The USF Bulls were back home in a sun-drenched Raymond James Stadium Saturday afternoon to take on a FCS opponent in the South Carolina State Bulldogs.
South Carolina St. took the ball to the USF seven-yard line before Mac Harris picked off a Ryan Stubblefield pass and ran it back 93 yards for a touchdown. Gramatica added the extra point, and the Bulls had an early 7-0 lead.
This was the first interception the Bulls returned for a touchdown since 2023, and the seven points represent the most points that the Bulls have scored in the first quarter this season.
“I’m just trying to be somebody that, you know, can be an example for the younger guys to look at,” Mac Harris said about his leadership role in the locker room.
Offensively, the USF Bulls had another slow start. They managed just one first down and 20 yards of offense in the first quarter, including nine yards on the ground. Thanks to the defense, the Bulls led 7-0 after the first quarter.
USF finally was able to shake the cobwebs off the offense in the second quarter, as they capped off an eight play, 67-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown to Jonathon Echols. That gave the Bulls a 14-0 lead with just over one minute gone in the second quarter.
After the Bulls forced another South Carolina State punt, they went on an eight play, 93-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by Cartevious Norton’s 29 yards on the ground.
The drive ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Joshua Porter, which put the Bulls up 21-0.
Late in the first half, the Bulls turned the ball over for the first time as Brown threw an interception on a ball intended for Alvon Isaac, giving the Bulldogs good field position at the USF 27-yard line.
South Carolina State would go 27 yards in five plays, ending on a Kacy Fields one-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs their first points and make it a 21-7 game.
The half would end with Gramatica missing a 54-yard field goal, and the Bulls would take a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, the Bulls muffed the opening kickoff but still managed to get a nice 34-yard return by Isaac.
Five plays later, the Bulls were in the end zone as Brown threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this one to Chas Nimrod for 42 yards, and the Bulls took a 28-7 lead.
South Carolina State would go three and out, and the Bulls would start their next possession at the Bulldogs’ 43-yard line, helped out by a 19-yard punt return by Isaac.
On the drive’s first play, Nykhai Davenport took the handoff from Brown 43 yards for the touchdown, giving the Bulls a comfortable 35-7 lead.
The Bulldogs’ next possession would not end well. On a fourth and 17 from their own 32, Jalean Stokes blocked a punt, which was recovered by Ashlon Mosely and returned for a touchdown. Just like that, the Bulls had a 42-7 lead. It was USF’s first punt block returned for a touchdown since 2011.
The USF defense would get another three-and-out before the Bulls offense reached their 35-yard line. A 46-yard pass to Nimrod set the Bulls up at the South Carolina State 22-yard line, before Brown and Nimrod hooked up on a 22-yard touchdown pass to give the Bulls a 49-7 lead.
On the Bulls’ next possession, Franklin took it 30 yards for another South Florida touchdown, and the score was 55-7 Bulls.
To start the fourth quarter, South Carolina State had the ball deep in Bulls territory, first and goal from the USF five-yard line, but it couldn’t get it in as the Bulls’ defense kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone.
The Bulls went three and out on their next possession as we saw our first look at backup quarterback Gaston Moore under center for USF.
On their next possession, the Bulldogs scored their second touchdown. Julian Rush ran for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 56-14.
Moore then executed a five play, 68-yard drive capped by a Franklin 54-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, to put the Bulls up 63-14.
Alex Golesh talked about the win in his post-game press conference: “You know, I thought we started the game defensively, extremely well. I thought we started the game offensively, really sloppy. And it was little things. You could see them, you could see it, just, in general, I wanted to run the football effectively, and it took us a second to get there. As we got going, I thought we were efficient in terms of how we ran in, and then being able to take some shots off of it.”
The Bulls are now 3-1 on the season. They will have a bye next week before returning to play on Friday, October 3rd, as they open up conference play against Rice at Raymond James Stadium.
-This 63-14 win was the second-largest margin of victory in USF History. The 49-0 win over Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl was the record for margin of victory.
-The defense had 10 tackles for losses in the 59-14 win.
-Mac Harris led the defense with ten tackles, two sacks, and a 93-yard interception return for a touchdown, and two sacks.
-Alvon Isaac had 144 yards in returns
-Byrum Brown passed for 236 yards and four touchdowns.
-Sam Franklin rushed for 91 yards on four carries with two touchdowns.
-Chas Nimrod had four catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
-Joshua Porter had four catches for 58 yards and one touchdown.