Bulls now within one win of bowl eligibility
TAMPA — For the first time in a half-decade, USF appears destined for December football.
In the wake of the most moribund stretch in program history, the Bulls (5-5, 3-3 American Athletic Conference) have put themselves at the brink of bowl eligibility.
Senior Tramel Logan’s 22-yard touchdown on an interception return — one of three USF picks — highlighted a mild defensive renaissance in a 27-23 triumph against Temple (3-7, 1-5) on a searing Saturday at Raymond James Stadium in front of an announced 30,938.
The victory puts the Bulls within one triumph of earning their first postseason berth since the 2018 Gasparilla Bowl.
USF finishes with a trip Friday to Texas-San Antonio (6-3 entering the weekend), followed by a home game against Charlotte (3-6) on Nov. 25.
That elusive sixth win appears doable if USF can deliver the complementary brand of football it produced in spurts Saturday.
USF leaned on some downfield shots and that defensive awakening to build a 17-0 lead after one quarter. On the day’s first play from scrimmage, quarterback Byrum Brown found receiver Sean Atkins in single coverage down the left sideline for a 40-yard gain, setting up Brown’s 7-yard touchdown scramble four plays later.
A former walk-on, Atkins finished with nine catches (for 169 yards), giving him 69 for the year and breaking the program’s seven-year-old season mark previously held by Rodney Adams (67).
A 40-yard completion from Brown to Yusuf Terry — a Philadelphia native afforded the start against Owls — set up a John Cannon 41-yard field goal. Brown later found Khafre Brown behind the Temple secondary for a 32-yard TD to give USF a 17-0 advantage.
The Bulls’ defense, which had surrendered at least 56 points in each of its last three conference games, held the Owls to 24 total yards on their first three possessions. The last of those ended when Aamaris Brown intercepted an E.J. Warner pass near his sideline inside the Temple 30.
Warner, whose 306.1 passing yards per game led the AAC entering the weekend, was 10-of22 for 81 yards in the first half and finished with 280 on the day.
But the Bulls failed to capitalize (Cannon missed a 33-yard field goal) and Temple finally got on track with an 80-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession. The teams then traded field goals, with Cannon nailing a 44-yarder with five seconds to play in the first half, capping a 73-yard drive.
Logan’s 22-yard pick-six with 3:09 remaining in the third gave the Bulls a 27-10 lead.
Aamaris Brown followed with his second pick of the day, but USF couldn’t capitalize. In fact, USF’s two possessions following Brown’s interception consumed fewer than three minutes.
Warner, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, then found his groove.
His 20-yard scoring pass to sophomore Zae Baines capped a six-play, 53-yard drive; and his 12-yard scoring pass to Dante Wright — while under duress in the pocket — finished a 12-play, 83-yard march in which the Owls converted third-and-15 and fourth-and-3 situations.
Temple missed the extra point after Wright’s catch, preserving a four-point USF lead. Temple nearly forced a three-and-out on the following possession, but senior Zymir Cobbs was flagged for hitting Byrum own out of bounds following a short scramble on third-and-12.
USF then sealed it when the Owls were flagged for being offside on third-and-2 from their own 16 with no timeouts and 1:30 remaining.