CHARLOTTE, NC- South Florida dominated the third quarter against Charlotte to pull away for a 59-24 win to improve to 5-4 on the season and pick up their third AAC win of the season as well.
Head coach Alex Golesh has his Bulls one win away from bowl eligibility in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2018. USF outscored the 49ers 31-7 in the third quarter including two defensive touchdowns to seize control of a game that was 14-10 at the half.
“The first half, such a huge emphasis on starting fast offensively. Defensively it took us a second to tighten down. I’ve spent the last month trying to find ways for us to start fast without changing a ton. I’m so adamant about our process and doing it an elite clip. Obviously, the second half was to get off the field defensively and then punch it in and the four turnovers defensively were so big with Paco with the pick-six, Mac with the fumble pickup for a touchdown, and then Fred Gaskin with the pick, and Bernard Gooden with the fumble recovery,” Golesh said.
The Bulls ran for a school-record 425 yards in the win averaging 8.9 yards per carry with six rushing touchdowns. Kelley Joiner Jr. led the way with 140 yards rushing on nine carries with two touchdowns. It was a career-high for him rushing.
“We started off focusing on the inside zone game and wanted to stretch them, then they were two-high and we had Zane Herring back, we opened up the crease. The tight ends were such a big point of emphasis for us and they helped with the zone insert stuff and the counter stuff," Golesh said.
Freshman Alvon Isaac scored his first touchdown of his career. Seeing the younger backs get in the game was big for Joiner. Nine different Bulls had rushing attempts in the game.
“We said we were going to set the tone for the offense and it was good to see the young guys get in the game and make some plays too,” Joiner said.
Quarterback Bryce Archie finished the day with 126 yards passing on 11-16 passing with one interception on the opening drive of the game. He added 72 yards on six carries on the ground. Israel Carter came in off the bench and ran for 29 yards on three carries to help burn clock in the fourth quarter.
“Bryce started off with the interception, not sure if he didn’t see it or not. We ran the ball for 425 yards on the ground and we hung on to the ball. Izzy came in and operated the four-minute offense,” Golesh said. “I thought Bryce’s decision-making was really good and the decision-making in the run game isn’t just handing the ball off.”
Running back Nay’Quan Wright added 43 yards rushing with two touchdowns and 50 yards receiving on two catches.
“I was coming on the sideline and smiling. As a quarterback when you have these types of games you can make C-gap reads and hand the ball off and let your guys make plays,” Archie said.
The Bulls' defense held Charlotte to 5-14 on third downs in the game and 347 yards of total offense.
The 49ers quarterback Deshawn Purdie threw for 256 yards on 17-39 passing with two interceptions and two fumbles that turned into multiple USF scores including a pick-six by Brent Austin and a scoop and score on Jhalyn Shuler’s strip sack that Mac Harris returned 25 yards for a touchdown.
“I’ve dropped a lot of picks this year so I was focused on trying to catch the ball,” Austin said of his interception. “I jumped it. When I had the pick six I feel like everybody came down to me on the sideline and it built energy.”
Safety Tawfiq Byard had 11 tackles and a strip sack to lead the Bulls defense. The defense sacked Purdie five times.
True freshman Fred Gaskin had the other interception for the Bulls.
The Bulls were 1-2 on kicks with John Cannon hitting from 33 in the third quarter and Nico Gramatica missing from 53. Andrew Stokes punted three times for 124 yards.
Charlotte got on the scoreboard first with a long touchdown drive in the first quarter culminating in a Cartevious Norton six-yard touchdown run to put the 49ers up 7-0. The Bulls answered on the ensuing drive with two long runs one by Bryce Archie on a fourth and two at the UNCC40 and the second was a 16-yard touchdown run by Ta’ron Keith to tie the game at 7. Stephen Rusnak added a 50-yard field goal on a penalty-plagued drive by the 49ers to put Charlotte back up 10-7 with 8:39 left in the first half. Nay’quan Wright went 44 yards on a shovel pass on the next drive to put the Bulls at the UNCC6. He punched it in on the next play to put USF up 14-10. Nico Gramatica missed a 54-yard field goal with five seconds left in the half.
The Bulls were 2-2 on fourth downs and outgained Charlotte 246 to 180 in the first half with 159 yards rushing on 7.2 yards per carry for the half.
Kelley Joiner Jr. opened the second half with a 55-yard touchdown run after the Bulls defense forced a three and out to open the half to put the Bulls up 21-10 on Charlotte. The 49ers answered with two long passes to Sean Brown for 42 yards and Jarius Mack for 25 yards to set up first and goal at the USF5. Norton scored on second down to cap an 86 yard touchdown drive for the 49ers to make it 21-17 in the third quarter. A chunk play on first down on a rollout pass to Payten Singletary and a pass interference call put the Bulls in the red zone in just three plays on the next drive. Two runs by Wright put the Bulls into the end zone again to make it 28-17 with 9:15 left in the third quarter. On the next drive, DJ Harris strip-sacked Purdie and Bernard Gooden recovered the ball at the UNCC32. Two penalties against the offense put the Bulls behind the sticks and led to a John Cannon field goal from 33 yards out to make it 31-17. An error by Hahsaun Wilson on a kickoff going out of bounds put the 49ers at their own 9. Tawfiq Byard sacked Purdie on first down and then Paco Austin picked him off and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown to make it 38-17 USF.
The 49ers scored on the first drive of the 4th quarter carrying over from the third quarter to make it 45-24. Joiner scored his touchdown of the game after a failed onside kick on a 45-yard run on the first play of the drive to make it 52-24. Fred Gaskin picked off Purdie on the ensuing drive.
