On a beautiful fall evening, the 3-1 USF Bulls opened conference play against the Charlotte 49ers and came away with a 54-26 win.
The Bulls took the field in throwback helmets with the “RoboBull” logo, which USF used during the program’s first six seasons.
The Bulls started first on offense as Charlotte won the toss but deferred till the second half.
The Bulls immediately tried to use the passing game to loosen up the Charlotte defense, but they misfired.
Byrum Brown missed on long passes to Chas Nimrod and JeyQuan Smith to set up a third and long for USF.
Brown would scramble for 11 yards on third down to give the Bulls a first down and ten in Charlotte territory.
On second down, Cartevious Norton, the Charlotte transfer, went up the middle for a 37-yard touchdown run, and the Bulls had an early 7-0 lead.
Charlotte would go a quick three-and-out on their first possession, before the Bulls took over at their own 31 after a Charlotte punt.
The Bulls ran five plays before Alvon Isaac fumbled the ball, which Charlotte recovered at its own 30-yard line.
After another quick Charlotte three-and-out, the Bulls would take over at their own 23-yard line after another Charlotte punt.
It would take seven plays for the Bulls to move 77 yards and make the score 14-0.
Byrum Brown hit true freshman Jeremiah Koger with a 38 yard touchdown pass, the first catch for the true freshman, and the Bulls had a comfortable 14-point lead.
Charlotte would start the next possession backed up at their own seven-yard line and went backwards instead of forwards.
Charlotte was forced to punt from their own end zone, and Jair Murphy of USF would block his second punt of the season for a safety to give the Bulls a 16-0 lead.
Murphy also blocked a punt in the Florida game for a safety.
The Bulls’ defense forced another Charlotte three-and-out, and after another 49er punt, took over at the Charlotte 40-yard line.
That drive would end on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown to Mudia Reuben to give USF a 23-0 lead.
Charlotte would run two plays before Jarvis Lee would intercept his second pass of the season, giving the Bulls a first and ten at the Charlotte 30.
Total domination by the Bulls in the first quarter, as they held Charlotte to zero first downs and -6 yards of total offense. The Bulls would lead 23-0 after the first quarter, putting up 239 yards of offense.
The Bulls started their next possession at the Charlotte 30 yard line to start the second quarter. That ended with a Nico Gramatica 43-yard field goal to put USF up 26-0.
Midway through the second quarter, the Bulls were in the middle of a four-play, 30-yard drive when Byrum Brown fumbled in Charlotte territory.
Charlotte recovered the fumble, but quickly went three and out.
With under five minutes to play in the first half, Byrum Brown threw his first interception, giving Charlotte great field position at the USF 34-yard line with 4:52 to play in the first half.
This was the first time in the game that Charlotte crossed midfield.
That fumble would be costly as Charlotte would score their first points of the night on a one-yard touchdown run by CJ Stokes making the score 26-7 in favor of USF at the 3:44 mark of the second quarter.
USF went back on offense with 3:40 to go in the half, and took just 2:16 to get the ball in the endzone and take a 33-7 lead.
Chas Nimrod connected on an 18 yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown. This was Brown’s third touchdown pass of the night, and the Bulls were in control 33-7 at halftime.
Coach Golesh was disappointed that the Bulls could not put Charlotte away in the first half when they had the chance.
“You know, for us, the game itself, you talk about a defensive effort to start first aid drives, six, three and outs, an interception. I mean, 13 yards total. You have an opportunity as an offense and started off, you know, you’re up 26 nothing. You gotta, go put a team away”
Charlotte started the second half with a 10-play 60-yard drive that ended with a 33 yard field goal by Liam Boyd, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 33-10.
The Charlotte offense was on the move again, until CJ Stokes fumbled deep in USF territory, recovered by Jaelen Stokes to set the Bulls up first and ten at their own 25-yard line.
The Bulls could not get much going offensively in the third quarter. After racking up 397 yards in the first half, they could only manage 72 yards in the third quarter. The quarter ended with the Bulls up 33-11.
The Bulls had the ball and were driving to start the fourth quarter, when Byrum Brown threw his second interception of the game that was returned to the USF four yard line, giving Charlotte a first and goal opportunity.
Three plays later, Charlotte quarterback Zack Wilke hit E. Jai Mason for a two yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was good, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 33-18 early in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls got the ball back and took 4:47 to get back in the end zone. A 13-play, 65-yard drive, culminating with a two yard touchdown pass from Byrum Brown to Evan Dangler, put the Bulls up 40-18.
In the next series, Charlotte quarterback Zack Wilcke was intercepted by DJ Harris and returned to the USF 47-yard line.
Just 2:17 later, the Bulls were in the end zone thanks to a Byrum Brown 13 yard touchdown run to put the Bulls up 47-18.
But Charlotte wouldn’t quit. The 49ers scored with 3:10 to play as Zach Wilcke hit Derek Ely with a 16 yard touchdown pass to make it a 47-26 game.
The Bulls would get one more score with 43 seconds to play. Nykaki Davenport would then run for seven yards for a touchdown to put the Bulls up 54-26. That would be the final.
With the win, the Bulls improve to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. Next Friday night, they will travel to North Texas for another prime-time matchup.
—Running Back Cartevious Norton was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with a neck injury. He was taken to Tampa General as a precaution.
—Byrum Brown had his sixth career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 166 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown. This was his first 100-yard rushing game since September 7th, 2024, at Alabama.