Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
THIS STORY IS RE-PRINT FROM GOUSFBULLS.COM – THE SOURCE FOR ALL THINGS BULLS
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It‘s a Victory Rewind of the sights, sound bites, stats, highlights and learning experiences from USF‘s 59-24 road triumph against the Charlotte 49ers, while beginning the lookahead to Saturday‘s Senior Day game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Raymond James Stadium.
The Big Play
It was still a ballgame coming out of halftime with USF leading 14-10. USF’s defense forced Charlotte into an immediate three-and-out. On USF’s second play, RB Kelley Joiner raced around the left side untouched for a career-long 54-yard score. And the rout was on. USF would go on to run for 266 yards in the half.
Game Balls
* RB Kelley Joiner, who rushed for a career-high 140 yards (on just nine carries for a 15.6-yard average). Joiner had touchdown runs of 54 and 45 yards.
* RB Nay’Quan Wright, who had a pair of 6-yard TD runs and a career-best 44-yard reception.
* QB Bryce Archie, who passed for 126 yards and had a career-high 72 yards rushing (including runs of 25 and 20 yards) while posting a 12 yards per carry average.
* SS Tawfiq Byard, who had a career-high 11 tackles, along with a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss.
* CB Brent (Paco) Austin, who had a 14-yard pick-six interception return in the third quarter, along with six tackles.
* LB Mac Harris, who had a 25-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery, along with a sack, 1.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries.
* LB Jhalyn Shuler, who had a forced fumble (leading to Harris’ TD), a sack and five tackles (one for a loss).
Notable Numbers
8 — Number of touchdowns scored by USF against Charlotte. Only five other games in USF program history featured more Bulls touchdowns (led by the record 11 in USF’s 80-3 inaugural victory against Kentucky Wesleyan in 1997). The most USF touchdowns in a conference game was nine during the 65-27 win against Cincinnati in 2015.
9 — Number of 40-point games in Coach Alex Golesh‘s 23-game tenure. The Bulls are 8-1 in those games.
9-4 — USF’s all-time record in the state of North Carolina. The Bulls have now defeated six different programs during games played in North Carolina — NC State, UNC, East Carolina, Elon, Charlotte and Clemson (during the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl).
28 — Consecutive games for WR Sean Atkins with at least one catch. Atkins can tie USF’s all-time record (31 straight by Andre Davis from 2011-14) with catches in the final two games and a potential postseason bowl appearance.
31 — Points scored by USF in the third quarter — the highest-scoring stanza (out of 1,328 possible quarters) in program history.
68 — Number of USF players who saw the field in the victory against Charlotte.
425 — Rushing yards against Charlotte, which set a USF program single-game record and marked the Bulls third game of 300-plus yards on the ground this season.
2,028 — Career rushing yards for Joiner, who stands seventh on USF’s all-time list, but behind B.J. Daniels in sixth (2,068).
Bulls Put Up 59 Points Against 49ers
When the USF Bulls hit their rhythm Saturday at Charlotte, it was like an unstoppable jet-stream. A tight game quickly became a rout. Or maybe it’s better described as a runaway — because USF’s running game enjoyed a performance for the ages.
Behind a program-record 425 rushing yards, the Bulls slammed the Charlotte 49ers with a 59-24 margin at Jerry Richardson Stadium that included a program-record quarter of scoring (31 points in the third). It marked the second-most points scored by the Bulls in a road game in program history.
USF (5-5, 3-3 American Athletic Conference) climbed within one victory of achieving bowl eligibility for the second straight season and 12th time in 24 seasons of playing in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The rushing total was paced by Kelley Joiner (nine carries for a career-high 140 yards, two touchdowns), but it was also boosted by quarterback Bryce Archie (six for 72), Ta’Ron Keith (eight for 45, one TD), Nay’Quan Wright (seven for 43), freshman Alvon Isaac (three for 37, one TD), Jaylen Johnson (six for 33), QB Israel Carter (three for 29), WR Sean Atkins (one for 14) and Yasias Young (four for 12).
Archie needed to attempt only 16 passes.
Whew!
“We had a lot of people who contributed,” said Archie in a massive understatement.
The biggest score might have been Keith’s 16-yard run with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter because it snapped an ignominious slow-starting streak (USF hadn’t scored any first-quarter points since Sept. 21). Once that pressure was off, the Bulls were off and running. USF took the lead for good, 14-10, on Wright’s 6-yard run (one play after he took a shovel pass from Archie for 44 yards on third-and-2).
During the third quarter, USF’s defense joined the party with CB Brent (Paco) Austin scoring on a 14-yard pick-six, then LB Mac Harris taking off on a 25-yard scoop-and-score after LB Jhalyn Shuler forced a fumble from Charlotte QB Deshawn Purdie.
Harris said the play was indicative of USF’s “24/7” effort (Harris wears No. 24 and Shuler wears No. 7 … get it?).
“We’re going to be humble because the minute you don’t do that, this game will humble you,” head coach Alex Golesh said. “We put such a huge emphasis on starting fast. Literally, I feel like I’ve spent the last month trying to find ways to make sure we start fast. We did score (in the first quarter).
“At halftime, the challenge was to get off the field with the first drive defensively, then go punch it in. We did that. We wanted to put pressure on them defensively. We did that. So, we achieved a lot of our objectives, even though I told the team there’s a ton we still need to clean up. But all in all, it was a great win.”
Joiner Runs Wild
Joiner said he knows what it’s like to run free and easy. He has experienced being in the zone. It was high-school football — Joiner’s South Lake team against rival Lake Minneola. Joiner rushed for 372 yards and eight touchdowns, tying a modern-era record for Florida high-school football.
Joiner said he had a similar feeling against Charlotte. The only thing that stopped him was the flow of the game, an insurmountable margin that allowed him to rest and others to carry the load. By then, the damage was done. Joiner had a career-high 140 rushing yards (on just nine carries) with touchdown runs of 54 and 45 yards.
“The last time I had a game like this was high school, my senior year (against Lake Minneola),” Joiner said. “When you have a game like that and you see the holes so wide open, you’ve got to go love up the O-line, the receivers and everybody who is involved in those plays. Those runs normally don’t come that easy. When everybody is working together like tonight, I love that.”
“These are the kind of games you really enjoy,” Archie said. “You just make the reads, hand the ball off and watch your playmakers make the plays. It was a beautiful thing.”
Joiner smiled when told he had rushed for a career-high total. But he quickly said that wasn’t his priority.
“It always feels good to break records,” Joiner said. “I never said I was going to come in and do that. Winning the game, that’s the biggest piece to me.
“We want to continue to stack days throughout the week. Our focus is to go 1-0 each week. Winning this game gets us one step closer to getting that bowl game at the end of the season.”
Paco’s Pick-Six
Austin, a transfer from James Madison University, has made an immediate impact this season. But, oh, what could have been? On probably a half-dozen plays this season, he has been in position with his hands on the football. But he couldn’t pull it in for a potentially game-changing interception. He had grown weary of the ribbing during film sessions.
“Coach T.O. (defensive coordinator Todd Orlando) kept telling me that was enough on the PBU’s (passes broken up) and we needed some picks,” Austin said. “I guess it was finally my time.”
In the third quarter, Austin stepped in front of a Purdie pass attempt, catching it up near the pads, then easily striding into the end zone.
“Getting a pick-six brings an entirely different kind of energy to the game,” Austin said. “I feel like the (USF) offense helped us out, then we helped out our offense. On that play, the ball hit me in the chest as soon as I turned around. I was going to make sure I caught that one. I was tired of dropping them.”
Austin saved his biggest smile for a teammate, freshman defensive back Fred Gaskin, who got his first career interception.
“It feels good watching the game from the sideline (with a comfortable lead),” Austin said. “You calm down a little bit. When Fred got that pick, I was so happy for him. Fred catches at least three picks a week (in practice). How you practice is how you play, so it was great to see Fred find the ball like that. It was just a great night for a lot of guys on our defense.”
Behind The Curtain
A few observations on game elements that didn‘t get the primary headlines:
* On Joiner’s 54-yard TD run early in the third quarter, TE Gunnar Greenwald lined up wide right, then came in motion to the left. Greenwald delivered a wipeout block up the middle, allowing Joiner to scamper untouched through the hole. When does blocking get serious love? Greenwald deserved it on that play. In fact, the quarterbacks congregated on the sideline and they were positively giddy when viewing Greenwald’s block on the iPad video.
* The Bulls picked up their third road victory this season and stand at 3-2 away from Raymond James Stadium. If USF wins at Rice on Nov. 30, it will have the program’s sixth winning road record in 28 seasons, while winning four road games for the fourth time (along with 2007, 2016 and 2017). Why is that such a big deal? Before Golesh’s arrival, the Bulls had just four road wins in the previous five seasons. In Golesh’s two seasons, the Bulls already have five road victories.
* USF’s defensive pressure has improved exponentially. The Bulls have 28 sacks, ranking 18th in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and already bettering last season’s 13-game total of 23. What’s more, the Bulls rank ninth nationally in tackles for loss (76) and should surpass last season’s total (98).
Next Up: Tulsa – Saturday • 3:30 p.m. • Raymond James Stadium • ESPN+
When the Bulls have their final regular-season home game Saturday afternoon against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-7, 1-5 AAC), it’s the Fan Appreciation Game (lots of prizes … must be present to win). It’s also Senior Day, the annual sentimental farewell for the USF players competing in their final home game. It’s time to salute a host of fan favorites, such as Atkins and Joiner, who have given their entire careers to USF.
And, of course, it’s an opportunity for the Bulls to secure bowl eligibility for the second straight season.
The USF-Tulsa series is tied 3-3, but the Golden Hurricane have won three straight, including a wild 48-42 victory in 2022, when the Oklahoma Friday night temperatures dipped into the 20’s and freshman QB Byrum Brown was scorching in his first collegiate start (21 straight completions, 240 yards passing, 76 yards rushing, four total touchdowns).
This season’s version of Tulsa, coming off a 38-31 home defeat against East Carolina on Thursday night, has surrendered an average of 43.8 points in its six AAC games. Since becoming the starter, QB Cooper Legas (formerly of Utah State) has tossed 10 touchdown passes against only two interceptions in three games.