It's a Victory Rewind of the sights, sound bites, stats, highlights and learning experiences from USF's 48-14 triumph against the Charlotte 49ers, while beginning the lookahead to all sorts of bowl-game possibilities.
The Big Play
USF took the lead for good, 14-7, on a 62-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Sean Atkins, a former high-school quarterback, to running back Kelley Joiner Jr. Atkins caught a lateral from Byrum Brown near the left sideline, set up behind a block from tight end Weston Wolff, and flung a perfect spiral to a wide-open Joiner, who scampered uncovered from the backfield.
Game Balls
* Quarterback Byrum Brown, who completed 22 of 30 passes (73%) for 253 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 43 yards and another score, a 35-yard touchdown run.
* Jhalyn Shuler and D.J. Harris, who tied for the team lead with nine tackles each. Additionally, Shuler had a career-high 1.5 tackles for a loss.
* Wide receiver Sean Atkins, who became the first USF player to throw a touchdown pass and catch a touchdown pass in the same game since Charlie Jackson in 1998.
* Running back Kelley Joiner Jr., who had two touchdown receptions, while rushing for 33 yards on four carries.
Notable Numbers
3 — Number of USF players who had 100-yard rushing games this season — Byrum Brown, Nay'Quan Wright and Michel Dukes, who posted his first with 104 yards on 15 carries against Charlotte.
34 — USF's margin of victory, its largest in a conference game since a 36-point win against Temple on Sept. 17, 2017.
54 — Career USF games played by offensive tackle Donovan Jennings, who tied the program record of Dwayne Boyles and can sit atop the all-time list by playing in USF's bowl game.
85 — Number of tackles by linebacker Jhalyn Shuler, who leads the team. With 15 tackles in the bowl game, Shuler can become the 13th USF player with a 100-tackle season.
100 — Number of USF wins at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls finished 4-2 at home this season and secured their 18th winning home record in 27 seasons of football.
3,078 — Number of passing yards by quarterback Byrum Brown to set a USF single-season record and become the first to reach 3,000 yards.
The Bulls Are Going Bowling
There were plenty of positive elements to consider after USF defeated the Charlotte 49ers, 48-14, on Saturday night in the regular-season finale at Raymond James Stadium
But there was an obvious overarching headline:
THE BULLS ARE GOING BOWLING!
USF (6-6, 4-4 American) earned its first postseason bid since 2018 after an efficient and convincing dispatching of the 49ers (3-9, 2-6 American). The program's 11th bowl-game destination will be revealed no later than Sunday.
The Bulls gained 503 yards and their defense turned in a gem, limiting the 49ers to just 298. Brown had four touchdown passes to four different pass-catchers — Atkins, Joiner, Jaden Alexis and Naiem Simmons — and rushed for another score. Atkins threw a touchdown pass of his own. Meanwhile, John Cannon had field goals of 22 and 31 yards.
But those are just details.
The visuals were much more compelling.
There was the classic video of Simmons, rolling his helmet like a bowling ball into a crowd of teammates, who tumbled like bowling pins.
There was nickel back Daquan Evans and offensive tackle Donovan Jennings — two of the most familiar faces on Senior Night — lost in their emotions. Evans went up into the stands to greet his family, friends and young son. Jennings raised both arms in triumph, striking a warrior-like pose, as fans roared in approval.
There was Coach Alex Golesh, giving himself a quiet moment to survey the scene, his eyes welling in tears as he stood in the embrace of his family, his players celebrating all over the field as fireworks fired off the scoreboard lighting up the background.
"A year ago, I took this job with the expectation that it was going to be a ton of work, with the expectation that we can bring a championship here to Tampa at some point,'' Golesh said. "Every single week, I've said that will happen at whatever point we're ready to get to that moment. Tonight, we were ready for this moment.
"At the end of the day, the standard is to be the best version of ourselves as fast as we can and to win as fast as we possibly can. And we'll continue to do that, we'll continue to build. I'm super grateful for our older guys, super grateful for this team as a whole and super grateful to our fans. I'm super grateful to be in this position to build a football program here in Tampa that everybody can be proud of.''
For the players, it was a combination of child-like joy, self-satisfaction and gratitude.
"We have definitely gone through the hard,'' said Jennings, referring to four consecutive losing seasons. "I saw all my family and friends in the stands and they were happy. I've seen them in past years not so happy, trying to help me and cheer me up. So, to enjoy a moment like this, it's honestly a blessing. It wouldn't do anything to change it. I'm blessed and honored to be in this position.''
"I'm not gonna lie, I wanted this bad for Donno (Jennings),'' Brown said. "He was so helpful to me and so welcoming when I walked into USF as a freshman. I wanted it for him and all the other seniors, a lot more than I wanted it for me, just the chance to play at a high clip and get another chance to play. We now have the culture here that we expect to win every game. It's as simple as that.''
Brown's Big Numbers
There has been a clear Big Four when talking about USF's quarterback history — Marquel Blackwell, Matt Grothe, B.J. Daniels and Quinton Flowers.
Make it a Big Five.
Make room for Brown, whose impressive array of numbers are only surpassed by the kid's unflappable nature and team-first attitude.
* He has 3,078 passing yards for a USF single-season record.
* He has 23 touchdown passes, trailing the single-season mark of Flowers (25 in 2017) by just two.
* His completion percentage is 64.1, which has edged ahead of Grothe's single-season record of 63.9.
* His single-season total offense figure is 3,823 yards, ranking third all-time at USF and inching closer to just the second 4,000-yard season while trailing Flowers at the top (4,342 in 2016).
*He is just the third Bull to post 2,600-plus yards passing and 700-plus rushing in the same season.
*His 34 total touchdowns responsible for are tied with Flower's 2015 mark for the third-most in a season and on the doorstep of jumping into second (36).
"Byrum is the GOAT (greatest of all-time),'' Atkins said.
Atkins: Amazing Again
Atkins, the former walk-on and current record-setter, was beaming after throwing a touchdown pass and catching another. He's now 3-for-3 passing (with completions of 62, 39 and 27 yards) on the year, which doesn't include a two-point conversion completion in the Rice game.
He had seven catches for 61 yards, increasing his season total to a USF-record 86 receptions for 961 yards, leaving him 39 yards short of becoming the program's first 1,000-yard receiver. He also has 115 career receptions, placing him seventh all-time behind Xavier Weaver (116) and within range of joining the top five this season.
Golesh said Atkins serves as a great example for the USF way of preparation and execution.
"He has gotten better at things like sleeping and eating and he has had as good of a six weeks as anybody in college football because his process was right,'' Golesh said. "Sean Atkins will tell you he's the best receiver in college football because his process has been so elite, he actually believes that.
"When you get a team full of guys with real confidence — and I'm not talking about sitting here talking smack, but actual confidence — then you've really got something. Same with coaches. I know I can coach at an elite clip when I'm not spending my time dealing with player issues and other nonsense that isn't important to football. So that's what we have to continue to do, get stronger, get faster, go out and recruit. There are so many things we can get better at.''
Atkins said he's grateful for Golesh's influence.
"He has turned everything around for me and given me a better perspective,'' Atkins said. "He's such a good mentor. He knows how it's supposed to look. He supported me and gave me the belief in myself to be my best on every single snap. He saw that before I did and that is what has led to me being productive.''
Defensive Takeaways
USF's defense had three takeaways against Charlotte — interceptions by nickel back Daquan Evans, linebacker Mac Harris and safety Logan Berryhill — that continued USF's predictable path to victory.
In USF's six victories this season, it has 17 takeaways.
In USF's six defeats, it has just three.
"One thing I've learned is takeaways win games,'' Berryhill said. "When we have a good turnover margin, we usually win those games. So, we've got to keep plugging and getting those turnovers because they make a difference.''
Twice Is Nice For Joiner
In the spring, when Joiner reflected on his star-crossed USF career, he said, "I don't feel like I've actually done that much.''
Some of that was due to injuries. He missed 10 games over the past two seasons.
Some of that was caused by getting lost in the shuffle of other backs.
But Joiner had a game to remember against Charlotte with two touchdown receptions. Golesh said he appreciates Joiner's work and his attitude, which had him shifted to receiver when the season began, then back to the backfield.
"I don't know if we helped Kelly by moving him to receiver, but he was so unselfish and willing to do whatever we needed him to do,'' Golesh said. "When Sean Atkins and Naiem Simmons came on in the slot, Kelley wasn't getting the touches so we finally moved him back to running back.
"I give Kelley a ton of credit for being so unselfish. That dude is like, 'Coach, whatever you need me to do to help the team.' That dude is pretty cool. It looks like we have the Kelley Joiner we saw in the spring. He has gained his footing.''
In the backfield, Michel Dukes got most of the work and produced his first 100-yard game (15 carries, 104 yards).
"Matt Merritt (running backs coach) will be the first to tell you we're rolling with the back who is hot,'' Golesh said. "If you're hot, we're not going to take you out and make it not hot. Mikey got going there tower the end of the second quarter.''
Behind The Curtain
A few observations on game elements that didn't get the primary headlines:
* The game's most spectacular run was turned in by nickel back Daquan Evans, who grabbed his first interception of the season on the final play of the first half. Evans ran left, reversed his field while breaking four tackles and scampering down the right sideline for what looked like a 35-yard score with no time remaining. There was a flag for an apparent crack-back block, giving USF an untimed down. Then a video review revealed that Evans' knee was down before he crossed the goal line, so Charlotte declined the penalty to end the half. After all of that, the play amounted to nothing. But Evans' jaw-dropping athleticism won't be forgotten.
* Charlotte coach Biff Poggi made a curious decision when the 49ers, leading 7-0 in the first quarter, went for it on fourth-and-1 from their 10-yard line. When Trexler Ivey's deep right-sideline pass couldn't be flagged down by Jairus Mack, USF took over possession and scored on the next play with Brown hitting Atkins on a TD pass. The game's momentum spun to USF. "I thought that was huge,'' Golesh said. "I've got to imagine they were trying to hard count it, felt like we jumped (offsides) and then snapped it. That's a scary world to live in and they chose to live in it.''
* Why did USF execute an onside kick while leading 31-14 in the third quarter? Cannon had just hit a 22-yard field goal. "We kicked a field goal there, which I've been known to not (do),'' Golesh said. "I had talked to our guys about being aggressive. I told them we were going to unload the clip. After the field goal, (defensive back) Aamaris Brown of all people, he's like, 'Man, you said we're gonna unload the clip.' … So (on the onside kick), we unloaded the clip.'' After recovering, USF drove for another touchdown, a 35-yard run by Brown.
* Is there a better choice than Golesh for AAC Coach of the Year? Coming off a 1-11 season and losing several premium talents to the transfer portal, Golesh, a first-time head coach and the former Tennessee offensive coordinator, guided the Bulls to a 6-6 season and the program's first bowl game since 2018. He has rebuilt confidence in USF football and has a recruiting class rated as the AAC's best. He's consistent in his beliefs and his approach. And he's just getting started.
Next Up: Bowl Game
Whether it's Tampa, Orlando, Boca Raton, Boston, Frisco or beyond — many possibilities are in play — USF is headed to the program's 11th bowl-game appearance.
Even beyond the postseason exposure and the opportunity to finish 7-6, the Bulls will benefit from a dozen or so extra practices to galvanize the improvement of young players.
Golesh made it clear that 6-6 isn't the standard. He's looking with envy to this weekend's AAC Championship Game — where the Tulane Green Wave faces the SMU Mustangs with a potential major bowl bid on the line — and considers that the only acceptable destination moving forward.
But even at 6-6 — with an "imperfect'' team, as Golesh puts it — the foundation has been laid.
According to Golesh's game plan, it only gets better from here.
–#GoBulls–
