On Oct. 16th, 2021, the Bulls entered Raymond James Stadium for their second conference game this season as they took on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. USF faced off against Tulsa last season losing 42-13. Rocking the gold domes in the Bay, the Bulls fought the Golden Hurricane until the very end, slipping to Tulsa in the forth quarter 32-31. Covering a number of Bulls that stood out during the game along with my thoughts/opinions on each side of the ball, check out the game analysis down below!
Injury News and Notes
Bulls welcomed CB T.J. Robinson back into the lineup who started opposite of Daquan Evans. Jalen Herring was also active, but didn’t see any action on defense from what I saw in the box. RB Darrian Felix was active as well, but didn’t see any touches in the backfield.
CB Christian Williams was fully dressed for the game, but was held out of action. Williams should be active next Saturday against Temple after suffering an ankle injury early on in the season.
#TransferReceiverSZN
Shoutout to Xavier Weaver for leading the receiver group with four catches for 52 yards on the day, but I wanted to highlight the transfer receivers in Yusuf Terry (2 catches, 33 yards) and Demarcus Gregory (2 catches, 49 yards) for stepping up for the Bulls against Tulsa. Terry has seen action all season, but hasn’t seen many passes come his way until Saturday. The Baylor transfer is a talented WR on the outside and should see more opportunities as the season progresses. Similar to Terry, the Ole Miss transfer WR Demarcus Gregory came alive against BYU a few weeks ago and continues to shine when his number is called on offense.
Demarcus Gregory WHAT A CATCH!!!!! #BeatTulsa pic.twitter.com/8iillxgFst
— SoFloBulls (@SoFloBulls_) October 16, 2021
Jaren Mangham
Make it 10 rushing TDs for the Colorado transfer through six games who added 75 yards on the ground as well. Mangham had 13 carries on the day with Timmy McClain rushing it 14 times for 24 yards and a TD. Jaren continues to lead this backfield in carries on a week to week basis and I personally don’t see that changing much unless the coaching staff looks to factor in the other backs on a more consistent basis. My best guess is that you will see the offense go with the hot hand (in this game, it was Mangham) where other backs will have their opportunities depending on the situation.
And there goes that MAN!@JarenMangham TD No. 1⃣0⃣ on the year.
TUL – 3
USF – 10#US2F pic.twitter.com/fhIfSwMBAb— USF Football (@USFFootball) October 16, 2021
Offense
Wasn’t the performance that we have been accustomed in seeing with this USF offense so far this season in what felt like a game where the offense had its moments on some drives, but would then have several three and outs that would put the ball right back in Tulsa’s hands. If anything, this is a game that the offense learns from as Tulsa’s defense gave the USF offense fits whether up front against the run or in the secondary on pass plays that usually fare well for this offense. I’m anticipating an offense that looks much better overall against Temple next week where consistency is the common theme for the Bulls in practice on Monday.
💨 Timmy McClain to the crib!!!!! #TimmyTime #BeatTulsa pic.twitter.com/cdu25zov2Z
— SoFloBulls (@SoFloBulls_) October 16, 2021
Defense
Talk about guys making PLAYS on defense! Antonio Grier had a strip sack to his name early on in the game which helped set up a Bulls TD by Jaren Mangham. Grier followed that up by a interception return for six later in the game where we saw a Bulls defense make big time plays throughout the game. In the postgame press conference, Coach Jeff Scott mentioned that the bye week helped get Grier healthy in a year where the Georgia linebacker has yet to be 100% for a matchup this season. Big kudos to Grier for the performance today and for his continued impact on this Bulls program.
ANTONIO GRIER WITH THE PICK 6!!!!! HELL YEAH!!! #BeatTulsa pic.twitter.com/JJcFfFUrij
— SoFloBulls (@SoFloBulls_) October 16, 2021
Dwayne Boyles added himself into the INT conversation with a pick of his own. For a defense that has struggled to force turnovers all season, this was a game that saw a defense make the plays that it needed to keep Tulsa out of the end-zone on a handful of drives. Also want to credit Vincent “Smoke” Davis with 13 total tackles on the day, one of his best performances as a Bull to date. The Jacksonville native had 2 TFLs against Tulsa and seemed like he was living in the Golden Hurricane backfield as this defense fought tooth and nail against a tough Tulsa team that was strong in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Back-to-back games for @Dreadhead_wayne‼️
That halts a Tulsa drive in the red zone and the Bulls take over!#US2F pic.twitter.com/turOGmYK6Q
— USF Football (@USFFootball) October 16, 2021
Special Teams
Brian Battie with the house call for six! What an answer to a Tulsa TD early on in the second quarter!
BRIAN BATTIE 100 YARDS TO THE CRIB!!! #BeatTulsa pic.twitter.com/H0Gc5JjqLZ
— SoFloBulls (@SoFloBulls_) October 16, 2021
Kicker Spencer Shrader had one field goal attempt that was good from 44 yards. Punter Andrew Stokes punted four times for a total of 165 yards (41.3 yards/punt) with his longest being 52 yards.
Next Up…
The Bulls’ next game will be its third conference game and will take place against the Temple Owls on 10/23 at 7:00 PM EST in Tampa.
Nothing more to say than it’s time to WIN. Let’s get this W against Temple next Saturday…