Sean Atkins set the USF single-season receptions record (69);
USF posted their seventh game with 400+ yards on the year
TAMPA, FLA., Nov. 11, 2023– The USF football team (5-5; 3-3 American) moved to within one game of bowl eligibility with a 27-23 victory over Temple (3-7; 1-5 American) Saturday on Salute to Service Day at Raymond James Stadium.
USF improved to 3-2 at home on the year and delivered head coach Alex Golesh’s fifth win in his debut season, as he matched Jim Leavitt (5-6, 1997) for the third-most wins in a USF head coaches first season.
The Bulls defense delivered four turnovers, including three interceptions of Temple quarterback E.J. Warner, and USF out-gained the Owls 451 to 389 on the day. USF finished with 13 explosive plays on the day, marking its second straight game with 13, and forced the Owls to go a combined 6-of-17 on third and fourth downs.
Quarterback Byrum Brown passed for 316 yards and one touchdown, recording his second consecutive 300-yard game and USF record-tying fourth overall on the season. His leading target on the day was Sean Atkins who made nine catches for a career-best 169 yards and broke the eight-year program record for single-season receptions with 69 on the year, bettering the 67 posted by Rodney Adams in 2016. Defensively, Aamaris Brown recorded two interceptions and defensive end Tramel Logan got a pick-six, the Bulls’ first since 2021.
USF came out of the gates hitting on all cylinders as Brown found Atkins on a 40-yard completion on the games’ opening offensive play. Four plays later, Brown trotted in on a seven-yard touchdown run that put the Bulls up 7-0 just 1:46 into the game, the team’s fastest opening score on the year.
The Bulls defense then did its part, forcing a punt on Temple’s opening possession, the first of three straight stops to begin the game. The Bulls would go on to out-gain Temple 224-37 in the first quarter and build a 17-0 lead.
Brown delivered another bomb, hitting Yusuf Terry for a 44-yard strike that set up a 41-yard John Cannon field goal. USF made it 17-0 with 3:03 to play in the first quarter on a 32-yard Brown touchdown pass to a wide-open Khafre Brown.
Aamaris Brown intercepted Temple’s E.J. Warner on the Owls next possession setting the Bulls up on the TU27 with a chance to extend the lead, but the offense sputtered and Cannon’s 32-yard field goal attempt went wide.
Temple gained its footing, driving 80 yards to get on the board with a 16-yard Warner touchdown pass. The Owls cut the lead to seven on a 42-yard field goal and then picked off Brown on a deep pass over the middle on the Bulls ensuing possession.
The USF defense held and Cannon’s 44-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter gave the Bulls a 20-10 lead at halftime.
The teams traded missed field goal attempts in the third quarter before Logan extended the USF lead when he stepped in front of a Warner pass at the line of scrimmage and returned it 22 yards for the touchdown and a 27-10 lead.
Temple cut the margin to start the fourth quarter when Warner hit Zae Baines with a 20-yard touchdown pass that made in 27-17. After a Bulls punt, Warner drove Temple 83 yards for another touchdown, this time hitting Dante Wright from 12 yards out, to cut the Bulls lead to, 27-23, after the Owls missed the extra point with 7:03 to play.
Taking over on his own 25, Brown guided a 14-play, 58-yard drive, including a big third-and-long completion to Atkins, that ran out Temple’s timeouts and the clock for a Bulls victory.
KEY STATS
• USF posted its seventh game with 400-plus yards on the year. The Bulls entered the game 21st in the country with total yardage.
• The USF defense gained four turnovers on the day, its most since posting five vs. FAMU on Sept. 9.
• USF out-gained Temple 332-144 in the first half before finishing with 451 yards to Temple’s 389.
NOTABLES
• QB Byrum Brown passed for 316 yards and, being sacked six times, totaled 302 yards, giving him 3,197 total yards on the season, which places him seventh on the USF season chart.
• WR Sean Atkins posted nine receptions to break the eight-year program record for single-season receptions with 69. The record was 67 set by Rodney Adams in 2016.
• CB Aamaris Brown recorded his first two interceptions of the season which makes four on his career.
UP NEXT
USF will have a short turn-around as the Bulls head to San Antonio, Texas for a Friday night ESPN2 primetime clash with UTSA. The game will kick off at 9:00 p.m. (ET) and can also be heard on 102.5 FM and Bulls Unlimited on TuneIn radio.
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.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
– #GoBulls –
