QB Byrum Brown turns in superlative performance, ties program record with five touchdown passes
MEMPHIS, TENN., Nov. 4, 2023– The USF football team (4-5; 2-3 American) got a superlative performance from freshman quarterback Byrum Brown but couldn’t overcome an early 14-0 deficit in a 59-50 loss to Memphis (7-2; 4-1 American) at Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn.
In the 12th meeting in the series, the Bulls found themselves in a 14-0 hole just 3:38 into the game and battled back, cutting the lead to seven four times before tying the game at 35 early in the third quarter and then taking a 42-38 lead. But Memphis scored 21 straight points, including a big 85-yard touchdown pass, to derail the comeback that saw USF tally 583 yards of offense.
Brown started the game 13-of-13 with two touchdowns before finishing 31-of-39 for 357 yards and five touchdowns. He added 100 yards rushing as he logged 457 total yards and tied a 21-year-old program record for touchdown passes in a game, connecting with five different receivers to tie the mark set by Marquel Blackwell in 2002. His leading target on the day was Sean Atkins who made nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown and improved his season total to 60, the third-best mark in program history and just seven shy of Rodney Adams school record of 67.
Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, as Memphis posted 366 first half yards on its way to 580 for the game. Henigan, who was knocked out of the game in the third quarter, finished with 349 yards.
Memphis took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards in five plays for the opening touchdown and then capitalized on a wild Brown fumble on the Bulls’ first possession.
On third-and-long, Brown lost his grip on the ball as he attempted a pass and the ball squirted out to the sideline where the Tigers recovered and returned it to the USF3. One play later it was 14-0 with 11:23 to play in the first quarter.
The Bulls would cut the margin to seven four times in the first half, before the teams went to halftime with the Tigers leading 35-28.
USF got the ball to start the second half and drove to the Memphis 31 where they had a fourth-and-three, Brown battled for extra yards on a keeper and converted. Two plays later he hit Jaden Alexis for a 9-yard touchdown and USF had the game tied at 35.
The Bulls’ defense forced a 45-yard field from Memphis and the Tigers reclaimed a 38-35 lead.
Brown led the USF 75 yards in seven plays, including a 28-yard run of his own and completions of 21 and 19 yards, before Kelley Joiner ran in from nine yards out to give the Bulls their only lead, 42-38, with 6:53 to play in the third quarter.
A Blake Watson 34-yard touchdown run put Memphis back on top, 45-42, a lead the Tigers took into the fourth quarter after Brown was intercepted in the end zone late in the third quarter on a play in which it appeared a Memphis defender took the USF receiver out of the play.
The Bulls knocked Henigan out of the game briefly after a short two-yard run, but back-up quarterback Tevin Carter came on and hit Roc Taylor on a 10-yard out on the sideline. Taylor made the Bulls defender miss and tip-toed up the sideline before racing 85 yards for a touchdown that gave Memphis a 52-42 lead.
After the teams exchanged possessions, USF took over on its own 3 with 8:13 to play and down 10. The Bulls went for it on fourth-and-two from the 10 and Brown’s pass to Atkins came up just short of a first down. The USF defense would get the ball back, stopping a Tiger’s fourth down attempt, but the Bulls failed to get a first down on their next possession and came up short on another fourth down attempt. This time Memphis punched in the touchdown on a short field and affectively iced the game.
USF’s first response to the early 14-0 deficit was fueled by runs from Atkins (20 yards) and Brown (24 yards). A 7-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Atkins capped a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and cut the lead in half.
After Memphis extended its lead to 21-7 with an eight-play 75-yard drive, Brown and Atkins again combined for big plays to fuel a 74-yard Bulls’ touchdown drive. Atkins took a long lateral pass and ran 14 yards and then slipped behind the corner and caught a 22-yard dart from Brown. Brown floated a beautiful 29-yard touchdown pass to Naiem Simmons to cut the Tiger lead to 21-14.
Henigan marched Memphis back down the field, completing the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass for a 28-14 lead. Brown moved the Bulls 83 yards in just 1:37, hitting Simmons for a big 44-yard gain and Michael Brown-Stephens for a 29-yard chunk before Nay’Quan Wright capped the drive with a 1-yard run that made it 28-21.
Memphis again responded, going 75 yards on seven plays and extending the lead back to 14, 35-21, on Henigan’s fourth touchdown pass of the first half.
After Memphis forced a punt, the USF defense did the same for the first time in the half, except Matthew Hill broke through the line and blocked the Tigers’ effort. Timarcus Simpson recovered at the 33 and returned the ball to the Memphis 9.
Brown hit Jayson Littlejohn in the endzone four players later and the Bulls had cut the lead to seven, 35-28, for the fourth time.
KEY STATS
• After trailing 14-0 early, USF cut the Memphis lead to seven four times in the first half before eventually taking the lead in the third quarter.
• Memphis posted 14 explosive plays and 238 yards after the catch on its way to 580 total yards.
• USF committed two turnovers – a fumble and interception – while Memphis had none.
NOTABLES
• QB Byrum Brown tied aa 21-year-old program record set by Marquel Blackwell (2002) with five touchdown passes in the game.
• S Matt Hill’s blocked punt in the second quarter was USF’s first since the 2012 season.
• WR Sean Atkins continued his string of at least four catches in every game as he led USF with nine and now has 60 on the year, just seven shy of the single-season record.
UP NEXT
USF will return to Raymond James Stadium for the Salute to Service game next Saturday vs. Temple. That game is set for a noon kickoff on ESPN+. USF season ticket members have sponsored the distribution of nearly 7,000 tickets for the gamed to active service members through the Seats for Service program.
Season tickets • Single-game tickets • Group tickets (10+): call 1-800-GoBulls
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 26th season in 2022 while completing construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections, including 2021 consensus All-American kick returner Brian Battie, and had 32 first-team all-conference selections. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and has made 10 bowl game appearances (going 6-4 in those games), posting a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010 and most recently making four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18. The Bulls 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 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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– #GoBulls –
