TAMPA, FLA., SEPT. 21, 2024– The South Florida football team battled No. 8 Miami close through a competitive first half before the Hurricanes pulled away, scoring 36 unanswered points after trailing 15-14 with two minutes to play in the first half for a 50-15 victory Saturday night in front of 58,616 fans in Raymond James Stadium.
The crowd included a record 15,670 student tickets distributed and more than 100 green and gold painted “Beef Studs” in the front row of the north endzone student section. The Bulls fell to 2-2 on the year, facing their second top-10 ranked team in three weeks, while Miami improved to 4-0. USF opens American Athletic Conference play at Tulane Saturday.
In a battle of two of the top quarterbacks in the nation, USF’s Byrum Brown completed 19-of-30 passes for 254 yards, ran for 27 yards and caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Sean Atkins. He left the game at the start of the fourth quarter with an injury, but returned in uniform to the sideline. Miami’s Cam Ward passed for 404 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 43.
Atkins logged his fourth career 100-yard game, catching a career-best 11 passes for 125 yards. He moved into second all-time on the USF career charts with 145 catches and stands fifth in career receiving yards with 1,695.
USF trailed 22-15 at the half in a highly competitive game in which Miami led in yardage, 236-222, but the Bulls got three field goals and a touchdown while the Hurricanes logged three touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Both teams had racked up eight penalties. The Bulls got the opening second half kickoff, but couldn’t move it and had to punt. Miami took over at its own 20 and Ward moved the Canes 80 yards in 12 plays for a 29-15 lead.
The Bulls were forced to punt again, after a big Brown gain on the ground was called back on a holding penalty, and Ward moved Miami 80 yards again to take a 36-15 lead on Damien Martinez’s second one-yard touchdown run.
Brown left with an injury and USF was forced to punt again. Miami again drove 80 yards for a 43-15 lead as Ward hit Xavier Restrepo with a five-yard touchdown pass with 7:40 to play.
Miami took the opening kickoff, converted and early third-and-long, and drove 75 yards for the opening touchdown on a two-yard run by Martinez, the first of his three rushing touchdowns on the night.
The Bulls responded by driving 35 yards before trotting out freshman kicker Nico Gramatica for a 58-yard field goal attempt. He nailed it right down the middle with room to spare for the second-longest field goal in program history behind his uncle Bill Gramatica’s 63-yarder in 2000. It was also Nico’s first collegiate field goal.
The Bulls defense rose to the occasion on Miami’s next possession as a Ward came off the hip of receiver Jacolby George and Paco Austin grabbed it to set the Bulls up on the UM30. Brown hit Atkins for an 18-yard completion up the middle to get USF moving and, two plays later, Atkins took the ball from Nay’Quan Wright on a reverse pass play and hit Brown open in the flat. The 229-pound quarterback trotted into the endzone with his first career receiving touchdown. The PAT attempt was blocked, breaking a string of 56 straight for John Cannon and keeping the Bulls lead at 9-7.
USF executed what appeared to be a perfect onside kick with Gramatica bouncing the ball high over the Miami front line and Josh Porter racing downfield to grab it just in bounds. But after a long review, officials confirmed the call on the field that Porter was offsides on the play.
After a re-kick, Miami took over on its own 10 and moved downfield quickly with Ward hitting his receivers and finally reaching pay dirt with a six-yard toss to Isaiah Horton to make it 14-9 Hurricanes.
The Bulls punched back, driving 42 yards and setting Gramatica up for another long field goal attempt. This time he knocked through a 51-yarder to become the first Bull with multiple 50-yard field goals in the same game.
The USF defense got a stop on the next Miami possession and Brown went to work hitting Atkins with multiple completions to move the Bulls into Miami territory. USF had a 4th-and-1 at the UM43. Brown ran left and optioned to Wright who picked up the first down. A 14-yard completion to Josh Hardeman, who dragged several Miami defenders downfield, got the Bulls to the UM8. But the drive stalled after a third-down sack and, after a false start penalty, Cannon knocked through a 45-yard field goal that gave the Bulls a 15-14 lead with 2:36 to play in the first half.
Two plays later, Ward hit Samuel Brown for a 76-yard touchdown down the Miami sideline. After a converted two-point play with Ward hitting Martinez, the Canes led 22-15.
Brown moved the Bulls 62 yards in seven plays and set up a 31-yard field goal attempt for Cannon, but it slipped just right of the goal post and the Canes took the 22-15 lead to the locker room.
KEY STATS
• Miami led in yardage 236-222 at the half, but finished with 592 yards to the Bulls 303.
• After trailing 15-14, Miami scored 36 unanswered points.
• USF was held without a sack for the first time this season after posting three in every previous game on the year.
NOTABLES
• K Nico Gramatica the freshman made his first career field goal with a 58-yarder in the first quarter and made a 51-yarder in the second, becoming the first Bull with multiple 50-yard field goals in the same game. His 58-yarder is second only to his uncle Bill Gramatica’s 63-yarder vs. Austin Peay in 2000.
• WR Sean Atkins made a career-high 11 catches for 125 yards to move into second all-time in career receptions (145) and fifth all-time in career receiving yards (1,695) at USF.
• CB Paco Austin posted his first interception at USF and the second of his career.
UP NEXT
The Bulls hit the road for the 2024 American Athletic Conference opener at Tulane next Saturday. That game is set for an 12 p.m.kickoff from Yulman Stadium in New Orleans and will be televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU.
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