As USF gets ready to play to FAU, the Bulls' starting QB remains a mystery

USF head football coach Alex Golesh said he would probably know by Thursday who will start at quarterback for Friday’s nationally televised game at Florida Atlantic, but my guess is the rest of us probably won't know until kickoff.

Byrum Brown, as we know, hasn’t played since leaving with an injured left leg three games ago at Tulane. His replacement, Bryce Archie, struggled against Memphis but rebounded in a 35-25 win over UAB.

Archie threw for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns in that game and had one interception. As Archie has played more this season, his touch on deep passes has improved. That’s an area where Brown has struggled.

“Bryce has taken a lot of the (first team) reps because you don't know Byrum was truly ready yet. He's moving around.  Byrum, so much of his game is what he can do with his feet and create,” Golesh said.

“And if he's not totally healthy, or at least close to -- I don't know if a quarterback is ever totally healthy as the season goes -- but as healthy enough to where he can do what he does, we wouldn't put him out there.”

The stats bear that out.

Despite missing two and a half games, Brown still has the most carries on the team.  He also has the second-highest yardage total. He has thrown for only two touchdowns.

Golesh was asked if he believed in the adage that a player can’t lose his starting role because of an injury. His answer was interesting.

“I think we'll cross the bridge when we get there. You hope Bryce makes it really, really hard on me, right? And I think Byrum will be the first to tell you that that he wasn't operating at an elite clip when he got hurt either,” Golesh said.

“Offensively as a whole, we're continuing to search, man, what are the right pieces? And when I say search, I think continuing to try to push to make sure our best eleven are out there all the time, and then that the guys that go in after them are the next best eleven.”

The Bulls came alive offensively in the second half of the UAB game, scoring 28 points. Cynics would dismiss that as the byproduct of playing a mediocre team, but given the way USF has struggled on offense for much of the season, the outburst was a welcome sight.

Some of the struggles are directly attributable to the quality of the opposition. But it’s also fair to note that Brown hasn’t looked comfortable for much of the season. When healthy, he remains the Bulls’ best option, but Archie has shown he can play, too.

Who will it be on Friday night?

If I had to bet, I would say Archie gets the nod because it doesn't sound like Brown is 100% yet.

I guess we’ll find out soon enough.