In a must win game for USF, quarterback Byrum Brown and his offense put together one of their most complete and impressive showings of the year. On a day which saw Brown total five touchdowns, it was clear that the Bulls were determined to assure that they will be playing in a bowl game this December for the first time since 2018.
On the opening drive of the game, Charlotte came out with a strong game plan through the use of tough, up the middle rushing by running back Joachim Bangda. He effectively carried the ball all the way down the field and capped the drive off by punching in a 2-yard touchdown run which made the USF defense look completely unprepared. However, that initial 7-0 lead for Charlotte would be about all the success they would find in the first half as USF responded with a great offensive gameplan and strong defensive adjustments.
In the inaugural drive for the Bulls, good field position combined with a spectacular 22-yard one-handed catch by wide receiver Yusuf Terry found the USF offense at the Charlotte goal line. The drive stalled there after a series of questionable play calls, including an attempted halfback toss pass that fell incomplete by running back Nay’Quan Wright on 4th and Goal at the 1-yard line.
The four-down failure by the Bulls ended up not coming back to haunt them as Charlotte ran an even worse play. On 4th & inches from inside the Charlotte 10-yard line, quarterback Trexler Ivey launched an arid pass deep down the right sideline that fell incomplete. Following the turnover, Byrum Brown began his record-setting day by locating wide receiver Sean Atkins in the back of the end zone on a deep slant for a 10-yard touchdown throw.
With the game locked at 7-7, both defenses played well and forced multiple punts to trade possessions, with one drive concluding on a missed pass to the flats by Byrum Brown and intercepted by Charlotte defensive back Dontez Fagan. Eventually, USF was able to get a turnover of their own on a diving interception by safety Logan Berryhill, and they consequently ran away with the second quarter.
Immediately following the turnover, the Bulls hit big on arguably one of the best trick plays of the college football season. Bryum Brown threw a backward pass to Sean Atkins on a fake screen who found running back Kelley Joiner on a perfectly placed ball for a 62-yard touchdown pass. Two drives later, Brown would find Joiner again on a 4-yard touchdown pass in the flats for his second touchdown of the game. Finally, the Bulls would cap off a dominating first half with a pick by linebacker Daquan Evans as time expired.
Coming out of the half, the Bulls wasted absolutely no time as Byrum Brown split the safeties to find wide receiver Jaden Alexis on a 60-yard touchdown strike on their second play. Now down 28-7, Charlotte took the opportunity to change things up and benched Trexler Ivey for redshirt freshman Steven Johnson at quarterback. Johnson made his mark early as he worked a touchdown out of his first drive, encapsulated by a 47-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jarius Mack.
USF ensured this would not happen again in a unique way. They marched down the field and converted on a 22-yard field goal by kicker John Cannon and combined this with a surprise move by head coach Alex Golesh to attempt an onside kick up 31-14 which was executed to perfection and recovered by the Bulls. Byrum Brown would capitalize on this gutsy move by rushing for a touchdown of his own on a 35-yard race to the end zone down the left side of the field to put USF up even further, 38-14.
Following that quick and impressive sequence by the Bulls, you could feel all of the momentum shift towards USF as the life was completely drained out of the 49ers sideline. Steven Johnson could not relocate the successful recipe of his first drive as he threw an interception directly to USF linebacker Mac Harris. With another field goal conversion by John Cannon following the interception, the Bulls found themselves up 41-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Very little would occur in the 4th quarter with the game essentially already decided. Wide receiver Naiem Simmons would haul in a 1-yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown, marking Brown’s fourth score through the air on the day. Both teams seemed to mutually run out the clock at this point, and the game ended on a run by Yasias Young which allowed for the game to expire and secure a 48-14 victory for USF over Charlotte.
In the first half of the game, Byrum Brown passed Quinton Flower’s single season passing yard record of 2,911 set in 2017. Later in the game, he would also become the first quarterback in program history to surpass 3,000 passing yards in a season. In a season that can be described as nothing less than remarkable for the redshirt freshman, he has officially cemented himself a spot in the USF record books. It remains to be seen what Brown can do with the possibility of three more years left with the Bulls, but the sky is obviously limit for him and he could end up being regarded as the greatest quarterback product out of USF when all is said and done.
When asked about USF’s season continuing as the Bulls will play a bowl game, coach Alex Golesh said the following:
“The standard is not to win six games. I’m excited to play in a bowl game, but there are two other teams playing for a championship in our conference. So, this game was cool, but it’s certainly not the standard.”
For the Bulls as a whole, it was a performance that showed what they were truly capable of as a team. We now know what is possible when the offense and defense both play at their highest level.
The Bulls will get their first shot at a bowl game since the Gasparilla Bowl in 2018.
It is impressive what Alex Golesh has accomplished with the program in just a single year of rebuilding, and the Bulls will look to finish their successful campaign with a bowl victory.