A sputtering USF football team hosted UAB on Saturday afternoon. They came into the contest as heavy favorites, but their opponent proved to be more formidable than anticipated.
With Bryce Archie starting at quarterback in place of the still injured Byrum Brown, USF quickly went three and out to start the contest. UAB was unable to do much with their first possession as well, and were forced to punt the ball back to the Bulls.
USF then had to punt again and a costly defensive pass interference call set the Blazers up inside the opposing 30-yard line. The UAB offense stalled out there and they were forced to settle for 41-yard field goal which put them up 3-0 midway through the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, a costly penalty brought back a 77-yard touchdown for USF. This forced them to punt for the third time out of their first three possessions.
As the clocked turned over to the second quarter, neither offense could get anything going as they consecutively traded punts two times each.
Then, USF finally managed to break through on the scoreboard as a great offensive scheme drew the deep coverage away from the middle of the field. This allowed Bryce Archie to find wide receiver Keshaun Singleton wide open for a 67-yard touchdown. The scoring play put the Bulls into the lead by a score of 7-3.
UAB fully accepted their opportunity to respond as they marched down into the red zone on their next drive. After a dropped would-be touchdown, the Blazers were forced to settle for a field goal and cut the deficit to just one point at 7-6.
The positive momentum continued for UAB as safety Sirad Bryant intercepted a poorly anticipated pass by Bryce Archie. Following the miscue, the USF defense did a good job of holding strong as they were able to force a punt when the drive began at their 35-yard line.
After being pinned back inside their own one yard line, UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna lead a masterful two-minute drill which quickly put them inside of the red zone. The Bulls defense was able to prevent the seemingly imminent touchdown to hold the scoring drive to only three points. A third successful field goal for UAB put them back in the lead by a score of 9-7 heading into halftime.
UAB came out of the locker room firing on offense. It only took three plays for Kitna to find wide receiver Amare Thomas crossing over the goal line for a 15-yard touchdown. The scoring drive extended the lead to 16-7.
A muffed punt return by USF wide receiver Sean Atkins set the Blazers up with another great opportunity inside the opposing 35-yard line. The Bulls defense was able to force another stop, but given the great starting field position, UAB was able to add another field goal to the score to make it 19-7.
Following two beneficial 15-yard penalties on the UAB defense, USF was able to run their way down to the goal line on the ensuing drive. They finished off a grueling series of nine total plays that included four penalties by punching in a 4-yard touchdown run from running back Ta’Ron Keith. The touchdown lessened the Bulls’ deficit and brought the score to 19-14.
With the momentum from the touchdown now looming on the defense, USF linebacker Jhalyn Shuler was able to intercept an arid pass thrown over the middle of the field by Jalen Kitna. With the starting field position in the red zone, USF was able to take the lead back. Bryce Archie rolled out to his right on fourth down and found running back Kelley Joiner for a 9-yard touchdown reception. The Bulls failed to convert on a two point try, but nonetheless regained the lead at 20-19.
In the span of just a few minutes of game time, it appeared everything was now going exactly the way USF would want it to. On the next drive, Jalen Kitna rolled out of the pocket in an attempt to scramble when defenders caught up to him from behind to force a fumble which was recovered by the Bulls.
After earning the turnover, the USF offense squandered the opportunity to expand their lead as they went three and out. UAB did not make any mistakes the next time around as they methodically made their way down the field and capped off a scoring drive with another touchdown pass from Kitna to Amare Thomas; this time from seven yards out. The Blazers failed on their two point conversion attempt and set their lead at 25-20 early in the fourth quarter.
After the Bulls were forced to punt yet again, the defense was effective in stopping any further scoring as they forced a punt of their own. Sean Atkins made up for his prior muff by returning the punt from UAB for 54 yards to set USF up in the red zone. They did not have far to go and capitalized on the great starting field position with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kelley Joiner. Bryce Archie then connected with wide receiver Michael Brown-Stephens for a two-point conversion to take the lead back at 28-25 with only six minutes remaining in the game.
USF’s defense stood tall again on the next drive when UAB decided to go for it on 4th & 3 in their own side of the field. The defense forced the pass breakup and allowed the Bulls to take precious minutes off the clock. On third and long, Kelley Joiner broke free up the middle of the offensive line and scampered all the way into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown. Joiner’s third touchdown of the day extended the lead out to 35-25.
The last chance for UAB came up empty on another failed 4th down attempt. USF only needed one first down to seal the game and were able to do so on the back of their running attack. Bryce Archie kneeled the remainder of the clock out to end the game as a victory by a score of 35-25.
For USF, they snap their 3-game losing streak and move to 3-4 (1-2) on the season. The victory over UAB also marks their first American Conference win of the season. Even with the win, it certainly was not pretty. USF will have a bye week coming up to become a threat again. The Bulls will then travel to Boca Raton to take on FAU in a sunshine state showdown.