struggle for the Bulls, especially with how gassed the defense has become throughout the games this year. The speed and endurance of UCF was unbearable for the defense throughout the game. Even when Keene was in the game, the team was able to move fast, which subdued the fact that he does not have the running ability of Plumlee.
Kitchen Sink Game Offensively For the Bulls
Offensive Coordinator Travis Trickett left nothing in his playbook Saturday night, as we saw a double reverse pass, lots of quads and even a formation with five receivers on one side! The creativity is always fun to see as a fan, and tough to see as a defense. Every time a player aligns in a slightly different spot, it changes the assignments for the defensive players. Really fun football offensively for USF. Brown and Battie showed that they can be future stars. This type of offense is one recruits would want to play in, especially in an era of social media highlights.
Byrum Brown Looks Great Again
When you graduate levels of football, the game always speeds up monumentally, but you wouldn’t know that by watching Byrum Brown. He finished 13/20 for 140 yards with one touchdown and one interception through the air. Although the passing numbers were pedestrian, Brown was special in the running game with 15 carries for 109 yards and 2 TD’s. His 42 yard scamper to put USF in front was one of the most special plays the Bulls have had all season, and it absolutely lit the crowd on fire.
The freshman was cool as a cucumber in the pocket, not often affected by pressure or negative plays. He truly led the team up and down the field with a cool and collected demeanor. He kept the defense on their toes with his running ability, even as he took multiple tough hits. His run to go up in the 4th quarter was a true mans run. Brown has had possibly the best two quarterback performances for the Bulls all year in his two starts and has shown that he IS the future.
Physical Night
Head Ref Tim Rich commented on the “unusual situation” as there was a major scuffle between the two teams in the second quarter. With the score already a lopsided 21-0, a late hit on QB Byrum Brown led to a fight between the two teams. The pushing and shoving continued all night, and there was even an ejection for targeting, as 5th year Knight Koby Perry left the game in the 3rd quarter. A late shove on a 4th quarter kickoff led to another unsportsmanlike penalty by UCF.
After the game, UCF players tried to plant their flag in the middle of the field (as we’ve seen in rivalries before, as well as the Mich-OSU game this afternoon) and USF players pushed them out of the way, not allowing them to claim the field as theirs. As most rivalry games go, these teams hate like each other, and that was evident all evening.
https://twitter.com/FLTeams/status/1596673999878389760?s=20&t=6GXjlj97XQXp5rMDwCYPhQ
Battie Shines Again and Again
Brian Battie has been one of the only bright spots for USF all year, and that continued Saturday night.
It was his fifth straight 100 yard game, an ultimate marker of consistency. The running back finished with 19 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown. He is an unusual breed, as he is explosive as well as an angry runner with a small 5’8, 165 lb frame. That small frame really allows Battie to squeeze in-between gaps and finish tough runs between the tackles.
When USF went to him on early downs, the offense was put in favorable 2nd and 3rd downs. However, when UCF adjusted and added players to the box, USF had a hard time converting on later downs, especially in the 1st half. #21 exploded for a 68 yard run to set up a Byrum Brown rushing score. Battie also had a solid return game as well, with returns of 38 and 21(2x). All USF fans can hope for is that the “Bat Man” will decide to return to the program in 2023, as he would be a major cornerstone moving forward.
Boyles Shows Up
In his final game, Dwayne Boyles had a herculean 3rd quarter with two forced fumbles and two recoveries. On his second forced fumble, he grabbed the ball out of Bowser’s hands like taking candy from a baby. Boyles took the game over by himself to give USF a shot. He truly left it all on the field for the Bulls. Interim Head Coach Daniel DePrato described his impact on the program as “immeasurable”. He finishes his career as one of USF’s greatest defenders ever.
Mikey Keene’s Drive For The Ages
The Bulls received the ball with 4:45 left on the clock, and decided to go very conservative, with three straight Brian Battie rushes, forcing a punt.
Backup QB Mikey Keene, who had nervous stretches, including a fumbled snap on the first play of the drive in the 3rd quarter with 5:04 on the clock, ultimately settled down and made two clutch throws down the stretch to seal it for the Knights. A 41 yard bomb on a post pattern to Alabama transfer Javon Baker put UCF only 29 yards away from paydirt. Then, with under 30 seconds remaining, he connected with Alec Holler for the fourth time on the night to put his team ahead. Initially, it appeared that his foot was out of bounds, but the side judge did not see it that way, and ruled it a touchdown. It was an amazing effort by Hollins to stretch out and make the grab for UCF and seal the victory.
Final Thoughts
What a performance by the Bulls in the second half, but once again, they put themselves too far behind the eight ball. UCF is simply too good of a football team to try to slay being down 28. At one point USF had only a .2% chance to win, and the climb back to being favored to win was truly a great effort.
The trajectory of the program feels to be pointing up for the first time all season. The young players showed that there can be success at this program, it will just take time and hard work from the Bulls and patience from the fans.
Vaughn I love the way you decided to bring in all of the details of the bulls. Good work!