Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
THIS STORY IS A REPRINT FROM THE USF WEBSITE- CLICK HERE FOR ALL THINGS BULLS
It‘s a Victory Rewind of the sights, sound bites, stats, highlights and learning experiences from USF‘s 63-30 home triumph against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, while beginning the lookahead to Saturday afternoon‘s road game against the Rice Owls in the regular-season finale.
The Big Play
The third play from scrimmage as the game’s big play? Believe it! When RB Kelley Joiner raced 48 yards untouched for the game’s first touchdown just 41 seconds in, it set the tone for USF’s big victory and a cavalcade of individual highlights. USF’s opponent had scored first in eight straight games, but this time the Bulls broke out — and never looked back.
Game Balls
* QB Bryce Archie, making his sixth consecutive start, had a career-high 305 yards passing with a 21-for-31 performance and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 40 yards and another score.
* WR Sean Atkins, the Burlsworth Award semifinalist, who was USF’s leading receiver (seven catches for 68 yards) on Senior Day.
* RB Kelley Joiner (10 rushes for 131 yards and two touchdowns) had his seventh career 100-yard rushing performance — and he achieved that in the first quarter.
* SS Tawfiq Byard, who tallied five tackles (three solo) and a tackle for a loss, while also collecting his first career interception and fumble recovery, both in the first quarter.
* CB James Chenault, who had his first career interception along with a career-high four tackles and ran down a Rice running back from behind on a long carry and save a touchdown at the 2-yard line.
* LB D.J. Gordon IV, who had eight tackles and a forced fumble.
* CB Ben Knox, who recorded a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in spectacular fashion on the same play (more on that later).
* WR Keshaun Singleton, who logged 96 yards on five catches, including a spectacular 58-yard, tackle-breaking catch-and-run touchdown.
Notable Numbers
1st — Where USF ranks in the American Athletic Conference for forced turnovers (23). That figure ranks eighth nationally.
10 — Number of 40-point games in Coach Alex Golesh‘s 24-game USF tenure. The Bulls are 9-1 in those games.
16 — Number of explosive plays (15 yards or greater) against Tulsa to surpass the previous season high of 13.
17 — Number of touchdowns produced by USF in its last two games (nine against Tulsa, eight against Charlotte).
21st — National ranking for USF’s rushing offense (198 yards per game) after its fourth game of 300-plus yards on the ground.
28.5 — USF’s margin of victory in its six wins this season.
30 — Rushing touchdowns in 11 games for the Bulls, who tied for the second-most productive season (along with 2017 and 2007) in program history. The program record is 47 rushing TDs in 2016.
715 — Total yards against Tulsa, which ranks second on USF’s all-time list (behind the record 745 against Florida A&M in 2011) and first against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.
1,953 — Career receiving yards for Atkins, who is 14 short of Rodney Adams (1,967) for second-place on USF’s all-time list and 183 behind Andre Davis for the top spot.
2,159 — Career rushing yards for Joiner, who stands sixth on USF’s all-time list and has a career-best 747 on the season.
Bulls Earn Bowl Eligibility With Rout Of Tulsa
From start to finish — including the pregame Senior Day ceremonies when 23 players were saluted — it was time for the USF football program to celebrate.
The Bulls (6-5, 4-3 American Athletic Conference) again showed their muscle on both sides of the ball during a 63-30 trouncing of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. For the second straight season, Coach Alex Golesh‘s Bulls have earned bowl eligibility, meaning there’s a postseason reward waiting beyond next Saturday’s regular-season finale at Rice.
Golesh said he was proud of his team, which has won four of its last five games after a 2-4 start and has a chance to post the program’s most regular season wins since 2018.
“It’s a resilient bunch of guys in the locker room,” Golesh said. “Thinking back to the hurricane week (playing Memphis in Orlando), it was such a challenge. We didn’t play well, but they went and played and never blinked.
“I talked to the team last (Friday) night about how there have been a lot of excuses we can make this year, but nobody would care. The expectation in that locker room is that we win games. We’re building a really good foundation of what it looks like to work, lead and win. All those cliche things … but you see them happening.”
There were so many USF highlights against Tulsa, you didn’t know where to start.
The Bulls, who had been laboring under the pressure of slow starts, broke out 28-0 in the first quarter before Rice recorded a first down.
USF’s 63 points were the most since the Bulls scored 65 against Cincinnati in 2015. It marked the program’s first back-to-back 50-point games since 2011.
There were 308 rushing yards, marking USF’s sixth 200-yard-plus effort this season and its fourth of more than 300.
USF’s defense didn’t allow a first down until Tulsa’s fifth offensive series. The Bulls had a season-high five turnovers and registered 12 tackles for a loss.
USF earned its 12th bowl bid in the program’s 24 season’s of Football Bowl Subdivision play (and all dozen have occurred since the 2005 season).
On Senior Day, there were several notable offensive performances by underclassmen, including WR Keshaun Singleton (five catches for 96 yards and a TD), WR Joshua Porter (three catches for a career-high 47 yards), QB Izzy Carter (6-for-8 passing with 102 yards and his first two career TD passes in a quarter-and-change) and TE Jonathan Echols (59-yard TD on his first career catch).
It all added up to one of the most complete, start-to-finish efforts in USF football history. It was made all the more satisfying by the clinching of another bowl trip for the Bulls.
“It means a lot,” WR Sean Atkins said. “Being here six years, we went through a lot of ups and downs and just being able to play meaningful games in November (was important). This sets the foundation for how USF needs to be. Bowl eligibility shouldn’t even be something that this program is looking forward to. It should just be the next step.”
“It feels good, but that isn’t the end goal,” SS Tawfiq Byard said. “You want a championship. Having a bowl game only means that you’re going in the right path. But we (want to) fight for the championship.”
Archie And Joiner Red-Hot On Offense
QB Bryce Archie accounted for 345 yards and three touchdowns, passing for a career-high 305, while rushing for 40. Since taking over for the injured Byrum Brown on Sept. 28, Archie has guided the Bulls to a 4-2 mark in his six starts.
RB Kelley Joiner, who rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries, had his second straight 100-yard, multiple-TD performance. Joiner, honored on Senior Day as he completes his sixth season with USF’s program, has saved the best for last.
Here’s a thought: Joiner (747 yards) can make a realistic run toward a 1,000-yard season with two games to play. He is averaging 14.3 yards per carry while producing 271 yards in his last two games.
“Kelley is a supremely confident dude,” Golesh said. “It has been awesome to watch him in the second half of the year. He’s healthy, confident and preparing the right way. He has been through a lot of injuries and a lot of losing. To see him succeed has been really cool to watch.”
Preparation has also been the key to Archie’s improving play, Golesh said.
“Confidence comes from preparation,” Golesh said. “Bryce has continued to learn what that looks like. He had a great week of practice and continues to get healthy. When we go through the game plan and situations with him the night before a game, he’s able to answer those questions much quicker and be on his game. I’m proud of how he has grown.”
Archie was quick to give credit to his offensive line and skill-position teammates.
“This has been a complete team effort,” Archie said. “We’ve gone through so much adversity this year. To finally come out (fast) in the first half, have it click and finish a game with 60-something points, that has been (symbolic of) our whole season. Go through some adversity, keep fighting and it’s going to click.”
An Opportunistic Big-Play Defense
USF didn’t allow Tulsa to breathe, holding the Golden Hurricane without a first down until their fifth drive of the game, while forcing two first-half turnovers and allowing just seven first-half points. In its first four drives, Tulsa gained a total of 10 yards. Its first six drives resulted in the following: Two punts, two turnovers and two failed fourth-down attempts.
Byard and Knox each recovered a fumble to give the Bulls 11 this season, which ranks third nationally.
With 12 tackles for a loss — their fourth double-digit total of the season — the Bulls are averaging 8.0 TFL’s (sixth nationally, second in the AAC).
It’s what defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has imagined. Although there are always details to polish, the Bulls has transformed themselves into a pressure-packed, aggressive unit that is collecting takeaways with increasing regularity.
“The beginning of the season, we haven’t been starting out fast,” Byard said. “So, the emphasis for the past four or five games has been to get up and get out fast. The first 15 plays, we really were just trying to get our feet in the ground. We weren’t running (special plays) too much, just simple match coverage and playing football.”
Byard said USF’s defensive unit continues to be motivated by the Sept. 7 game at Alabama, where the Bulls had pulled within 21-16 with 6:45 remaining, but allowed the Crimson Tide to score three late touchdowns for a lopsided-looking final result.
“We dropped our guard defensively,” Byard said. “We feel like we let that game up. We had them and we let go, so we made a vow as a defense to never let that happen again. Ever since then, we’ve been putting it on in the second half.”
Behind The Curtain
A few observations on game elements that didn‘t get the primary headlines:
* Golesh described the effort as “elite.” And it certainly was just that. With USF up 28-0 late in the first quarter, Tulsa appeared headed to the end zone when RB Anthony Watkins broke into the clear for what looked like a 79-yard touchdown run. But Bulls CB James Chenault, even after Watkins had a 15-yard head start, refused to surrender. Chenault gave chase, gaining ground ever so slightly, and he dove inside the 10-yard line to trip up Watkins at the USF 2. Tulsa then failed to score on four downs. What did Chenault’s play mean in the big picture with the Bulls leading 28-0 and ultimately prevailing 63-30? The answer is simple. Chenault’s play meant everything. It signified what Golesh seeks from his players and what he wants USF’s program to represent.
* It became one of the most bizarre — and beautiful — plays in USF football history. With USF leading 49-7 in the third quarter, Tulsa QB Kirk Francis found WR Joseph Williams open on the right side. Suddenly, Williams was streaking down the sideline with nothing but green grass in front of him. But CB Ben Knox gave chase. At around the 10-yard line, Knox caught up, grabbing Williams’ pads with his left hand, then reaching to punch the ball loose with his right hand. It was dislodged upwards from the startled Williams and Knox recovered the fumble in mid-air before barreling into the end zone for a stunning touchback — another play that showed USF’s no-quit hustle and football smarts. Knox’s unusual highlight became No. 8 on the nightly Top Plays segment by ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Next Up: Rice
With bowl eligibility secured, the Bulls search for their seventh regular-season victory Saturday afternoon against the Rice Owls (3-8, 2-5 AAC) in the regular-season finale at Houston. Rice has dropped four of its last five games, including last Saturday’s 40-14 defeat at UAB. Rice’s recent losses were sandwiched around a surprising 24-10 win against Navy.
It’s USF’s first football trip to Rice, which was defeated by the Bulls 42-29 last season at Raymond James Stadium. Rice is led by a familiar adversary, QB E.J. Warner, the former Temple signal-caller, who has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 2,280 yards and 14 touchdowns. Warner (whose father is Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner) relies on RB Dean Connors (740 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, along with 58 receptions) and WR Matt Sykes (58 receptions for 664 yards and five touchdowns).
