Photo Credit: Deseret News
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The USF Bulls traveled the furthest they had to this year going all the way to Provo, Utah. Waiting for them were the BYU Cougars. The Cougars were undefeated prior to the Bulls making the trip. The Cougars are one of the strongest Independent teams in college football. Many of the experts said USF would have no chance to win this game. The Bulls won their first game last week against the FAMU Rattlers at home. They showed signs that they have strengths but their weakness was also shown. USF is a young team that we have seen can improve. The best thing about college football this year has been the fact the fans are back. Having attended a USF Bulls game last year with no fans in the stands was eerie. If there is any silver lining it is this the Bulls have no out-of-conference games left.
The game was on ESPN 2 and the crowd that I saw was rowdy for their Cougars. What I saw reminded me a lot of the Florida Gators game. The USF Bulls fell behind early but rallied to make a game out of it. We all know there are no moral victories. I think if you counted them the Bulls would have two as we speak. The first one came against the Gators and last night against the Cougars the second one had been achieved. The score was 28-6 at the half. I will be honest I thought the game was over. On the other hand, one of the things I have seen the USF Bulls do is make adjustments at the half. In the second half USF outscored BYU 21-7. What the Bulls did was make some defensive stops and score points.
The bright spot for them was their final 94-yard drive. The Bulls’ longest drive of the season. These are the types of things fans of the Bulls can see where this team is not as bad as they have looked. If they can play like the USF team we have all seen in the second half in the first half, they can still turn the season around. The Bulls were only down eight points after that long drive. Head coach Jeff Scott decided to try an onside kick instead of kicking the ball deep. The biggest issue at the time was the Bulls had no timeouts. That move backfired and the Cougars took the ball and in a matter of about eight to ten plays they ran out the clock for 35-27 victory. We are all wondering why that decision was made.
What I saw about this game is that the offense can move the ball. Once again we saw Timmy McClain start the game. He was 17/24 for 186 yards. The best part was that he threw no interceptions. All of the USF touchdowns came via the run game. That has been the bright spot for the USF Bulls offense in 2021. They have been able to run the ball with most of the carries coming from Jaren Mangham. Mangham had two of three rushing touchdowns for the Bulls in last night’s game. The defense still needs to find ways to get the opponent’s offense off the field. USF can score points. Since the NC State game they have shown that. Let’s hope that they can take the momentum from the win over the Rattlers and what they did in the second half of the Cougars game and start strong in conference play.
Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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