Friday, 3 a.m.
For a team that is building, the best finishes to a season feel like starts.
So it was for Alex Golesh and the USF Bulls, a team that seems to be building momentum after a 45-0 victory over Syracuse Thursday night.
For a lot of teams, a 7-6 record isn’t a lot to brag about. But the Bulls had won just four games in the previous three years combined, and this year, they played in four games where they gave up 48. points or more.
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Then came the Boca Raton Bowl, and USF dominated the Orange, who had fired coach Dino Babers and lost quarterback Garrett Shrader to injury late in the season.
The Orangemen, also 6-6 in the regular season, never had a chance against USF. The Bulls, one of the worst defenses in college football this season, held Syracuse to 139 yards passing and 20 yards (on 41 rushes) on the ground. LeQuint Allen, who had four games of more than 100 yards this year, carried 21 times for zero yards.
USF also returned fumbles of 64 yards (Aamaris Brown) and 61 yards (Tramel Logan). It was 31-0 at the half.
The Bulls, meanwhile, got 214 yards passing and 65 yards rushing from Byrum Brown. Receiver Sean Atkins caught six passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the defensive lapses, the Bulls had an impressive first year under Golesh.