Redshirt freshman quarterback Byrum Brown passed for 338-yards, senior wide receiver Sean Atkins found the end-zone twice as South Florida (3-2; 2-0 AAC) brings home a 44-30 win over Navy (1-3; 0-2 AAC) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in USF’s first American Athletic Conference road game this year.
This win snaps the Bulls’ 19-game road losing streak and marks their first conference road win since Oct 26. 2019.
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South Florida found themselves in a hole early after a muffed punt and a turnover on downs set Navy up inside the Bulls 30-yard line twice. The Midshipmen would capitalize on those mistakes to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
After those turnovers however, Brown and the USF offense got into a rhythm, scoring 21 straight points to take a seven-point lead. The young quarterback had another incredible outing, passing for three touchdowns while completing 76-percent of his throws. Atkins had a career-best day at receiver, catching four passes for 116-yards and two touchdowns, including an 88-yard catch and run in the second quarter. It was the second 100-yard receiving game in Atkins' career and the 88-yard TD was the fourth longest in program history.
The defense for the Bulls woke up after the early turnovers as well, allowing just 16 points in the games final three quarters. This unit forced five three-and-outs on the day and linebacker Jhalyn Shuler scooped up a bad snap on a Navy extra-point attempt and returned it 80-yards for two points.
Navy was able to find success on the ground though, running for 240-yards on 48 total attempts, using the tricky triple option scheme to find chunk plays here and there. The home team couldn’t find any balance though, as two different quarterbacks completed only five passes for 90-yards.
THE GOOD: TEAM RESILUENCE AND DISCIPLINE
A 14-point deficit seven minutes into a road game would have seemed impossible to come back from in recent years, but these Bulls found a way to get back into the game despite mistakes.
“It wasn’t pretty initially and they just kept swinging, and swinging and swinging,” said Bulls head coach Alex Golesh after the win. “We talked about the work being disciplined for the week, disciplined meaning being able to line up and play the next play and having our assignments and our eyes right.”
Coming into Saturday ranked No. 128 among FBS teams in penalties, averaging almost ten a game, South Florida committed just one against Navy while the Midshipmen committed eight. The Bulls also held their opponent to 3-of-14 on third down attempts, doing an excellent job of getting off of the field and giving the ball back to their dynamic quarterback.
Safety Jaelen Stokes and linebacker Andrew Mata-Afa led the Bulls with career highs of ten tackles each.
THE BAD: THE RUN GAME
While South Florida managed to get their rushing total up to 97 yards at the end of the game, this is the second week in a row that the offense has struggled to establish a consistent run game. With 44 attempts on the day, this unit had plenty of opportunities to find their groove, but was only able to average 2.2-yards per carry.
Some of these struggles can be attributed to a change in the game plan, as the emergence of Brown as an efficient passer may have an effect on the run game. The offensive line has also struggled to find consistency, allowing 43 tackles for loss and 23 sacks through the first five games.
THE UGLY: TURNOVERS
The Bulls might have won this game by a much wider margin than they did had they done a better job of limiting turnovers. Including the muffed punt early in the first quarter, South Florida had three turnovers Saturday that led to 14 Navy points.
If the Bulls want to continue their winning ways, taking care of the football has to be a priority. Losing the turnover battle didn’t affect the final outcome much today, but it very well could in the future. Otherwise, this offense has been clicking since the Alabama game in week three and will look to continue that success next week at UAB.
