9/3/2022 football Edit

INSTANT ANALYSIS: South Florida 21 BYU 50

Russ Wood • BullsInsider

Managing Editor

TAMPA, FLA., (Sep. 3, 2022) – That loud thud you heard was not thunder. It was the start of the 2022 South Florida football season.

No. 25 Brigham Young (1-0) scored on the first play from scrimmage and was never threatened in a 50-21 thrashing of USF (0-1, 0-0 AAC) Saturday night in front of an announced crowd of 31,521 at Raymond James Stadium. The Cougars led 38-0 in the second quarter and out gained USF 575 to 293 yards on the night.

Junior wide receiver Xavier Weaver caught five passes for a career high 113 yards in the loss.

Sep 3, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; South Florida Bulls wide receiver Xavier Weaver (10) runs for yards after a catch during the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars at Raymond James Stadium. (South Florida Athletics)

BullsInsider.com was at the game and here is our Instant Analysis:

IT WAS OVER WHEN: Jaren Hall lofted a 21-yard pass to a wide-open Keanu Hill in the end zone to give BYU a 28-0 lead with four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

HE STOLE THE SHOW: Hall completed 78 percent of his passes (25-of-32) for 261 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He connected with 12 receivers on the night.

THE STAT DOESN’T LIE: BYU did whatever it wanted on offense to an average of 8.3 yards per play and 27 first downs. USF moved the chains 12 times.

WHAT A PLAY: It was a simple end around to Cougars WR Puka Nacua but he ran untouched down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

THE BOTTOM LINE: You simply cannot spot a team, especially a top-25 team, 38 points and expect to win. The Bulls need to learn from this game, prepare for next Saturday’s game against Howard and come out dialed in to start the game.