By FRANCIS FEDOR
The Bulls traveled into Birmingham, Alabama, and left with the 48-18 win over the Blazers. USF closes out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 29, vs Rice on Senior Night inside Raymond James Stadium at 7 p.m., and then will await the unveiling of its bowl selection. The internet has been speculating that the Bulls could be a candidate for the Gasparilla Bowl here in Tampa, facing another Florida team in the Seminoles of Florida State. While the Bulls had designs on a potential Bowl Championship Playoff selection, an FSU v USF match up would be a marquee match up for the region.
The Bulls got off to a quick start over UAB, in a mostly empty Protective Stadium (home of the Birminham Bowl) when Fred Gaskins jumped the Blazers passing route for the interception. Gaskins was later ejected from the game for targeting the UAB QB, Jalen Kitna, on a helmet-to-helmet hit. Kitna was cleared at that time and returned to the game a few plays later.
Byrom Brown, in the midst of a season where there are conversations in media circles about his being considered for the Heisman, took two plays to capitalize on the interception. Brown connected with Mudia Reuben and then used his legs to drive into the end zone for the game’s first score. The Blazers kept the game close in the first half with a FG, setup by a long 68-yard kickoff return, and a personal foul aided TD to take the early lead. The Bulls regained their composure, Brown capped a 96-yard, 10-play drive that culminated with a TD pass to Wyatt Sulivan to take a 14-10 lead and the team never trailed the rest of the game. The Bulls tacked on a Gramatica FG to extend the lead to seven going into the half.
The second half, as has been the case most of this season, was all USF. The offense, in large part due to the athleticism Brown brings to the field, has been strong in closing out games they take a halftime lead into. USF has outscored opponents 137-30 in the third quarter of games this season. The Bulls used four second half TDs and a 43-yard Gramatica FG to run up the score on the Blazers. Brown connected with Reuben for a 60-yard score and then later, a 59-yard hookup. Nykahi Davenport scored on a 2-yard run, and Brown closed out the scoring with a 2-yard run. Brown finished with 437 yards of total offense in typical Byrum Brown fashion, the pass complementing his running skills. Davenport added 121 yards on the ground to mix up the look for the defense.
USF came into the game fourth in the nation in total offense at 492 yards-per-game and fifth in scoring at 41 points-per-game. The Bulls marked their seventh game with 500 or more yards for the season. The 8-3 record is their best since 2017, when they went 10-2. Their 27 touchdowns this season is tied for the most in program history, previously set in 2023.
The Bulls return home to Tampa and look to close out the season on a positive note and an eye on a potentially local bowl game for the South Florida fan base.