by Carter Brantley
The USF Bulls secured a consecutive bowl game for the first time since 2018 with a 63-30 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes.
USF jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the 1st quarter on the strength of a pair of Kelley Joiner, Jr. touchdowns. The senior back also managed over 100 yards rushing before the 2nd quarter began.
The defense forced two turnovers to set up other touchdowns for the Bulls, one coming from a pick by safety Tawfiq Byard, the first of his career, and the other on a fumble recovery by outside linebacker DJ Gordon IV.
Tulsa had a chance to put points on the board at the end of the first half with a goal-to-go situation, but was stuffed by the Bulls and forced into a turnover on downs.
USF turned that into a 7-play, 94-yard touchdown drive that culminated in a 58-yard touchdown catch and run from receiver Keshaun Singleton.
USF advanced to 6-5 on the season and 4-3 in American Conference play, another great step forward in the Alex Golesh era.
Without star QB Byrum Brown playing for the majority of the season, they’ve been able to take care of business against the teams they should, with most of their wins coming against their lower-level American Conference rivals.
But that’s still a huge mark of improvement for a team that was going through one of the nastier stretches of seasons a school can have, especially in the weak American Conference.
Last season USF’s defense gave up 48 points to these Golden Hurricanes in a loss. They also “only” scored 42 points in that matchup, a total USF equaled in the 1st half of this game.
Things are looking up, and with Alex Golesh at the helm, some exciting things could be possible for the Bulls moving forward, especially as they continue their ramp up into a move to their new on-campus stadium.
