By FRANCIS FEDOR
In a college football season with many twists, the University of South Florida Bulls outlasted San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl, scoring last in OT to notch a scintillating victory, 41-39. The Bulls won their second consecutive bowl game, the first back-to-back bowl wins since 2018.
The season saw USF facing Alabama on the road and staying with the Crimson Tide until costly late game mistakes made the final score unrepresentative of the grit showed by the Bulls for the majority of the game. USF then welcomed another top 10, at the time, challenger to Tampa in the Miami Hurricanes and Heisman Trophy contending QB Cam Ward. The Bulls again showed promise in staying with the Hurricanes, but Miami proved to be too much to overcome. In the game, the Bulls had starting QB Byrum Brown go down with an injury, turning over the reins to Bryce Archie. Brown returned the following week and left again with an injury. #3 Bryce finished the season as the USF starting QB and led the team to a 4-4 record in his games started, keeping the Bulls in the bowl hunt.
Bull senior WR and PR Sean Atkins will graduate holding the all-time USF receiving record.
USF QB Bryce Archie takes reps pregame during the season. Archie stepped into the starter’s role after Byrum Brown went down with an injury and carried the Bulls into a win over San Jose State in Hawaii.
USF was selected for the Hawaii bowl to face the 7-5 San Jose State Spartans. The Spartans looked like they’d put the first points on the board, but the receiver fumbled the ball out of the end zone, allowing the Bulls to take over and go 80 yards for the first TD of the game. The Bulls followed up that score with a Kelley Joiner 4-yard rushing TD. They added a third, a 93-yard Keith TaRon kickoff return after an SJS TD to go up 21-7. USF held a 24-20 fourth quarter lead only to see SJS come back with its own TD two minutes later to set up the fantastic finish. The Bulls setup a final seconds 41-yard John Cannon FG to tie the game with two seconds left. The teams traded first OT TDs to remain tied. Both scored FGs in the second OT. After the second OT, the teams had to play for 2-point conversions with both converting in the third OT and neither converting in the fourth. The Bulls converted in the fifth OT to secure the win. The game saw senior WR Sean Atkins claim the title of All-Time receiving yardage leader at 2.167 yards. The game, with what looks like a baseball line score, ended just shy of 12:30 a.m., Tampa time. The length of the contest, 5-OT’s, was the longest in bowl history and the longest in Bulls history.
Francis Fedor Photos
South Florida head coach Alex Golesh shows emotion during a regular season game vs. Miami. Coach Golesh has led the team to successive bowl wins in his two years at the helm.
The Bulls have seen two years of success since Coach Golesh took over the head coaching duties. He has built a coaching staff around him that preaches a next play philosophy. And USF considers itself in every game. A tradition is building in the USF Football program, and it should translate into players considering USF for their football home. “Come to the Bay,” the inscription on the back of the helmets, is a part of the pitch, which also includes “Stay in the Bay” to lure talent to South Florida and elevate the program nationally. The team flew home with momentum for the 2025 season that will see them open their season on Aug. 30 vs. a BCS Playoff contender, the Boise State Broncos. The Bulls will then travel to play the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes. And in 2027, the Bulls will look to be heading into their inaugural season in their new on-campus home with a string of bowl victories.