After letting it marinate through the holiday season, it's a Victory Rewind of the sights, sound bites, stats, highlights and learning experiences from USF's 41-39 five-overtime triumph against the San Jose State Spartans in the Hawai'i Bowl, while beginning the lookahead to the 2025 season.
Outstanding Numbers
The Bulls second-straight bowl win in as many seasons put them in rare company among just 15 teams to accomplish bowl or College Football Playoff wins in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, or 11 percent of the 134 FBS programs. USF was the only one to score 40-plus points in both victories. The exciting game played on Christmas Eve before a national TV audience on ESPN drew 1.93 million viewers, a 104 percent audience increase over the 2023 game.
The Big Play
There are so many to consider. But we'll go with San Jose State's third-and-1 play from the Spartan 14-yard line as the final minute approached. USF trailed 27-24. Bulls DL Michael Williams stopped Spartans RB Floyd Chalk IV for no gain. If Chalk had gotten the first down, the game was probably over. He did not. San Jose State called a time out and considered going for it, but opted to punt. That decision opened the door for, well, madness … USF's game-tying field goal and the five overtime periods. But the late-game craziness all began with Williams' big play.
Game Balls
* PK John Cannon, the game's Most Valuable Player, who forced overtime on a 41-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in regulation, the longest USF field goal in a bowl game. He also had a USF bowl record three field goals – hitting from 33 and 36 yards as well, and 13 total points in the game, a USF bowl record for a kicker.
* P Andrew Stokes, who had the game of his life while his family from Australia watched from the stands. Stokes punted seven times (three downed inside the 20) for a career-best and USF bowl record 51.0-yard average, including a clutch 72-yarder that tied the USF record long and pinned San Jose State deep on its final possession of regulation.
* WR Sean Atkins, who had a career-best and USF bowl record 11 receptions for 104 yards (but his biggest play was a huge 16-yard punt return that set up Cannon's game-tying field goal). Atkins finished the season with 79 catches, second-most all-time at USF behind his record 92 last year, for 781 yards. Atkins finished his career with a USF record 17 receptions in bowl games.
* RB Ta'Ron Keith, who had a 93-yard kickoff-return touchdown (USF's first kickoff-return score since 2022 and first ever in a bowl game). Keith finished with a 30.13-yard average on eight kickoff returns.
* QB Bryce Archie, who completed his first 12 pass attempts and finished 24-for-35 with 235 passing yards, setting a USF bowl record with 24 completions.
* SS Tavin Ward, who had a career-high 10 tackles and a 29-yard interception return to set up a USF touchdown. It was Ward's third interception on the year, giving him the USF team lead, and his second straight bowl game with an interception.
* DB Jarvis Lee, who forced a San Jose State goal-line fumble (leading to a touchback) and tipped a pass that was intercepted by Ward.
* LB Mac Harris, who had eight tackles (two tackles for a loss) and the game-clinching batted-down pass. Harris finished as USF's season leader in tackles (82), tackles for a loss (12) and sacks (four).
* DL Michael Williams, whose only credited tackle of the game was rather large.
* LB Jhalyn Shuler, who had a game-high 12 tackles, tying his career best.
Notable Numbers
8-4 — USF's all-time bowl-game record.
24 — Number of states in which USF football has now won a game. In addition to Hawaii and Florida, USF has won games in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Also add in Canada for the Bulls 2010 International Bowl victory in Toronto.
34 — Number of USF rushing touchdowns this season, good for second-most in program history (the 2016 team had 47).
57 — Amount of career USF games played for DE Jason Vaughn, who surpassed the old program record of 55 (set by OT Donovan Jennings last year) on Nov. 30 at Rice.
200 — Career receptions for WR Sean Atkins, the USF all-time leader, which placed him seventh on the all-time career receptions list for Football Bowl Subdivision players in the state of Florida.
2,167 — Career receiving yards for Atkins, who pulled ahead of Andre Davis (2,136 from 2011-14) for first on USF's all-time list.
2,211 — Career rushing yards for RB Kelley Joiner, who finished fifth on USF's all-time list. Joiner tied for fifth all-time in a single season with 14 touchdowns this season (12 rushing, two receiving).
Moment In Paradise: Bulls Prevail In 5 OT's
For the Bulls, it was a slice of paradise. The Hawai'i Bowl was filled with hairpin turns and unexpected twists — it required equal parts pluck, luck and persistence — but the Bulls had what it took to miraculously come from behind, then survive five overtime periods before defeating the San Jose State Spartans 41-39 in an instant classic on Christmas Eve.
Actually, by game's end in Tampa, it was Christmas Day (12:24 a.m., to be exact).
"Thanks to everybody who stayed up to watch it,'' head coach Alex Golesh said.
How could anyone turn away?
What would you think if someone said USF was out-gained by 150 yards, rushed for just 56 yards and had 11 penalties for 104 yards? Does that sound like USF's recipe for winning?
The Bulls made it work — warts and all.
USF built a 21-7 lead just before halftime on Ta'Ron Keith's 93-yard kickoff return after he faked a reverse to the speedy JeyQuan Smith, then raced forward to break a trio of tackles near midfield.
But the Spartans scored 13 unanswered points to pull close, then took their first lead, 27-24, on Lamar Radcliffe's 2-yard run with 11:14 remaining. The score was set up by Noah McNeal-Franklin's 27-yard interception return.
USF's next two drives? Three-and-out. Three-and-out. When USF got possession again with 3:01 remaining, it seemed like the last chance. But it was a prelude to a pair of coaching decisions that probably decided the game.
With the Bulls facing a fourth-and-9 at their 23-yard line, Golesh called USF's first time out with 2:09 remaining. Initially, Golesh said he called the time out to prepare to go for it. He wanted to devise the proper play. But he thought better of it and sent out punter Andrew Stokes.
The plan was a quick out-of-bounds punt, so USF could get a bonus clock stoppage at the two-minute timeout. But Stokes miss-hit the punt and boomed it, getting a 25-yard roll on a 72-yard punt to the Spartan 5. The play took so long that the clock read 1:55 and USF didn't get the clock stopped as planned.
Golesh said he knew punting was the right decision, but he still fretted.
"I just was so nervous not to get it back,'' Golesh said. "That was a big-boy coaching decision that I went back and forth on quite a while.''
Stokes' punt flipped the field, but USF's defense needed to come up big. It did. Michael Williams stuffed Floyd Chalk IV for no gain on third-and-1 from the Spartan 14. San Jose State then called a time out with 53 seconds to play.
Now it was decision time for Spartans coach Ken Niumatalolo. Go for it? A yard would likely end the game. But a failed fourth-down play would be disastrous. USF would be handed a chip-shot field-goal attempt or even a decent chance at winning it outright with a close shot to the end zone.
Niumatalolo called for the punt.
"I think I'll have nightmares about not going for it on fourth down,'' Niumatalolo said in the game's aftermath. "It's going to haunt me. I had to make a split-second decision. Unfortunately, I think I made the wrong decision.''
Niumatalolo was extraordinarily hard on himself. He did what most coaches would do. He played the percentages. USF needed perfect execution to salvage the game.
But with their backs firmly against the wall, the Bulls made big play after big play.
After a 52-yard punt, Sean Atkins collected a 16-yard return. Nay'Quan Wright nearly lost his footing after a reception, but stayed upright and got a 10-yard first down. On third-and-10, Bryce Archie found Keyshaun Singleton, who made an acrobatic twisting 17-yard catch. With six seconds left, John Cannon came on for the game-tying 41-yard field-goal attempt. He kissed it high off the right upright — Golesh said he wasn't watching but "heard it'' — and the ball caromed through.
It was 27-all.
In the overtimes, the Bulls and Spartans traded touchdowns, field goals and two-point conversions (mandated beginning with the third overtime, transforming the game into a "soccer shootout'' of sorts).
Both two-point tries failed in the fourth OT. But in the fifth OT, Archie hit Singleton for a 41-39 advantage. When Bulls linebacker Mac Harris broke up Walker Eget's end-zone pass attempt, it was over — finally.
"If we don't turn the ball over twice in the first half and they (Bulls) don't have that kickoff return (by Keith), the game is not close,'' Niumatalolo said. "But give South Florida credit. They made the plays when they needed to.''
During the postgame ESPN interview, Golesh had a big-picture view. When he took the USF job in December 2022 following the program's 1-11 finish, Golesh said the Bulls were "the worst program in the country.''
"There's a bunch of them that chose to stay when it wasn't cool to stay,'' Golesh said. "There's a bunch that came when it probably wasn't super cool to come. Now we're two bowl wins in (including last season's 45-0 win against Syracuse at the Boca Raton Bowl) … and we're building something really, really cool.''
This spine-tingling, unforgettable Hawai'i Bowl will be remembered as a vital part of USF's foundation.
Quarterback Quandary
Archie started his eighth consecutive game following the injury to Byrum Brown at Tulane on Sept. 28.
But Golesh said there was a possibility that Brown could have started the game.
"We didn't know until right before the game,'' Golesh said. "We told Bryce all week and last night to keep preparing like he was the starter. Bryce loves ball. He's a really, really tough ballplayer. I think he believes in himself and his teammates believe in him. He did a really good job today of taking care of the football and getting it to the right guys. It wasn't always perfect, but it was at the end.''
Golesh disclosed that Brown has been working through a broken bone in his leg, undergoing hours of rehabilitation each day since the injury.
"Byrum tried (to play) all the way through warm-ups,'' Golesh said. "It was as much of a game-time decision as I've ever had in my career. It was truly a pain-tolerance deal for him, where he knows he needs his legs to go. He was still in a bunch of pain and didn't feel like he could push off. There was no sense in risking it.''
It made for an interesting situation in the third quarter, though, when Archie had his helmet ripped off while suffering a bloody nose. Brown entered the game and handed off to Joiner. He nearly ran a second play, but a penalty was called on
San Jose State before Archie re-entered the game.
In the fourth overtime, Brown came onto the field and lined up at quarterback while Archie was split wide left. Brown then split wide right and Archie took the shotgun snap. Archie threw to Atkins, who tossed to the end zone, but it was low for Michael Brown-Stephens.
Just For Kicks
Punter Andrew Stokes.
Place-kicker John Cannon.
USF special-teams legends.
That's our story — and we're sticking to it. Without Stokes and Cannon, the Bulls don't win the Hawaii Bowl.
Stokes had seven punts for a 51-yard average and a key 72-yarder that tied the USF record. This season, Stokes finished with 69 punts, a 45.52-yard average (second all-time at USF), 22 punts of more than 50 yards and 27 that were downed inside the 20, also second all-time at USF.
Cannon, who was 3-for-3 against San Jose State, finished 12-for-16 on field goal attempts, including the 41-yarder off the right upright with two seconds remaining that saved USF's chances in the Hawai'i Bowl.
"I knew that ball was going to come back (and go through the uprights),'' said Cannon, the Hawai'i Bowl MVP. "Coach Golesh always touches on it with (being true) to your process. With the preparation we've all put in and that I've put in through the past four years of this program, it really led to this moment. I'm just so grateful to be here and all glory goes to God.''
With the game in the balance, and San Jose State up 37-34 in the third overtime, Cannon punched in a 36-yarder to again save USF's hopes and prolong the game.
"Honestly, they're all about the same,'' Cannon said of his overtime approach. "Every kick is the same when it comes down to it because we've done (36-yard) field goals in practice daily. At the end of the day, it's the same kick.
"I go back, take a couple of breaths. I talk to Ryan Bolduc, the best holder in the country, and Garrett Cates, the best snapper in the country. When you have those two guys on your operation, it makes your life a whole lot easier. Ryan likes to keep it loose when I'm back there. We just have a nice little conversation. I tell them both I'm going to put it down the middle, then that's how it goes.''
Defense Does Its Part
USF's defense bent, but it didn't break. Although playing without first-team All-American wide receiver Nick Nash, San Jose State's offense was formidable, but the Bulls had the right answers at the game's critical junctures.
"The time to prepare was really helpful because that's a unique scheme (with San Jose State) and a really good, skilled group,'' Golesh said. "Even with Nash being out, we were really concerned with that whole receiver group. So, we did some different things.
"We knew we'd give up some runs but with the sacrifice of not giving up the explosive passes. I just thought we would have to score more than we did. Obviously, we scored just the right amount. Shout out to the defense for making lots of plays all game long.''
USF's defense limited San Jose State to 6-for-19 on third-down conversions and forced a pair of turnovers. The Spartans gained 441 yards, but the longest pass play was 28 yards and the longest run was 18 yards. Harris, who broke up the final pass play in the end zone to secure the victory, said USF had a simple approach.
"Just win that rep,'' Harris said. "The only mindset was go out and win that rep. I wouldn't even say it was draining (to play a five-overtime game). The only thing on our mind was going out and winning the rep.
"Winning this game is really important. I've been saying it. Coach has been saying it. It's deeper than a trophy and a bowl-game ring. As fun as the trip was and as much as we enjoyed Hawaii, it was deeper than the trip. It's a program thing and a cultural thing. It was a lot more time to build the locker room and get the young guys to understand (what was necessary). We were able to show them what it's like to be a South Florida Bull.''
Behind The Curtain
A few observations on game elements that didn't get the primary headlines:
* When you go five overtimes, the first-quarter non-scoring plays probably aren't clearly remembered. But we must make note of a fourth-down play on USF's initial touchdown drive. After Nay'Quan Wright lost his footing on a third-down pass completion just short of the sticks, the Bulls were faced with fourth-and-1 at the San Jose State 6-yard line. That brought on the "jumbo'' backfield of 325-pound offensive lineman Cole Skinner and 237-pound linebacker Jamie Pettway. Skinner, believed to be the largest USF player ever to carry the ball, rumbled for 2 yards and a first down. Good times.
* USF: Overtime kings! With the Hawaii Bowl victory, USF moved to 11-1 all-time in overtime games (10-1 as an FBS program) and 2-0 in bowls. That's the best mark among the Football Bowl Subdivision teams (minimum 10 games). USF had another extra-session victory in 1999 when it was still a Football Championship Subdivision program, a 42-41 double-overtime win against New Hampshire. (Trivia: New Hampshire's offensive coordinator was Chip Kelly. Its quarterback was Ryan Day, now head coach of Ohio State. New Hampshire had pulled within a point in the second overtime, then Day, also the PAT holder, popped up and attempted a pass to win the game. It was incomplete in the end zone and USF had secured the victory).
* The Hawai'i Bowl appealed to USF for numerous reasons. Of course, the exotic locale was enjoyed by the traveling party. For almost everyone, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But the television window was also ideal — a stand-alone ESPN game on Christmas Eve made for maximum exposure. Because it was such an exciting, back-and-forth contest that just wouldn't quit, it also became a social-media sensation. This was a huge victory for USF football — and its emerging brand.
Next Up: The 2025 Season
Year Three of the Alex Golesh era begins with an intriguing and ambitious non-conference schedule.
On Aug. 30, the Bulls host Boise State, the No. 3 seed in the 22024 College Football Playoff, but the Broncos won't have Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who's jumping to the NFL. (USF will visit Boise State's blue turf in 2027). The Bulls also have road games against the Florida Gators (Sept. 6) and Miami Hurricanes (Sept. 13), both bowl game participants this season.
In the AAC, the Bulls will host Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice and UTSA. There are road games at Memphis, Navy, North Texas and UAB.
Also consider this: the Bulls are down to just two more Raymond James Stadium seasons (12 or 13 more home games?) before USF is playing in its own on-campus stadium.
–#GoBulls–
