USF turns a prime-time game into a prime-time blowout over UTSA

USF shouted to a national ESPN audience Thursday night that the Bulls are conceduing nothing in the race to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

The Bulls obliterated UTSA with a first-half blitz that turned what was expected to be a competitive game into a channel-flipping blowout, eventually winning 55-23 at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bulls improved to 4-1 in the American Conference and 7-2 overall. It is their most regular-season wins in the three-year Alex Golesh era.

With only one-loss Navy remaining as an apparently serious conference threat on the schedule, the Bulls remain in a strong position to qualify for the American championship game. A win there would give USF a powerful case to join the 12-team playoff.

On paper, the game against UTSA, who stomped Tulane last week, seemed to present a formidable hurdle for the Bulls, who were coming off a disappointing 34-31 loss at Memphis. However, it took just eight seconds to dispel that notion.

"I wanted to see how we were going to respond. I wanted to see if we could go get focused play with a violent intent," Golesh told Bulls Unlimited afterward. "That's been the challenge, the response. You know, I've told these guys all along, like the down is inevitable, but how you respond is how we're defined as men, and it can either be your prisoner, could be your testimony. Tonight, I felt like it was their testimony."

Pressure from safety Jarvis Lee forced a wounded-duck pass that Tavin Ward intercepted and ran untouched for a 40-yard touchdown. Not long after that, safety Fred Gaskin ran 93 yards with a strip forced by Lee for a touchdown.

That set the tone.

UTSA ran the first 27 offensive plays of the game but trailed 14-3. It was the first time in 20 years that USF didn't throw a pass in the first quarter. A 31-point strafing by the Bulls in the second quarter made it 45-10 at halftime, which drained the drama from the final two quarters.

So be it.

Where do we start with the superlatives?

Byrum Brown, of course. The Bulls' elite quarterback completed 14 of 15 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Add it up: that is 348 total yards and three touchdowns, his fifth straight game with those totals, and he was relaxing on the sideline before the end of the third quarter.

He had the ESPN broadcast crew talking about why he should be considered for the Heisman Trophy, and it's a worthy discussion.

Running back Nykahi Davenport ran for a couple of touchdowns.

Keshaun Singleton caught a pair of TD passes. The defense, with six sacks, throttled a Roadrunners' attack that was reputed to be lethal.

By midway through the quarter, the ESPN broadcast crew was talking about the Big Ten and other teams instead of trying to drum up interest in a game USF led 52-10 at that point.

So, now what?

The Bulls are off until November 15, when they travel to Annapolis to face Navy. The Midshipmen, like USF, have just one conference loss. If the Bulls win that one, their final two conference games are against sub .500 teams -- at UAB, and home against Rice.

If the Bulls sweep those games, it's highly likely they will play in the conference championship game with a possible playoff berth at stake.

After a show like they put on Thursday night, anything seems possible.