USF football made memories of a lifetime in Hawaii, but now it's time to play ball

HAWAI`I BOWL, 8 PM, DECEMBER 24

USF (6-6; 4-4 American) vs San Jose State (7-5; 3-4 Mountain West)

TV: ESPN Tiffany Greene (Play-by-play ), Jay Walker (Analyst), Marilyn Payne (Reporter)

AUDIO: USF Broadcast: 102.5 FM/102.5 HD2 The Strike and Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)

ESPN National Radio: Kevin Winter and Trevor Matich

After USF demolished a badly depleted Syracuse team 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl last year, Bulls coach Alex Golesh bluntly summed up the evening from his perspective.

“There’s a team that wants to be there — a team that’s just happy to be there — and a team that wants to win the game. We were there to win the game,” he said.

He’s taking the same approach to the Hawai`i Bowl tonight. The Bulls are happy to be there and have done their share of sightseeing in what you can argue is their BEST TRIP EVER!! But amid all the joy and memories they are making, USF is there to win the game.

The problem is, so is San Jose State. The Bulls are 3-point underdogs.

USF is 6-6 entering the game while the Spartans are 7-5 under former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, who is in his first year at San Jose.

“To finish off with eight wins, which we haven’t done since 2012 and to win a bowl game, which we haven’t done since 2015,” he said. “We want to finish strong.”

Niumatalolo is well-acquainted with USF from his days at Navy, where he ran a confounding triple-option offense that was challenging for opposing defenses to prepare for. That won’t be a problem this time, however.

With quarterback Walter Eget calling the shots, the Spartans passing attack ranks fifth in the country with 352 yards per game. The Bulls caught a break when San Jose State’s top receiver, Nick Nash, opted out of the game to concentrate on the NFL draft.

Still, the USF secondary is the most vulnerable unit on the team, ranking 127th nationally in passing yards allowed, so the Spartans’ game plan won’t change much.

So even with their up-tempo offense, expect the Bulls to rely heavily on the run game to chew up the clock. That could lead to a big evening for running backs Kelley Joiner and Nay`Quan Wright.

Also, there’s the X-factor – quarterback Byrum Brown.

Golesh has given his strongest hints yet that Brown is ready to play after his injury on September 28 at Tulane knocked him out for the rest of the regular season. Running is a big part of Brown’s game. Bryce Archie, who stood in for Brown after the injury, has shown flashes of running ability, too – just not as frequently as Brown.

A win would give the Bulls a second straight 7-6 record, but considering all the obstacles they faced this season it would be a significant improvement over last year. They had the NCAA’s 8th-toughest schedule for the first six games – Alabama, Miami, Tulane, and Memphis.

They had the disruption wrought by Hurricane Milton, which forced them to relocate operations to Orlando. And, of course, there was the injury to Brown, which removed one of the primary weapons on offense.

And while a loss wouldn’t be a catastrophic setback to the program, it would leave Golesh with a 13-13 record after two seasons. Worse, the Bulls would go into the off-season knowing they still haven’t beaten  a team with a winning record under Golesh.

That’s why, despite all the good things the trip to Hawaii has offered the Bulls, it’s time to play football and to remember why they are there. That won't be a problem.