It's a Victory Rewind of the sights, sound bites, stats, highlights and learning experiences from USF's 49-24 road triumph against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, while beginning the look ahead to Saturday night's game against the No. 8-ranked Miami Hurricanes at Raymond James Stadium.

The Big Play

Leading 28-21 in a back-and-forth game, the Bulls stalled and faced fourth-and-4 at the Southern Miss 20-yard line. On came PK John Cannon for an apparent 37-yard field-goal attempt. But holder Ryan Bolduc got the snap and shoveled it back to Cannon, nimble and fast, running left to right on the fake. Cannon nearly scored, diving into the pylon, but only after barely stepping out at the 3. On the next play, Ta'Ron Keith barreled into the end zone with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter, giving USF the momentum it wouldn't lose.

"We were waiting for the right moment to make that play happen on special teams and it worked perfectly,'' head coach Alex Golesh said. "It was the right time and the right spot on the field. I sat next to John Cannon in our special teams meeting (Friday) and I said, 'Hey dude, we're going to run that joker.' He just kind of smiled. But as you saw, John Cannon is a great athlete and so is Ryan Bolduc.

"Those guys went out and executed. They have about two hours a day (at practice) where nobody knows what they're doing, but my hope is they were practicing that. I joke with them that they probably play Xbox for an hour, then practice for an hour. As long as they go through the uprights, have at it. Those guys executed it perfectly and I'm super proud of them.''

Game Balls

* QB Ryan Bolduc and PK John Cannon, who executed the fake field-goal attempt to perfection.

* RB Kelley Joiner, who had 10 carries for 117 yards, including touchdown runs of 43 and 50 yards.

* NT Doug Blue-Eli, whose diving interception off a tipped pass at the USF 7-yard line snuffed out a promising third-quarter drive by Southern Miss.

* RB Nay'Quan Wright, who had 15 carries for 105 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown run.

* LB Mac Harris, whose menacing presence provided five tackles (tying for the USF team lead), one pass break-up, two quarterback hits and one tipped pass that led to Blue-Eli's interception.

* WR Sean Atkins, who had five receptions for 87 yards (three of which produced first downs) and a career-high 39-yard punt return.

* QB Byrum Brown, who completed his first nine pass attempts, finishing 19-for-29 with 193 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 72 more yards and another score.

Notable Numbers

6 — Number of different USF players who scored a touchdown (TE Payten Singletary, RB Kelley Joiner, WR Joshua Hardeman, QB Byrum Brown, RB Ta'Ron Keith and RB Nay'Quan Wright).

7 — Amount of times (in 16 games) that an Alex Golesh-coached USF team has surpassed 40 points.

9-0 — USF's all-time record against Sun Belt Conference opponents (with each victory having a double-digit margin).

33:39 — Time of possession for USF, which resulted in a resounding category edge against Southern Miss (26:21), an atypical occurrence for Alex Golesh's go-go offense. "That rarely happens, so I'm going to hang onto that one for the next 12 hours,'' Golesh joked after the game.

134 — Number of consecutive passes attempted (dating back to last season) without an interception by QB Byrum Brown. That's third-best in USF history (the record is 235 by Marquel Blackwell in 2001).

562 — Total yards by USF (the 22nd-highest total in program history) and the most since the Bulls rolled up 583 at Memphis last season.

Seven Touchdowns Later … Victory!

It began horribly. Eight minutes into Saturday night's game at Southern Miss, the USF Bulls had been out-gained 137 yards to 33 while trailing 14-0.

Then things changed — quickly — and the Bulls were off and running.

USF scored touchdowns on seven of its next 10 drives — the run spoiled only by two punts and a lost fumble — and the Bulls roared to a 49-24 non-conference triumph against Southern Miss at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Four of USF's TD drives comprised 14, 13, 11 and eight plays. The Bulls rolled up 562 yards, including 369 rushing (tied for 10th-best in program history).

Meanwhile, USF's defense, after absorbing two quick early scores from the Golden Eagles, had three takeaways and limited Southern Miss to just an inconsequential field goal in the second half.

Southern Miss moved the ball with Tate Rodemaker early, then the more mobile Ethan Crawford for two quarters-plus. But the USF defense buckled down when that was needed most.

USF's offense got into an efficient rhythm that made the Bulls almost unstoppable at times.

QB Byrum Brown threw his first two touchdown passes of the season, both to USF newcomers — a 4-yarder to tight end Payten Singletary and an acrobatic 3-yard fade pattern in the end zone corner to Joshua Hardeman.

"I feel like we've had it happen to us before (going down 14-0 early) and we just had to stay calm and play our game,'' Brown said. "We did get into a nice rhythm. We started to show the things we're capable of. It was a complete team effort. And, of course, we've got that three-headed monster in the backfield. We rode those guys all night long.''

The Bulls got 100-yard rushing games from Kelley Joiner (117 yards, including touchdown runs of 43 and 50 yards) and Nay'Quan Wright (105 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown run), plus a 3-yard scoring run from Ta'Ron Keith.

"When you get the quarterback and the offensive line in a rhythm, with the backs and receivers we have, it's easy to keep it going,'' Golesh said. "When you get the third-and-long plays into third-and-medium, then third-and-short, when you start converting them, they (Southern Miss) start to wear out a little bit. As our efficiency on first down and second down got better, the third down situations became shorter and we're moving the chains. That's absolutely what we want and it allowed us to keep our kind of tempo going the whole game.''

Winning by 25 points on the road is no small thing – in fact it was the biggest road margin since 2019 – but Golesh said it was far from a perfect game. In fact, Golesh said the Bulls have a laundry list of corrections and things that need work.

"There's so much sloppy stuff out there and a lot of things are still so disappointing,'' Golesh said. "You're glad you got a win. You should get a win. But we have to clean up the sloppy stuff.

"When you look at the penalties (eight for 65 yards) and things that frustrate you as a coach, it shows you there's work to be done. We wanted to play a clean football game and we did not. So, it's back to work.''

Career Game For Kelley Joiner

Kelley Joiner's star-crossed USF career hit a high point against Southern Miss, when he carried 10 times for 117 yards, including touchdown runs of 43 and 50 yards.

Joiner, 26, came into this season with four career rushing touchdowns. He now has four rushing touchdowns in USF's first three games.

"It means a lot,'' Joiner said. "I really don't care much about stats. I really care if we get the win or not. You know, I could have 100 yards, 200 yards, negative-5 yards … and none of it matters as long as we get the win.

"I'm proud of the way we fought and finished the game the way we needed to. We were pitching and catching off the line. We did a good job up front and we just ran straight as running backs. Hats off to the offensive line, including the tight ends and receivers for their blocking. That's what South Florida football looks like when we do that.''

Golesh has constantly reiterated how much he admires the persistence of Joiner, who's in his sixth USF season to punctuate a career filled with adversity, injuries and a brief position change to slot receiver because he was needed there.

"I told everybody in the locker room how proud I am of Kelley Joiner,'' Golesh said. "He chose to keep fighting. We did him a disservice last year (the move to slot receiver) and we never let him get settled in.

"Man, it was cool to see him get going. The first few weeks, it was good to see him break out and he has been so solid for us. He has had every opportunity to back down, but he just kept fighting and fighting and fighting.''

The Artistry Of Doug Blue-Eli

USF NT Doug Blue-Eli is listed at 6-foot-2, 315 pounds. You expect him to serve as a mauler, an earth-grader, a space-occupier, an immovable object.

Against Southern Miss, Blue-Eli showed another side.

In the third quarter, with USF leading 35-21, the Golden Eagles were driving. On second-and-goal from the USF 7-yard line, QB Ethan Crawford rolled out to throw, but was harassed by LB Mac Harris, who tipped his pass attempt. The ball fluttered over the outstretched arm of LB Jamie Pettway … and into the waiting hands of Blue-Eli, who went horizontal and plucked the ball before it struck the turf.

Blue-Eli's play essentially ended the last, best hope for Southern Miss.

"I just remember getting off the ball, shedding the block, then seeing the ball in there,'' Blue-Eli said. "I didn't really know if I could catch it at the start, but I saw it getting closer and it wasn't dropping to the ground, so I just dove for it. My first career interception. I'll probably talk about it for a little while before I get on to next week.''

"Southern Miss hit us with some explosive plays, and we've got to do a better job with that, but the defense held up and helped to shift the momentum,'' Golesh said. "After the tipped pass, you see Doug's big frame getting after it and he winds up with the ball. Everybody was looking around like, 'I think we got it … Doug got it!' Super happy for him and a really big play for us.''

Behind The Curtain

A few observations on game elements that didn't get the primary headlines:

* Because the game evolved into such an efficient offensive showcase, there wasn't much attention given to how USF performed "in the margins,'' as Golesh often says. The Bulls were 4-for-4 in touchdowns from the red zone. USF was 8-for-15 on third-down conversions and 2-for-3 on fourth-down conversions. All of that is outstanding.

* LB Mac Harris and CB De'Shawn Rucker are having notable seasons. We are seeing significant improvement from Harris in real time. Formerly a valuable reserve and special teams player, Harris has matured into an invaluable part of USF's defense with his ability to create takeaways and cause havoc. Meanwhile, Rucker, a transfer from Tennessee, again showed up with a big first-quarter hit on Southern Miss WR Davis Dalton. It forced a fumble, which was recovered by SS Caqavouis Berryhill, to reverse the game's early momentum.

* It was USF's first victory in the state of Mississippi, meaning the Bulls' program has now won games in 23 different U.S. states. If you must know, USF football has prevailed in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and, of course, Florida.

Next Up: Miami

Now the Bulls prepare for one of the biggest games in the program's 28-season history. Saturday night, USF (2-1) hosts the No. 8-ranked Miami Hurricanes (3-0) at Raymond James Stadium. USF will open the third deck at Ray-Jay, so a large crowd is expected for the ESPN-televised game.

Miami, in its third season under head coach Mario Cristobal, opened with a 45-17 victory against the Florida Gators in Gainesville. Three weeks in, the Hurricanes are mentioned by most national pundits as the Atlantic Coast Conference favorite and a threat to go deep in the College Football Playoff race.

The Hurricanes feature quarterback Cam Ward, a transfer from Washington State, who already has passed for 1,035 yards (second nationally) with 11 touchdowns and one interception. His favorite target is Xavier Restrepo (14 catches for 263 yards and four touchdowns), who's coming off a school-record season (85 catches, 1,092 yards).

It's the first USF-Miami meeting since 2013, when the Hurricanes prevailed 49-21 at Ray-Jay. Miami has won five of the six games, but USF claimed a victory against the Hurricanes in Miami, a 23-20 overtime win in 2010.

Golesh said it's a huge opportunity for his football team — and the USF fan base.

"We need our fans to buy these tickets and fill that joker (Ray-Jay) up,'' Golesh said. "Man, it will be a fun night in Tampa — Ray-Jay packed out, green and gold, and against a really, really good football team. I'm really excited.

"It'll be a huge night for recruiting. It'll be a huge night in Tampa. We've got to get ourselves ready to play against a really good football team and what seems to be one of the best quarterbacks (Ward) in the country.''

–#GoBulls–