By Karis Fedor
The University of South Florida Bulls ended their regular season with a 52-3 victory over Rice University on senior night at Raymond James Stadium, where they were undefeated all season. The game was played amidst rumors of Coach Golesh’s departure and whether or not Senior QB Byrum Brown will return next season on an additional year of red shirt eligibility.
The senior night festivites were a great reminder and tribute to Golesh and his resurection of a program that was on life support before he arrived. USF ran the table at Raymond James at 6-0, and being a combined six points in two American Conference losses to be in the running for a College Football Playoff berth as the American conference champion.
Alex Golesh shares a moment with Jaden Alexis in Golesh’s last game as head coach of USF. Golesh accepted an offer to move to Auburn University (SEC) to take its head coaching position.
USF Jeremiah Koger outraces a Rice defender in regular season finale at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 29.
Francis Fedor Photos
Bulls senior QB Byrum Brown celebrates a TD vs Rice in regular season finale at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 29
The Bulls (9-3, 6-2 American) jumped to a 28-point lead behind Brown, who was 16-for-24 for 275 yards with four passing touchdowns and 104 yards running and a touchdown. Brown completed his redshirt senior season with 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing, becoming the 12th player in Football Subdivision history to reach those milestones in a season. The Bulls again put up a strong defensive effort, holding Rice to 257 total yards. Senior linebackers Jhalyn Shuler and Mac Harris led the defense with seven and five tackles, respectively. The Bulls defense was separated from a shoutout when Rice kicked a FG to get on the board. Otherwise, the USF defense pitched another gem.
USF took a 14-0 lead on Brown TD passes to Keshaun Singleton, who recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with six passes and two touchdowns for 125 yards. Singleton’s 877 receiving yards this year is third best in program history and his eight touchdowns rank second.
The Bulls finished a strong regular season that saw several program records set, including its eighth 500-yard or more game in the last nine outings. USF has 6,020 yards this season, the third best in program history. The Bulls recorded 281 passing yards during the game, giving them a season total of 3,315 yards, which is second best in program history.
The days leading up to game were filled with rumors of Coach Alex Golesh’s possible departure to become head coach at University of Arkansas. Those rumors turned out to be false, but it was confirmed on November 30 that Golesh is leaving USF to become head coach at Auburn University. During his three seasons at USF, Golesh led the Bulls to a 23-15 record and elevated the program to national recognition with bowl appearances and national top 20 rankings, including the Playoff poll. In the three years prior to his hire in 2022, the Bulls had a total of four wins in those seasons.
Bulls senior Keshaun Singleton works to break a tackle in regular season finale at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 29. Singleton caught two TDs on Senior Night.
The Bulls CEO, Rob Higgins, announced Kevin Patrick, currently the offensive line coach, as the interim HC as USF Football operations begins its coaching search. Its second in five seasons but this time around the result of the success of a coach, rather than the failure. The program has a new on-campus stadium to dangle in front of any potential candidate.
Excitement will remain for the USF program and a goal of first, an American Conference championship, and then, pursuit of an FBS Playoff Berth are now real considerations for the Bulls faithful.
Francis Fedor contributed to this article.
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