Photo Credit: Justin Willet NGSC Sports
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The USF Bulls closed out their 2022 season playing their in-state rival the UCF Knights. The game is known as the War on I4. The funny thing is the Bulls haven’t won since 2016. Last year’s game was close with the UCF Knights winning 17-13. USF has had so many close games this year but has come up short. The most complete game that they have played would probably be against the Florida Gators which is a game they lost because of two bad snaps. The attendance for the game was mostly wearing black and gold. The UCF fans cheered loudly as their team took the field during warm-ups. The game was on a very humid night! The fans were hoping to see a complete game like the one against the Gators but with a different result. It will all depend on the offense to carry the game.
The UFC Knights won the toss and elected to receive the ball. The USF Bulls wore a neon green uniform with a line down the center of the helmet signed by all the seniors playing their final game. The Knights struck blood first on a 64-yard run by quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, resulting in a touchdown. UCF took their next drive and scored again taking a 14-0 lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Bulls found themselves down by 14 points. The Bulls made a costly mistake with a fumble near the goal line that was recovered by the Knights. UCF would take that turnover and get another touchdown on the feet of Plumlee to take a 21-0 lead. Another USF Bulls turnover which was an interception led to a three-yard touchdown pass and put the Knights up 28-0.
A unique situation happened as the referee called an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on both benches. This occurred after USF quarterback Byrum Bron was hit out of bounds after the play was over. The Bulls got their first touchdown on a pass from Brown to Sean Atkins to cut the lead to 21 points at 28-7. That is how the first half would end with the Knights leading 28-7.
The USF Bulls received the ball in the second half and turned it over for the third time in the game. The result would be the Knights getting a field goal and taking a 31-7 lead. The Bulls would get a big rushing play by running back Brian Battie for 69 yards. Shortly after that Brown would run in for a touchdown and the Bulls would convert a two-point conversion pulling the score to 31-15.
The USF Bulls got their first turnover since the game against the Tulane Green Wave. In a few plays, they turned into a touchdown run by Michael Dukes. The Bulls then converted another two-point conversion pulling the UCF lead to eight points 31-23. Dwayne Bowles went back-to-back drives with fumble recoveries. Brian Battie had a rushing touchdown after the fumble recovery. USF failed the two-point conversion but pulled the lead closer at two points 31-29. This was the first time this year that the crowd got into the game cheering “USF USF USF”. It was great to see that! The Knights answered back very quickly with a touchdown pass to Kobe Hudson to put the Knights back up by 11 points 38-29. However, the USF Bulls drove down and got a field goal to cut the lead to six points at 38-32.
Byrum Brown ran 45 yards to score a touchdown and put the USF Bulls in the lead for the first time 39-38. The UCF Knights fumbled the ball for the third time and the Bulls took over. Unfortunately, they were forced to punt and the defense had to come up with another stop. They were unable to and the Knights got a touchdown to put them back into the lead 46-39. The Bulls’ offense ran three straight dive plays that were not the right call and it resulted in UCF scoring. The Bulls lined up for a hail mary with four seconds left in the game. It failed and UCF would win with the final score of 46-39. Another moral victory for the USF Bulls, but not a real win. They finish the season with a 1-11 record.
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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