The USF Bulls overcame three first-quarter turnovers to route the North Texas Mean Green 63-36 on the road and improve to 2-0 in conference play and 5-1 overall.
It was a rough start for the Bulls as Byrum Brown fumbled twice and threw an interception in three of the first four offensive possessions. But the USF defense shut down the North Texas offense and kept the game close.
Once again, all three phases of the game — offense, defense, and special teams — contributed to the win.
For the second game in a row, Brown contributed five touchdowns, three passing and two on the ground in the Bulls’ dominant win.
Freshman Jeremiah Koger caught two touchdown passes, and Christian Neptune caught a touchdown pass and threw a touchdown pass on a trick play.
Jhalyn Shuler and Fred Gaskin had interceptions to lead the defensive charge and give the Bulls’ offense good field position.
Tied 21-21 at the half, as they have done all season, the Bulls offense came out of the locker room in the second half dominating the Mean Green, and went on a 35-7 run to put the Bulls fully in control 56-28 and cruised to the 63-36 win.
In the past, when the Bulls got down early and made mistakes, that would have been a morale buster. But these are not the same old Bulls. It’s all about moving on to the next play.
“There’s no more here we go again moments,” USF coach Alex Golesh said. “Just keep playing the next play.”
Golesh addressed the fumbles, knowing they must eliminate these untimely mistakes. “You can’t play not to fumble,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”
Golesh added, “There is a ton of room to improve.” He was most disappointed in the self-inflicted wounds and “dumb-ass penalties”.
The Bulls’ offense has had seven turnovers over the last two games, and if your sights are set on big postseason plans, you must eliminate the turnovers.
This is the second game this season in which the Bulls have scored 63 points. USF also accomplished that feat against South Carolina State on September 20th.
Sooner or later, the national media will have to recognize that this offense is one of the best in the country.
Before scoring 63 on North Texas, the Bulls were 15th in the country in scoring, averaging 40.7 points a game, and that number will only go up after the 63 points scored on Friday night. The Bulls have scored 180 points in the last three games.
Brown said, “It should be 70 plus every night.”
The Bulls are also ranked in the top 20 nationally in yards per game, averaging 468 yards a game on offense, and they put up another 582 yards of offense Friday night.
When does Byrum Brown enter the conversation as a Heisman Trophy Candidate? This man has 18 touchdowns in the first six games. At this pace, 40 touchdowns is not out of the question.
Defensively, it was a coming-out party for Tavin Ward, who led the Bulls with 14 tackles. It seems a new defensive star is rising from the defense every week to be an impact player in the game. It shows how deep this USF team is on both sides of the ball.
Ward said it was just a matter of regrouping and refocusing in the locker room that helped the Bulls come out and take control in the second half.
It was a pretty even match-up in the first half, but Ward said that the Bulls’ defense’s physicality wore down the Mean Green in the second half.
North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker had not thrown an interception during the season until last night, when the Bulls’ defense picked off two. He was also sacked twice. The Bulls have forced eight turnovers over the last two games.
With the win, the Bulls are 2-0 in conference play and 5-1 on the season, with visions of a conference championship and a College Football Playoff berth still dancing in their heads.
The Bulls return home next weekend to play in-state foe Florida Atlantic in the annual homecoming. This will be the third game in a row for the Bulls that will be on National TV, and their sixth nationally televised game of the season.
—The Bulls had 306 yards rushing after running for 407 yards last week against Charlotte.
—LB Jhalyn Shuler had an interception, returned a fumble for a touchdown, and had eight tackles in the Bulls’ win.