Green Wave extend streak to 11 straight conference regular season wins
NEW ORLEANS, LA., SEPT. 28, 2024 – The South Florida football team fell in its conference-opening clash with Tulane, 45-10, at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans Saturday afternoon.
Tulane came out hot, scoring the first 31 points and forcing two early turnovers, to extend its regular season conference winning streak to 11 games, the fifth-longest streak in the nation, and won its 26th game in its last 33 overall, sixth-most nationally over that span.
Quarterback Byrum Brown completed 12-of-18 passes for 134 passing yards, while also scoring a touchdown on the ground before leaving early in the third quarter due to injury. Quarterback Bryce Archie filled in for Brown, going 4-for-10 for 41 yards passing.
Sean Atkins collected three receptions for 20 yards on the day, moving him just five receptions away (148) from tying the program record at USF, held by Tampa native Andre Davis (2011-14) with 153. Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen had a season-best five catches for 85 yards.
Tulane scored the first 31 points before the Bulls got on the board just before the end of the first half to go to the locker room trailing 31-7. The Green Wave outgained USF 317 to 148 in the half and got a strong performance from quarterback Darian Mensah who went 12-of-14 for 242 yards and three touchdowns in the first 30 minutes before finishing 18-of-22 for 326 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
The Bulls’ defense forced a Tulane punt on the first possession of the second half. Brown led the Bulls offense back on the field, but after moving to the 34 he was sacked and rolled up on. After trainers tended to him on the field, Brown walked off for further observation with 9:10 to play in the third and Bryce Archie came on.
Archie moved the Bulls inside the Tulane 20, but another Tulane sack stalled the drive and John Cannon hit a 45-yard field goal to make it 31-10. It was Cannon’s tenth career FG of 40 or more yards, but the Bulls would get no closer.
Tulane responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive and took a 38-10 lead into the fourth quarter.
Back to the Start
The Bulls received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out. Tulane took over on its own 31 and quickly moved 69 yards with quarterback Darian Mensah completing three passes for 59 yards and Makhi Hughes’ giving the Green Wave a 7-0 lead on a five-yard run over the right side.
The Bulls were forced to punt again at midfield and Andrew Stokes pinned Tulane on their own 12. The Green Wave moved 88 yards in seven plays with Mensah hitting Dontae Fleming with a 15-yard touchdown pass that gave Tulane a 14-0 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
After a sack of Brown, the Bulls were forced to punt again and Tulane took over on its own 15. The Green Wave drove 68 yards before the Bulls started to slow them down and forced a 35-yard field goal that gave Tulane a 17-0 lead.
The Bulls went three-and-out for the second time and Tulane took over on its own 11 after a 61-yard punt from Stokes. This time, USF forced a three-and-out and had good field position at its own 44 following the punt.
A Brown completion to Yaseen moved the Bulls into Tulane territory, but two plays later Nay’Quan Wright fumbled and the Green Wave pounced on it at the TU26.
The USF defense had Tulane in a third and long, but Mensah scrambled for a first down near midfield. A play later he hit Mario Williams coming across the field for a 53-yard touchdown and the Green Wave led 24-0.
With four minutes left in the half, USF took over on its own 14. The Bulls moved to the 38 before Gerrod Henderson broke through the left side, sacked Brown and forced a fumble. Tulane recovered on the Bulls 29 and two plays later the Green Wave led 31-0 after a 27-yard touchdown pass to Williams.
Brown led the USF offense back on the field with under two minutes to play. He hit Yaseen for a big gain of 51 yards to the Tulane 10. From there, Brown took care of business himself, bouncing off tacklers up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown run that got USF on the board with 34 seconds in the half.
KEY STATS
• Tulane outgained USF 317 to 148 in the first half and 528 to 201 on the day.
• USF fell to 6-6 in AAC openers and 11-11 in conference openers overall.
• USF ranked seventh in the nation in turnover margin entering the game, but gave up two turnovers in the first half and didn’t gain one on the day.
NOTABLES
• WR Sean Atkins -Sits second all-time in career receptions (148) and fifth all-time in career receiving yards (1,695) at USF.
• QB Byrum Brown – completed 12 of 18 passes for 134 passing yards while also scoring a touchdown on the ground before leaving the game due to injury early in the third quarter.
• K John Cannon – made his tenth career field goal of 40 or more yards, knocking in a 45-yard attempt.
UP NEXT
The Bulls will get an open week next week as they prepare to host Memphis for another pivotal conference game. The Bulls and Tigers will square off in an ESPN primetime clash on Friday, Oct. 11 at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 27th season in 2023 with a program-best six-game turnaround and Boca Raton Bowl victory under first-year head coach Alex Golesh. USF completed construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023 and a $340-million on-campus stadium and football operations center is slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 16 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), as well as 32 first-team all-conference honorees. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and the Bulls have made 11 bowl game appearances (going 7-4), posting a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010 and making four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18. USF posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings during the 2007 season.
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