USF hosted Tulsa on Saturday afternoon as they continued their search for bowl eligibility. On a day that they ended up dominating in all aspects, they proved their potential to build and become one of the best programs in the American Conference.
USF senior running back Kelley Joiner Jr opened the game strong on Senior Day. On the first play of the game, Joiner rumbled up the middle of the defense for a 20-yard gain. Then, just two plays later, the back bounced an outside run back up the middle and scampered untouched all the way to the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. This was only the start of his incredible day on the ground. The opening drive score put the Bulls up 7-0.
The Bulls forced Tulsa into three and out on their initial drive of the game, which gave an opportunity for the USF passing attack to come into effect. A 26-yard pass over the middle from quarterback Bryce Archie to wide receiver Sean Atkins put the Bulls in the red zone. Set up on the goal line, running back Nay’Quan Wright bulldozed up the middle to put South Florida up 14-0 early on in the first quarter.
Tulsa continued to struggle offensively as quarterback Cooper Legas looked to throw deep on third and long but was met by defensive end D.J. Harris who forced a strip sack. Though the Golden Hurricane recovered, they were forced into their second straight three and out situation to begin the game.
With the ball back in their position, USF made their way into field goal position via a 32-yard catch and run over the middle of the field by wide receiver Josh Porter. This set up a 48-yard field goal attempt for placekicker John Cannon. The attempt was missed and kept the score at 14-0 with the Bulls in front.
The USF defense quickly gave the offense another opportunity as safety Tawfiq Byard cut off Cooper Legas’ passing lane and came up with an interception that he returned to the Tulsa 40-yard line. Kelley Joiner Jr continued to show out as he bounced a run to the outside and ran all the way down the sideline for a 38-yard gain to the opposing goal line. He finished off the drive by bruising the ball up the middle for a score. Joiner had a great start to the game as he eclipsed 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns before the end of the first quarter. His touchdown made the score 21-0.
Following a failed fourth down attempt from Tulsa, the Bulls ran the ball into the red zone again as Bryce Archie found a running lane on a read option for a 6-yard touchdown run. South Florida was in complete domination mode as they found themselves up 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Tulsa’s offense finally appeared as running back Anthony Watkins found a seam in the USF defense and was easily on his way to the end zone until freshman cornerback James Chenault put on the afterburners and came up with a crucial shoestring tackle at the USF 2-yard line. The tackle allowed the defense to make a stand as they stifled the offense through four downs at the goal line to generate a turnover on downs.
The offense used the momentum provided by the defense to go on yet another first half scoring drive. USF worked their way near midfield before wide receiver Keshaun Singleton broke free on a screen pass down the sideline and raced his way to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown. Bryce Archie’s first passing touchdown of the day put the Bulls ahead 35-0.
The Golden Hurricane aired their way down the field as they methodically made their way into the red zone. They got themselves on the scoreboard as Cooper Legas found wide receiver Joseph Williams in the back corner of the end zone amidst two defenders for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Tulsa’s first scoring drive of the game set the contest at 35-7.
The Bulls responded by marching the offense down the field through a combination of rushes and short screen passes. On first down in the red zone, Bryce Archie pulled on a RPO and found tight end Payten Singletary on a slant route which he turned upfield for a 16-yard touchdown. USF’s sixth touchdown of the first half put them up 42-7 as each team went into the locker room.
Tulsa drove the length of the field on their first possession of the second half. After finding their way into the red zone, Cooper Legas threw a pass into triple coverage on third and goal that was intercepted in the end zone by safety Tavin Ward. On the following drive, Bryce Archie threw an interception of his own as he launched an off target deep pass into the hands of Tulsa cornerback Elijah Green. The defense gave Archie a second chance as James Chenault jumped a pass from Legas for the third straight interception to begin the second half.
The offense made no mistake this time around, as running back Ta’Ron Keith bounced a run outside and found plenty of wide open field ahead of him as he jogged into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown. The touchdown put the Bulls ahead by a score of 49-7.
USF cornerback Ben Knox forced and recovered a fumble on the next Tulsa possession. With that, head coach Alex Golesh decided his team had done enough for the day as he entered the backups on offense.
Before the game concluded, Tulsa added three more touchdowns and USF tacked on two additional touchdowns. The game ended as a USF victory by a final score of 63-30.
Following the one-sided win, coach Alex Golesh said, “the standard here cannot be bowl games… we will be competing for championships here in Tampa.”
Kelley Joiner Jr stood out for the Bulls as he totaled 131 rushing yards for two touchdowns on 10 attempts. Bryce Archie also played his best game of the season, as he completed 21 of 31 passing attempts for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
For USF, the blowout victory comes as their sixth on the season. They now hold a record of 6-5 (4-3) with one game left to go. This sixth win clinches their bowl eligibility for the second straight season under coach Alex Golesh. Next week, the Bulls will play their final regular season and American Conference game when they travel to Houston to take on Rice.