By FRANCIS FEDOR
The South Florida Bulls continued their impressive season with a 48-13 win against Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in front of 45K fans on Homecoming night in Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls extended their current winning streak to four games and became bowl eligible with the win, their sixth of the season, with their only blemish being a loss to the University of Miami on Sept. 13. The win sets up a big American Conference match-up on the road in Memphis on Saturday, Oct. 25. The game will be a noon start on ESPN2 in the storied Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Pregame Pyrotechnics welcome the USF Bulls to the field before kickoff against Florida Atlantic on Oct. 18.
As has been the case a number of times this season, Byrum Brown used his athletic ability, specifically his skill to pull the ball down and take off, to score the first points of the game just over three minutes into the game. Brown finished with 256 yards passing, 111 yards rushing, and four TDs (4 Pass/1 Run) for his second 100+ yard rushing game on the season. The Owls got on the board with a late first quarter FG, but the Bulls answered with two second quarter scores, both TDs, to extend the lead to 21-3, The Owls kicked a second FG with zeros on the clock to send the teams to halftime with USF up 21-6.
FAU stayed in the game with a TD to open the third quarter scoring, but they were the last points the Owls would score. The second half was all USF with three Bull TDs sandwiched around two Nico Gramatic FG’s (41 and 28). Jonathan Echols, Wyatt Sullivan and Jeremiah Kroger (a 60-yard score) all caught TD passes from Brown with Nykahi Davenport scoring a rushing TD at 9:05 of the fourth quarter. Kroger led all receivers with 90-yards.
Bulls RB Alvin Isaac looks for running room while #8 sets up a block in win over Florida Atlantic on Oct. 18.
The home crowd of 45K was the largest crowd since 2009 and is the fifth largest in program history. The USF defense slammed the door on the Owls’ running game, only allowing 23 yards on the night. The Bulls extended their string of 15 games in a row, forcing a turnover. USF played a mistake-free game without a turnover. The four-game winning streak and starting conference play at 3-0 for only the fourth time in program history are both the best since 2018.
Francis Fedor Photos
USF RB Nykahi Davenport gets tripped up after a big gain in win over Florida Atlantic on Oct. 18.
Memphis will be coming into the game off a 31-24 road loss to the University of Alabama Birmingham and rolled FAU in Boca Raton on Sept. 27, 55-26, for a comparison of a common opponent. The Tigers and the Bulls met last season on Oct. 12 here in Tampa, and Memphis left with the win. The Bulls are playing well on offense and will be looking to avenge the 2024 home loss to keep their winning streak in-tact.
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