TAMPA, Fla., (OCT. 17, 2021) -- Victory was within reach in South Florida’s 32-31 loss to Tulsa on Saturday. The Bulls went into the fourth quarter leading by 11 points, but ultimately didn’t do enough to fend Tulsa off as the Golden Hurricane proceeded to score 12 unanswered points.
Some plays were made in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — but a lack of execution and a few self-inflicted wounds sunk USF’s chances of coming away with its first FBS win since 2019. As the Bulls put Tulsa in the rearview mirror and look ahead to Temple, here are three things they did well against the Golden Hurricane and three things that left some to be desired.
Good — Creating turnovers
Tulsa came into Saturday’s game tied with Temple for the worst turnover ratio in the AAC, and junior quarterback Davis Brin had eight interceptions through the first six games of the season.
There were opportunities for takeaways and the Bulls made good on many of their chances. Senior linebacker Antonio Grier got the turnover party started by stripping sophomore running back Anthony Watkins of the ball on the opening play of the second quarter.
Grier recovered the fumble and set USF up on Tulsa’s 12-yard line, which led to a touchdown four plays later.
Fellow senior linebacker Dwayne Boyles got in on the fun a few minutes later with an interception, and Grier followed that up with his own pick, but this time accompanied by a return to the endzone. Grier’s performance alone essentially gifted USF 14 points.
Winning the turnover battle is typically a recipe for success, and it nearly propelled the Bulls to victory Saturday. If they can continue to rack up takeaways, the Bulls may find themselves on the right end of some games down the stretch.
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Bad — Late-game execution
Whether it was USF being unable to pick up a yard on a pair of crucial third and fourth down plays, or the defense not coming up with a stand in the game’s waning moments, the Bulls just couldn’t seem to put the game away.
“There [were] a lot of plays we had where we could have won the game, about eight or 10 of those plays, we didn’t get it done,” coach Jeff Scott said postgame. “That falls on me.”
The biggest blunder, whether it was due to a lack of execution or a poor play call — or both — came with just over four minutes left to play. The Bulls were due up for a third and one and elected to attempt a direct snap to junior running back Jaren Mangham, which was stuffed.
USF ran a similar play on fourth down after taking a timeout, and once again Mangham was stopped before the line to gain. Tulsa took over with 4:20 left on the game clock and comfortably drove down to USF’s goal line, punching in the game-winning touchdown with just 47 seconds to go.
Good teams find ways to win, but with a young head coach and quarterback, there is optimism the Bulls can use Saturday’s events as a learning experience for the future.
Good — Xavier Weaver
Junior Xavier Weaver quietly led the way for USF’s receivers Saturday, catching four passes for 52 yards, a team-high in both categories.
Where Weaver discovered some newfound success, however, was in the punt return game. Weaver has been returning punts for the Bulls since the beginning of the season, and Scott has raved before about how quickly the Orlando native has picked up the skill.
Although wiped out by a roughing the kicker penalty in the third quarter, Weaver returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown. This is the second game in a row where Weaver had surefire scoring opportunities taken away from him. Against SMU, the 6-foot-1-inch pass catcher broke open down the field twice and looked poised to walk into the endzone each time, but both throws were just a bit off in each instance.
Weaver has established himself as one of the best playmakers in green and gold, and just watching the stat sheet doesn’t tell his whole story.
Bad — Inability to sustain drives
Saturday’s game had a bit of everything. From two kick return fumbles, to a pick-6, to a fake field goal try, no one can claim the game was boring.
Within the chaos, however, USF’s offense struggled to sustain many drives. Tulsa held the advantage in time of possession (35:03 - 24:57) and the Bulls were just 3-for-11 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.
In fairness to USF’s offense, it was kept off the field due in part to the scoring plays on special teams, but not giving the defense much time for rest isn’t a formula for positive occurrences.
Good — Vincent Davis
Aside from Grier and Boyles, who each logged at least one turnover a piece, junior safety Vincent Davis may have had the best game for the Bulls on defense.
Davis led the team in tackles with 13 and made a few clutch stops along the way when it seemed Tulsa running back Shamarri Brooks was unstoppable.
A performance like the one Davis had is exactly what the Bulls needed, given their tackling woes over the first half of the season.
Mixed bag — Special teams
These lists usually have three positives and three negatives, but the numerous whacky plays on special teams didn’t lend itself to either category. With that said, this phase of the game was too impactful not to mention.
Between a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore running back Brian Battie, a picture-perfect punt by freshman Andrew Stokes to pin the Golden Hurricane at the 1-yard line and the aforementioned roughing the punter, it was a mixed bag of results for USF on Saturday.
No matter the outcome in the end, there were both encouraging and demoralizing developments on special teams. It’s left to be seen how the Bulls react and perform moving forward.
