Takeaways, highlights, notables, sights, sound bites and learning experiences from USF's 52-3 home victory against the Rice Owls and a look ahead to USF's bowl game.
The Quick Read
* The USF football program was a hot mess in 2022. Now it's one of the most attractive up-and-coming jobs in America. Credit the commitment shown by USF's administration — and the work of Alex Golesh, his coaching staff and the Bulls players.
* Decorate Byrum Brown's season in a Notre Dame, Ohio State or Alabama uniform and he wins the Heisman Trophy — hands down.
* Would love to see a dream matchup between the 2016 USF Bulls and the 2025 USF Bulls — and a shootout between Quinton Flowers and Byrum Brown. Talk about entertainment. Who ya got?
* LB Mac Harris might have made the biggest four-year improvement of any defensive player in USF history. From a beefy 250-pounder who couldn't move effectively to a heat-seeking missile who had one of the most productive seasons ever by a Bull.
* It's worth noting that USF averaged 501.7 yards per game (presently third-best in program history) and rolled up 6,020 total yards (also third) while playing more than half the regular season without its expected primary ball-carrier (Cartevious Norton) and big-play receiver (Chas Nimrod).
* Only six more USF football games remaining at Raymond James Stadium (barring a Gasparilla Bowl appearance or a potential 2026 American Conference title game). Six! Then it's time for the on-campus stadium. Tick, tock.
* In the fourth quarter of Jim Louk's 347th game as USF football's radio play-by-play man — with coaches and former players paying him tribute on the Ray-Jay video board and the crowd roaring its approval — there was a tiny bit of halting emotion from the uber-professional broadcaster. Then back to describing the action. With a bowl game still to call and television duties with the other USF sports, we could all learn from this man's consistency, loyalty, dedication and even-handed approach. Congratulations on a sterling career, Mr. Louk!
Game Takeaway
It was a Saturday night of farewells. Ultimately, it became the final USF game for head coach Alex Golesh. It was Senior Night, when 30 Bulls players and their families were celebrated during an on-field ceremony. And one of those players was QB Byrum Brown, who has eligibility remaining, but might have made his last home-field appearance in green-and-gold.
Mostly, though, it was a night to remember for the Bulls (9-3, 6-2 American Conference).
USF dominated the Rice Owls 52-3, displaying impressive focus and a locked-in quality that allowed the Bulls to play through any potential distractions at Raymond James Stadium.
Golesh, who accepted an SEC head-coaching job at Auburn University on Sunday and finished his three-season USF tenure at 23-15, said he was heartened by his team's complete-game performance.
"Rice's offense (gun triple option) challenged us to be assignment-sound and really detailed,'' Golesh said. "Our eyes had to be right and I thought they were all night. We wanted to play clean, sound football and we only had three penalties (after committing 13 last week at UAB). I just thought we competed really, really hard and I'm really proud of the way we finished.
"I told our guys in the locker room after that I was most proud of their buy-in into being process-driven, rather than result-driven. I think that carries over to life and the real world, into being a dad and a husband. You try to be elite in every aspect of your life and you leave nothing to chance. And we also talked about the six points, the margins we had to find a way to close, and we didn't.''
Memphis 34, USF 31.
Navy 41, USF 38.
The two bitter road defeats — and the six lousy points — that prevented USF from playing for a conference championship.
"There's a ton of disappointment in the fact that we're not playing Friday night (in the American Conference title game, which matches North Texas against Tulane),'' Golesh said. "But we also talked about three years ago, about getting as good as we can as fast as we can, getting the buy-in to form an identity, a culture and a brotherhood. That's hard to do in modern-day college football. But these guys did it and it's a credit to them.''
As usual, Brown's play was an enduring theme. He became the 12th player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to accumulate 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. Against Rice (5-7, 2-6), he was 16-for-24 passing with 275 yards and four touchdowns, along with 104 yards rushing and another score. It was also his sixth game this season without an interception.
Brown threw a pair of TD passes to WR Keshaun Singleton (5 and 47 yards), while also hitting Mudia Reuben (60) and Jeremiah Koger (7). Brown scored on a 5-yard run, while Nykahi Davenport had a 2-yard TD. In the fourth quarter, backup QB Gaston Moore threw his first TD pass of the season, a 3-yarder to Christian Helms, a seventh-year player who entered USF's program in 2019 and made his first career reception. Talk about a storybook Senior Night moment!
In the fourth quarter, with the game well in hand, Golesh sent Brown in for a first-down handoff, then a well-deserved curtain-call exit. As Brown bounced and beamed, rotating his body to acknowledge every corner of Ray-Jay, he cupped his hands into the shape of a heart.
It looked like a sentimental goodbye.
"I came to USF as a 17-year-old and I'll have a decision to make, coming forward,'' Brown said. "But I'm just enjoying every minute of it, whatever God has planned. I have no clue what's going to happen, what my journey is going to be. So, if that is my last time walking-off at Ray-Jay, I wanted to show them my appreciation.''
Such things usually remain in flux, but Brown said he planned to play in USF's bowl game. "I mean, yeah, we got one more game,'' he said. Regardless, Brown already has provided a lifetime of USF memories.
"I'll always cherish the time I had playing with Byrum,'' Singleton said. "He's my dog.''
"Byrum is one of the best football players I've ever been around,'' Golesh said. "He's one of the toughest, smartest young men I've ever seen.''
Late Saturday night, news of Golesh's future hadn't been made official. But in the game's aftermath, LB Mac Harris said the Bulls had a bond that couldn't be broken.
"Coach Golesh has been honest with us since the time he got here,'' Harris said. "We were going to continue to play for each other because we built a real brotherhood.''
The Big Play
USF's overall dominance didn't allow for an obvious turning point, but we'll go with the defensive effort on Rice's second possession. With USF up 7-0, the Owls drove to the Bulls' 23-yard line and had fourth-and-1. Rice tried some trickery. RB D'Andre Hardeman Jr. ran toward the middle, then flipped it back to QB Chase Jenkins, who mishandled it. Under heavy pressure from LB Jhalyn Shuler, Jenkins threw incomplete to snuff out Rice's promising drive. And that was that. USF scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and built a 28-0 lead with 6:54 remaining before halftime.
Game Balls
* QB Byrum Brown, who accounted for 379 yards and five touchdowns. He was 16-for-24 passing with 275 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 104 yards and another score.
* LB Mac Harris, who had five tackles to reach an even 100 for the season.
* WR Keshaun Singleton, who had six catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
* DBs Jaelen Stokes and De'Shawn Rucker. Their effort won't show up on the stat sheet. With USF leading 35-3 in the third quarter, Rice QB Drew Devillier hit speedy WR Aaron Turner for what could have been a 75-yard touchdown. But Stokes and Rucker hustled relentlessly, cutting down the angle and forcing Turner out of bounds on a 55-yard play. Coaches and scouts everywhere had to smile about that one. Rice reached the USF 13-yard line but turned it over on downs.
* Late-season revelation WR Mudia Reuben, who had five catches for 90 yards and a 60-yard touchdown.
* WR Christian Helms, the seventh-year player and mostly been a special-teams performer, who had his first career reception (a 3-yard touchdown from backup QB Gaston Moore in the fourth quarter).
Notable Numbers
3 — Number of games when USF prevented its opponents from scoring a touchdown in the 38-game Alex Golesh era.
5 — Number of teams that gained just 360 yards or fewer against USF's defense this season.
6 — Number of USF teams to achieve at least nine victories in one season (2002, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2016, 2025).
8 — Number of unanswered scoring streaks of at least 26 straight points for USF this season (all occurring in the nine victories).
20 — Number of different players who scored touchdowns for USF this season.
28 — Program-record touchdown passes this season by QB Byrum Brown, who broke his own record (26 in 2023).
42 — Single-season touchdowns accounted for by QB Byrum Brown, who tied the program-record of Quinton Flowers in 2016.
66 — USF total touchdowns (32 passing, 29 rushing, three on defense). The program record is 77 in 2016.
306-86 — USF points scored (306) and points allowed (86) in six home-field victories. The Bulls were unbeaten at home for the first time since 2002.
3,315 — Passing yards this season by USF (second-best in program history behind 3,494 in 2023).
The List
The 12 players in Football Bowl Subdivision history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season (note: Louisville QB Lamar Jackson twice accomplished that feat).
Name, School (Season)…………….…Pass…….Rush
Vince Young, Texas (2005)………….…3,036……1,050
Dan Lefevour, CMU (2007)……….……3,652……1,122
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada (2010).…….3,022……1,206
Chandler Harnish, NIU (2011)….…..….3,216……1,379
Jordan Lynch, NIU (2012)………..…….3,138…….1,815
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (2012).….3,706…….1,410
Deshaun Watson, Clemson (2015)…...4,104…….1,105
Lamar Jackson, Louisville (2016)……..3,543…….1,571
Lamar Jackson, Louisville (2017)……..3,660…….1,601
Kyler Murray, Oklahoma (2018)……….4,361…….1,001
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (2019)…………3,851……1,298
Jayden Daniels, LSU (2023)…………...3,812……1,134
Byrum Brown, USF (2025)*………….....3,158……1,008
*—Byrum Brown's totals could increase with a potential bowl game.
Next Up: Bowl Game
With defensive line coach Kevin Patrick serving as the interim head coach, USF will prepare for the 13th bowl game in its football history (the Bulls have won eight of the previous 12). It's also an opportunity to capture three consecutive bowl victories for the second time in program history. Patrick, in his third stint on the USF staff, should add spice to the proceedings. Stay tuned for details.
–#GoBulls–
