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USF (1-1; 0-0 American) at Southern Miss (1-1; 0-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Sept. 14 • 7:00 P.M. • M.M. Roberts Stadium (36,000) • Hattiesburg, Miss.
SURFACE: Sports Turf
TV: ESPN+: Jason Baker (P-by-P), Austin Davis (analyst)
AUDIO: 102.5 FM, 102.5-HD2 The Strike; TuneIn (Bulls Unlimited);
SERIES: Southern Miss leads, 3-1
IN TAMPA: Tied, 1-1
IN HATTIESBURG: Southern Miss leads, 2-0
LAST TIME: Southern Miss won, 27-20, in '04 in Tampa
VS SUN BELT: 8-1
USF GAME NOTES
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — If you're into college football — particularly as a player, coach or ardent fan — pain is an eventual part of the equation. Even with championship-level teams, it's inevitable.
But in addition to healing the normal physical and emotional wounds from last week's 42-16 defeat against the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, the USF Bulls are dealing with the agony of a massive missed opportunity.
A few overthrown long passes here, a few red-zone breakdowns there, and the Bulls could've been in position for something really special. Alabama's three-touchdown flurry in the final six minutes, producing a doesn't-tell-the-story final score, made matters even worse.
"It breaks my soul because we couldn't go finish that game,'' Bulls head coach Alex Golesh said.
"We feel like we left a lot of yards and points out there,'' offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said.
"We're all heartbroken about what happened in that fourth quarter,'' defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. "But we've got to move forward. As always, it's never about them (opposing team). It's about us.''
Last week, we proclaimed that we were about to learn all about the USF Bulls — and we did. The Bulls are a darn good football team.
So now, with the Bulls (1-1) facing the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-1) on Saturday night at venerable M.M. Roberts Stadium (affectionately known as "The Rock''), we prepare to learn even more.
Coming off the Alabama experience — and in the shadow of the Sept. 21 mega-game against the Miami Hurricanes at Raymond James Stadium — fans are obligated to refer to Southern Miss as a "trap game.'' Such references might even be a state law.
Unfortunately, it's not accurate. Golesh insists that USF's developing program has no right to look past anyone — ever — so full attention remains on the Golden Eagles.
Once upon a time, USF and Southern Miss shared a league home in Conference USA. Only the old-timers remember that some of the C-USA teams weren't wild about USF's rapid new-kid-on-the-block ascension. Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower said the league should concentrate on "quality, not quantity'' when expanding. So, USF, for no good reason really, was forced to cool its heels for an additional season as a Football Bowl Subdivision independent (when, maybe not coincidentally, it swept the four C-USA teams on its schedule).
The Bulls and Golden Eagles actually had a mini-rivalry going and split their four football meetings.
But the last matchup was two decades ago, so your ancient history lesson ends there. Now it's about current events.
And that brings us to the four keys that can help USF get back on the winning track:
Be Smart With Byrum Brown
There's no doubt about it: USF has one of the nation's most dynamic quarterbacks. He gave fits to Alabama by rushing 23 times for 108 yards (his fifth career 100-yard game). He also absorbed some physical punishment. Did that at least partially account for his subpar passing performance (15-for-35, 103 yards, no touchdowns)? Possibly. But Byrum Brown can't play the game in bubble wrap, either.
Brown is 6-foot-3 and a couple of biscuits short of 230 pounds. He's a tough dude and that's a big reason why he's universally loved by his teammates. He will never retreat from a challenge.
"There were times when he had the ball five or six times in a row … but also remember that Byrum is built for that,'' Gordon said. "Not that we want him to do it, but physically, he loves it. He can handle that. He's capable of doing that and he thrives. You didn't see one time in that game where one guy brought him down. The defense knows they have to run to the ball when Byrum has it in his hands.
"It's an element the defense must be aware of. But obviously, we need Byrum to be healthy, so he has to be smart.''
Brown has improved with his decision-making — knowing when to stay in the pocket and when to take off — so he's not a careless player. He had zero turnovers against Alabama and led multiple scoring drives, although he failed to cash in on at least three long passing attempts when receivers broke free.
Brown is USF's ultimate weapon — but one that should be deployed judiciously.
Turn Up The Heat
A very pleasing trend has developed with USF's defense. The Bulls are deep, ultra-athletic and aggressive. They fly around with vicious intent. Opposing offenses sometimes get snowed under.
Keep it up, fellas.
If anything, turn up the heat even more against Southern Miss quarterback Tate Rodemaker (the former Florida State player and one-time USF commit).
"For the most part, I thought we played fearless against Alabama,'' Orlando said.
Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe was sacked three times (B-backer Jason Vaughn, linebacker Mac Harris, nickel back Kajuan Banks) and the prime Heisman Trophy candidate ducked away from a half-dozen other serious pressures.
Meanwhile, defensive tackle Decarius Hawthorne, defensive back Tawfiq Byard, Vaughn, Harris and Banks led the consistent penetration into the backfield with six tackles for loss.
Even while playing without the injured Jhalyn Shuler, last season's leading tackler, the Bulls got notable performances from cornerback De'Shawn Rucker (10 tackles), linebacker Jamie Pettway (six) and cornerback Brent Austin (six).
We're only two games in, but it looks like USF has significantly improved its pass-rush and overall pressure, which has been a missing ingredient for several seasons.
"We keep talking to our guys about playing fast, playing fast, over-communicating … a confidence deal,'' Orlando said. "For the past year and a half, we've been trying to figure this crew out. How do they process a call? How do you window dress some of the calls? You want to make it as comfortable as possible. That's probably the biggest difference. It looks faster and more physical because our guys have confidence. And now we've got new players, the depth behind them, that can make those same plays.''
Perform Well On First Down
Against Alabama, the third-down conversions (2-for-18) were an eyesore. That was particularly disturbing for Golesh, who made it an offseason priority to perform more effectively "in the margins'' (speciality situations such as third-down and red-zone).
The Bulls barely gave themselves a chance because of their first-down performance. USF gained 147 yards on first down (for a 4.1-yard average), which doesn't sound awful. But the three biggest first-down plays occurred on the same fourth-quarter drive (Brown's 14-yard pass and a pair of 19-yard runs by Nay'Quan Wright) that resulted in a field goal.
USF was swimming upstream the whole game. There were no explosive plays on first down (15 yards or greater). There was only one third-and-short situation the entire game — third-and-1 on the game's final play, when Kelley Joiner gained 5 inconsequential yards.
The Bulls can't play their best game if the situation remains third-and-desperate.
"It's a tough place to live,'' Golesh said.
Get Some Turnovers
Nothing discourages a home team faster than committing a bunch of turnovers. That's a key part of the recipe against Southern Miss.
There were two USF fumble recoveries against Alabama — defensive tackle Bernard Gooden, when Milroe mishandled the center-snap deep in USF territory, and freshman place-kicker Nico Gramatica (of all people) when USF's Ben Knox forced a fumble by Kendrick Law on the second half's opening kickoff.
Some interceptions would be nice as well. Shuler and D'Marco Augustin each got one in the opener against Bethune-Cookman University, but Milroe avoided that pick-off fate.
What would a few more turnovers mean? Let's remember that key stat from 2023: The Bulls had 21 takeaways in their seven victories. In their six defeats? Just three — total.
–#GoBulls–
