The USF Bulls took care of business Saturday night in Mississippi, as they blew out the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 49-24 to improve to 2-1 on the season.
This was the Bulls’ first win in Hattiesburg, and they scored the most points on the road since they put up 45 points against East Carolina in 2019.
Their resiliency was even more impressive in this win for the Bulls. After falling behind 14-0, USF didn’t panic; they stuck to the game plan and outscored Southern Miss 49-10 the rest of the game.
Coach Alex Golesh talked about going down 14 and how it felt different than last year. “We had a spell in the middle of the year a year ago where we started down every game, and we could not get out of that. I never felt today when we were down 14 like, ‘Man, here we go again.’ I never felt that from our team. I never felt that from our guys. You could sense that it was like, ‘All right, when are we getting back out there?'”
Defensively, the Bulls got off the field on third down, holding the Eagles to 1/10.
Bulls Pass Defense Still An Area Of Concern
One of the areas of concern defensively last season was the amount of passing yards the defense gave up.
On Saturday, the Bulls gave up 397 passing yards to the Eagles, and Southern Miss could sometimes move the ball effectively through the air.
That area of concern will need to be addressed if USF wants to have the kind of season they are hoping to have.
Offensively, Byrum Brown took what the defense gave him in the passing game, throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
Bulls Continue To Put Up Good Numbers Offensively
The Bulls put up 562 yards of total offense, with 369 on the ground. Kelly Joiner and Nay’Quan Wright both rushed for over 100 yards. The Bulls had five touchdowns on the ground.
Golesh talked about the importance of the run game and the opportunities it presents. “I think it starts with being able to run the football. You’re able to run the football. The space starts to come a little bit easier. We got in a rhythm and we got going and it was really good.”
Now, the focus shifts to the Sunshine State Showdown on Saturday in what should be a sold-out Raymond James Stadium.
The upper deck will be open after the students claimed over 14,000 tickets. The Tickets available to the public sold out before the game at Southern Mississippi, so the decision was made to open up the upper deck,
There is no question that Miami and USF (apologies to UCF) are the best teams right now in Florida.
The Hurricanes are a top-ten team, and this will be a good measuring stick for the Bulls to gauge their progress and see how far they’ve come.
Alex Golesh is looking forward to the matchup and is urging fans to snap up those tickets. “We need our fans to buy these tickets and fill that joker up. Man, it will be a fun night in Tampa, packed out, green and gold, against a really, really good football team.”
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN with kickoff at 7 PM.