The South Florida Bulls lost to the Old Dominion Monarchs 24-10 in the StaffDna Cure Bowl Wednesday night at Camping World Stadium. With the loss, USF’s winning streak in bowl games ends at two after head coach Alex Golesh left for Auburn at the end of the regular season.
“I’m never going to forget this for the rest of my life,” USF interim coach Kevin Patrick said. “It was a tough loss, but there are a lot of great things to take out of this.”
The Monarchs out-rushed the Bulls 255 to 52 in the game, with all three of their touchdowns coming on the ground. Their backup quarterback, redshirt freshman Quinn Henicle, led the way with 107 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-sealing 51 yard run.
“The best part about Quinn’s performance is he didn’t play anywhere near his best game and he was still able to will this team to a win,” ODU coach Ricky Rahne said. “To me, it was that run in the four minute drive, where he kept going, kept his legs going, kept just dragging people and the competitiveness and the fight and the effort that he had right there.”
USF was also without starting quarterback Byrum Brown in the contest, sitting out as he mulls over his future in football. His backup, sixth-year senior Gaston Moore, filled in for most of the contest before his injury in the fourth quarter. Moore passed for 236 yards on 71% accuracy with a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions.
“[Moore] is a guy we all trust and we all rally behind,” USF graduate offensive lineman Cole Best said. “We had 100% faith in him, not just me but the entire offensive line. That guy’s a grinder who shows up every day. It wasn’t perfect, but I couldn’t be more proud of him in the way that he stepped up and let this offense, no matter how the game went.”
The Bulls had two more interceptions thrown in the game, one by third-string QB Locklan Hewlett and the other by punter Chase Leon. Two of the four interceptions were caught by sophomore defensive back Jerome Carter.
For most of the game, USF was right in it and even led at halftime. Moore connected with Jeremiah Koger on back-to-back passes for a combined 56 yards, including a 31-yard TD to give USF a 10-7 lead.
In the second half, the Bulls beat themselves with penalties, missed field goals and turnovers. Despite having four drives in ODU territory, they were unable to score in the final 30 minutes of action.
The turning point in the game for the Monarchs came with 4:20 left in the third quarter, as USF seemingly forced a turnover while ODU was driving. After further review, senior DB De’Shawn Rucker was ejected for targeting, and Old Dominion kept possession. They would go on to grow their lead to seven points on a field goal.
For USF, it was still a season to look back on fondly, finishing with nine wins. They upset a ranked Boise State team and a ranked Florida squad to start, with real aspirations to make the CFP.
With Golesh gone, USF will look to build with new head coach Brian Hartline and compete for their first American Conference title.