USF shows College Football Playoff potential with physical beatdown of North Texas

Watching the thrill ride that USF football has become can be draining, but by now, fans should understand that the Bulls have things under control even when it looks like it could be falling apart.

That was the case Friday night in the high-stakes American Conference showdown at unbeaten North Texas. Um, make that "previously unbeaten" North Texas.

Before we got that far, however, there was a little drama -- OK, a lot. The Bulls had three (count 'em, three) turnovers in the first quarter.

Let's see: They're on the road at a sold-out stadium against a team that can strike quickly, and the Bulls just gift-wrapped opportunities for the Mean Green with two fumbles by quarterback Byrum Brown and an interception.

Worried?

"Three turnovers in the first quarter is going to make it hard to win any game," USF coach Alex Golesh said.

But as Brown said, “Keep swinging.”

Indeed, these Bulls possess a "next-play" mindset and a laser-like focus on the task at hand. And by the time the game ended, 3 hours and 57 minutes after it started, USF had rolled up a 63-36 victory before an ESPN2 national TV audience.

That moves the Bulls to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference. It keeps all their goals intact -- a conference championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff remain on the table.

First things first, though.

"What it sets up is an opportunity to go back home. Rest tomorrow, and then get ready for Homecoming on Saturday night," Golesh said.

Don't look ahead to the October 25 game at Memphis, Bulls fans, because that's not what your team is doing. Besides a "next-play" mentality, USF has a "next-game" focus, and that means the players and coaches now turn their full attention to Florida Atlantic next Saturday night.

In the meantime, they'll try to clean up the turnovers, which are becoming annoying. They have had eight giveaways in the last three games. So far, it hasn't hurt the Bulls because, as Golesh said,
"Where we've grown as a program, there's no 'here we go again' moments."

Against North Texas, the roller-coaster of the first quarter turned into an avalanche of offense for USF. A muffed punt by the Mean Green late in the second quarter turned into a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Jonathan Echols with two seconds left in the half. That tied the score at 21-all, and the Bulls steamrolled the Mean Green after that.

USF put up 28 points in the third quarter, scoring an eye-popping four touchdowns in just 3:27. The blitz no doubt left the home team wondering what had hit them, but it's typical of the way this season is going for the Bulls.

North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker came into the game with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions through five games. The Bulls put an end to that streak, intercepting him three times and sacking him twice. USF was dominant on both the offensive and defensive lines. Brown, on the other hand, accounted for five touchdowns -- three passing, two running -- for the second straight game.

"We're playing very physically," Brown said. "You can just feel when our offensive line is feeling it. We were getting their D-Line pushed back 3 yards a pop. Them just leaning on opponents has been huge for our offense."

The Bulls gained 580 total yards, including 306 on the ground. They have 1,715 total yards in the last three games and have scored 180 points -- an average of 60 per game.

The turnovers are a concern for sure, especially as the opponents get tougher (looking at you, Memphis) and the stakes get higher.

If they can eliminate those, imagine what this offense can do.

Sixty points per game?

"It should be 70-plus, every game," Brown said.

In other words, keep swinging.