It's a Victory Rewind of the sights, sound bites, stats, highlights and learning experiences from USF's 48-3 triumph against the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats, while beginning the look ahead to Saturday night's road challenge against the No. 5-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Big Play
On USF's second series, QB Byrum Brown provided the Bulls a lead they wouldn't lose with a 42-yard touchdown scamper on third-and-2. It marked the second-longest run of his career. Brown outran the B-CU defense to the left, headed down the sideline and escaped the diving shoestring tackle attempt of Andrew Volmar. It was Brown's 15th career rushing touchdown (in 17 games played) and yet another dialed up from long-distance (he also has touchdown runs of 60, 42, 35 and 28 yards).
Game Balls
* PK John Cannon, whose 53-yard field goal was the third-longest in USF history (behind Bill Gramatica's 63-yarder in 2000 and Delbert Alvarado's 56-yarder in 2006), also made a 40-yarder. It was the 13th 50-plus yard field goal in program history and and the longest for a Bull since a 52-yarder from Spencer Shrader vs. Temple in 2021.
* RB Kelley Joiner, who had 14 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns. It was his most productive rushing game since 2021 and the first time he had two rushing scores in one USF game.
* B-backer Rico Watson III, the graduate student from Armwood High School (by way of Florida State and Robert Morris), who had six tackles, two tackles for a loss and a half-sack in his USF debut.
* LB Jhalyn Shuler and SS D'Marco Augustin, who each had an interception.
* WR Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, the transfer from Purdue, who led the Bulls in receiving (five catches for 73 yards, including a 44-yarder) in his USF debut.
Notable Numbers
4 — Number of opponents in the last 15 seasons to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide at Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium (Texas in 2023, LSU in 2019 and 2011, Ole Miss in 2015, Texas A&M in 2012).
9 — Number of consecutive quarters played (dating to the 2023 season) since USF's defense last allowed a touchdown.
18 — Number of USF true freshman players who saw action against B-CU.
24-4 — USF's all-time record in home season-openers.
33-1 — USF's all-time record against Football Championship Subdivision opponents (since 2000, when USF joined the Football Bowl Subdivision).
The Bulls Are Off And Running
For openers, USF's 48-3 victory against Bethune-Cookman University was near-perfect.
USF's defense limited B-CU to just 170 yards, including 48 rushing. Meanwhile, the Bulls rolled up 403 yards and had five rushing touchdowns (two from Joiner and one each from Nay'Quan Wright, Brown and newcomer Ta'Ron Keith, along with Bryce Archie's first career USF touchdown pass, a 15-yard strike to Michael Brown-Stephens (set up by an interception from Augustin, another USF newcomer). Cannon had two field goals and four extra points (making him 56-for-56 on PATs at USF).
"It's great to know you're supposed to win the game — and you're supposed to win it by a lot — so I'm glad we executed everything well and did our job,'' head coach Alex Golesh said.
"There are two ways to look at it — a winning way and a losing way. The winning way is looking at it, being super critical of every fine detail and being truly hard on your players in the sense that there's so much to clear up. The losing way is like, 'Man, we're 1-0, let's roll. This is the greatest night of our lives.' Thankfully, we're at a place in our program where I don't think we'll handle it that way. We'll have the winning way.''
"It's great to dust off your shoulders a little bit and get a full display of what you've been working on all off-season,'' Yaseen said. "I think we still have a lot to learn. Obviously, we didn't play a perfect game and we have things to improve. But it was a good start and something we can build on for sure.''
Joiner Breaks Out
After USF games, Golesh always huddles with his family. This time, he got a quick summation from his son, Barrett.
"Man, Kelley Joiner went off, huh?''
Joiner, 26, is playing his sixth USF season. It has been difficult to find sustained momentum, due to injuries, shifting roles and changing philosophies. Joiner has endured — and now he's determined to finish with a flourish.
Against B-CU, Joiner had 14 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns. After Joiner's standout training game, Golesh expected no less.
In 2023, when Golesh conducted his first USF spring practices, Joiner was moved from running back to slot receiver out of necessity.
"I think we did him a disservice,'' Golesh said. "As we got going in the season, I felt terrible about it. It took him a while to get back into the groove of the running-back room. Then he got a turf-toe injury, which kept him out a while. I never felt like Kelly got into a groove. Through training camp, Kelley was consistent every single day and you saw that (against B-CU). It was a reflection of what his camp was. He's the best version of himself.''
Joiner said he's as comfortable as he has been in years. He'll have backfield assistance from Wright and Keith, among others, but Joiner seems poised for his most productive USF season.
"The coaching staff preaches consistency, being process-driven, stacking together days and practices and working your craft so you are comfortable every game,'' Joiner said. "It always feels good to go out and get a win. It's a great way to start my last season. I'll always remember this game. We work all spring and all training camp for these moments and I'm very excited about what's ahead for us.''
Dee-fense! Dee-fense!
The Bulls, who ranked 115th last season in total defense, are banking on big improvement. So far, so good, said Golesh, who described the defensive performance as "lights-out.''
"We were flying around and on the first six (B-CU) drives, we gave up 9 yards,'' Golesh said. "I thought we flew around with a violent intent. We got our hands on balls. We stopped the run. We took the air out of it. We made them one-dimensional. We got off the field on third down. We did exactly what we wanted to do.''
And USF did it with lots of new players.
The Bulls' defense included seven first-time starters, including a retooled secondary that featured CB DeShawn Rucker (Tennessee transfer), FS Kajuan Banks (South Carolina), CB Brent Austin (James Madison) and SS Tawfiq Byard. Other notables: DT Bernard Gooden (Wake Forest transfer who sat out 2023), DT Decarius Hawthorne (Florida Atlantic) and Watson.
"We would've liked to have thrown a no-hitter, but we gave up three (points),'' holdover linebacker Mac Harris said. "But I thought we played pretty well overall. We had a lot of young guys play and there wasn't much drop-off.
"We nullified the running game and made them one-dimensional. But they got the field goal and those are real points. We were really hoping to put up a goose egg (shutout).''
Golesh Praises Fan Support
The USF/B-CU game drew 36,694 fans to Raymond James Stadium, marking the highest attendance for an American Athletic Conference program so far this season. That total included student attendance of 5,739, the most for a USF season-opener since 2021.
"Thank you to our students,'' Golesh said. "We're going to continue to need it. Hopefully (for the next game), they can bring a friend and continue to grow it. I'm super grateful for that.''
Behind The Curtain
A few observations on game elements that didn't get the primary headlines:
* The way the first half closed was a graphic display on how Golesh and staff like to play. In a word: Attack! With 28 seconds remaining and B-CU at USF's 31-yard line, Golesh used the Bulls' second time out to "ice the kicker.'' But Cade Hechter drilled a 48-yard field goal, cutting USF's lead to 28-3. After a pooch kickoff, USF gained possession at its 36 with 19 seconds remaining. Kneel-down and head to the locker room? Nope. Brown hit Josh Porter for 6 yards and USF used its final time out with 11 seconds left. At that moment, offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, down from his press-box perch and off the elevator, hustled to the sideline for a quick consult with Golesh. But the receivers were covered, so Brown made a quick decision to take off. He had lots of room down the left side. Time was short. "I knew I had to get out of bounds, so I was looking up at the (scoreboard) clock,'' Brown said. "I saw it at four (seconds), then stepped out at three (actually two seconds). Then John Cannon nailed it.'' Brown's 23-yard scramble to the B-CU 35 allowed Cannon to boot a 53-yard first-half walk-off field goal. "Kind of cool,'' Golesh said. "In retrospect, maybe I should've saved that time out (instead of icing the kicker) and we could've gotten a shot at the end zone.'' With the Bulls, every yard (and every second) counts. Kneel-down? Surrender? Never. Attack!
* USF's special teams were special indeed. In the second quarter, punter Andrew Stokes delivered a breathtakingly high, spiraling boot that landed at the B-CU 1-yard line and bounced back to the 5, where it was downed (a 48-yarder officially). Cannon had two long field goals and the other place-kickers (Nico Gramatica and Ty Ippolito) each had a PAT while combining for five touchbacks on kickoffs. Meanwhile, USF newcomers Ta'Ron Keith had a 26-yard punt return and Sean Atkins broke one for 20. And speedy WR JeyQuan Smith, playing on the kickoff coverage unit, nailed B-CU returner Darnell Deas at the 10-yard line. "Elite teams play elite special teams,'' Golesh said. "That's where you see your depth. That's where you see your detail. I thought we did a really, really solid job.''
* USF's defensive front was a bit depleted with the injury absence of Jason Vaughn and Rashad Cheney. But it made for unexpected opportunities for true freshman Jahari Grant (6-foot-2, 315 pounds). On signing day, Golesh proclaimed that Grant was "one of the more powerful defensive linemen in the state of Florida'' and he would become "an anchor at our nose tackle position for years to come.'' Grant had six tackles and one tackle for a loss. "He was in the perfect place and it was like the perfect spot,'' Golesh said. "There was a lot going on between the tackles, which is right up his alley. He's a physical dude, a run-stuffer. It was good to have some positive with Jahari.''
Next Up: Alabama
USF at Alabama, Saturday night, ESPN, 7 p.m.
It's the game that Bulls fans have awaited since last season's scrappy matchup in Tampa, when Alabama escaped with a 17-3 victory. Legendary coach Nick Saban has retired (the Bryant-Denny Stadium field will be officially named for Saban on Saturday night), and former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer has taken over the Crimson Tide program.
Not a beat was missed last Saturday night — Alabama 63, Western Kentucky 0.
As usual, Alabama is stacked. Its quarterback, Jalen Milroe (who didn't play last season in Tampa), was a primary preseason choice for the Heisman Trophy.
Despite last season's game hanging in the balance until the final minutes, Golesh said afterward that anything short of victory was unsatisfying.
"Valiant efforts are for losers,'' Golesh said in last season's USF-Alabama postgame. "Moral victories are for losers. That's what losers say. Winners win.''
That attitude hasn't changed.
"If we can have our process right, we have a chance to be successful,'' Golesh said. "If our process isn't right, then we won't (be successful). Against really good football teams, that gets exposed one way or the other.
"It will be a really, really awesome challenge. That's one of the better teams in the entire country. I think if we play to our potential and we get our process right … we'll have a chance to go win the football game. I know our guys, by the time it's Friday and we get on that plane to Birmingham, they'll be ready to roll. It'll be fun.''
More than 100,000 fans are expected in Tuscaloosa, which would make for the largest crowd ever for a USF game. Alabama is also the fifth top 5-ranked team faced by USF (the Bulls have one victory, an unforgettable 21-13 win against No. 5 West Virginia in 2007).
USF at Alabama. One of the great showcases in USF program history. Prime-time television. Fun times, indeed.
–#GoBulls–
Print Friendly Version
