Defense forces three turnovers, holds Broncos 30 points below their 2024 season scoring average.
TAMPA, FLA., AUG. 28, 2025 – South Florida football (1-0, American) was “Back in Black” and back with quarterback Byrum Brown making plays under center Thursday in Raymond James Stadium as a national-television audience on ESPN watched the Bulls roll past No. 25 Boise State (0-1; MWC), 34-7.
The Bulls rode a strong defense, aggressive play calling and the legs of Byrum Brown to their first victory over a Top 25-ranked opponent since downing No. 22 Navy in 2016. The 27-point margin of victory was the second highest in program history over a ranked opponent behind only a 45-14 win over No. 9 Louisville in 2005.
The USF defense caused three big turnovers – all fumbles – and held the Broncos in check, allowing just one touchdown, well below the Broncos 37.7 points per game scoring average last season. It was Boise State’s lowest scoring opener since 2013 and their first time scoring less than 10 points since 2019. The Bulls were led by a career-high 14 tackle effort from Jhalyn Shuler, who also recovered a fumble. De’Shawn Rucker added 11 stops and Mac Harris eight and a forced fumble. Ira Singleton recovered two fumbles on the day and added two stops.
Brown ran for two touchdowns and 43 yards while passing for 210 yards and completing 16-of-24 in his first start since being injured last September at Tulane. Keshaun Singleton caught five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Tennessee transfer Chas Nimrod had three catches for 96 yards.
It was clear early on the Bulls came to lay it on the line for the win. USF went for a 4th-and-1 early in the first quarter, which failed, but stayed aggressive running a fake punt midway through the third quarter on 4th-and-6 that went for a touchdown and broke the game open.
On that fake punt, freshman quarterback Locklan Hewlett lined up as the punter, took the snap and completed his first career pass attempt for touchdown with 8:18 to play in the third quarter. On 4th-and-6 from the Boise State 45, he hit Singleton downfield inside the 20. Singleton broke a tackle and sidestepped another to dance into the endzone for a 45-yard touchdown that gave the Bulls a 17-7 lead and all the momentum.
Boise State drove into USF territory on the next possession, but the defense held on a 4th-and-2 from the USF 23.
The Bulls took over and Brown hit Nimrod for a 55-yard gain to the Boise State 15. On the next play, Brown rumbled around the left side and scored on a 15-yard run to make it 24-7 with 1:44 to play in the third quarter.
The Bulls made in 31-7 after Cartevious Norton finished a 43-yard drive with a powerful 8-yard touchdown run, banging off a defender to score with 13:26 to play.
Nico Gramatica’s second field goal of the day – a 33 -yarder – made it 34-7 as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter.
Boise State struck first in the game, using a short field after the Bulls went for a short 4th-and-1 at their own 38 with 5:52 to play in the first quarter and a quarterback sneak came up short. The Broncos drove 38 yards and took a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard pass from Maddux Madsen to Chris Marshall.
The Bulls responded on their next possession as Gramatica delivered a 52-yard field goal.
South Florida took a 10-7 lead into the half after driving 49-yards and scoring on a 23-yard Brown touchdown run midway through the second quarter.
KEY STATS
• The Bulls defense forced three turnovers – all fumbles – from a Boise State team that lost five fumbles all of last season. The three fumbles tied Boise State’s most since the 2016 season.
• The USF defense held a Boise State team that averaged 37.7 points per game last season to just seven in the Broncos lowest scoring opener since 2013 and lowest scoring game since 2019.
• USF held Boise State to 122 rushing yards, the second-lowest total in the last two seasons,
NOTABLES
• LB Jhalyn Shuler logged a career-best 14 tackles (9 in the first half) and added a fumble recovery.
• QB Byrum Brown ran for touchdowns of 23 and 15 yards on the night and completed 67 percent of his passes in his first start since Sept. 28, 2024.
• K Nico Gramatica hit the fourth 50-yard field goal of his career, tying Marvin Kloss (2011-14) for the most in program history.
UP NEXT
USF will continue the nation’s toughest non-conference schedule when the Bulls head to Gainesville, Fla., to take on No. 15-ranked Florida in a 4:15 p.m. kickoff in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It will be the second of three consecutive games against AP Preseason Top 25 ranked teams.
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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 28th season in 2024 with its second-straight bowl victory in the Hawai’i Bowl. Head coach Alex Golesh posted a program-best six-game turnaround and a Boca Raton Bowl victory in his first season in 2023. USF completed construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023 and a $340-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke ground in the fall of 2024 and is slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 17 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), as well as 33 first-team all-conference honorees. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and the Bulls have made 12 bowl game appearances (going 8-4), 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.
– #GoBulls –
