Brian Battie Returns Two Kicks for Touchdowns in USF’s 54-42 Shootout with Houston

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On November 6^th, 2021, the South Florida Bulls (2-7,1-4) hosted the red hot Houston Cougars (8-1,6-0) at Raymond James Stadium for their annual conference matchup. Despite losing the game 52 – 42, the final score does tell the tale of last week’s Homecoming Game.

Sporting their retro Robo-Bull Helmets to commemorate the 25^th season of USF Football, the Bulls received the ball to kickoff what would be a offensive track meet.

Brian Battie

As if he was shot out of a cannon, Running Back Brian Battie finessed his way through the Cougar Special Teams players and ultimately scored a 100-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff of the game. Following the long touchdown return by Battie, USF fans had Raymond James Stadium shaking with excitement.

Guess what– this was not the last time we heard Battie’s name announced by the PA Announcer following a touchdown. He ended up scoring two more times for the Bulls.

With 6:44 remaining in the First Quarter, Battie ran for his second touchdown of the night, a 29-yard rush straight to the end zone.

Brian Battie is a bad, bad, man, and he made sure every Houston football player knew his name.

Following a long Houston touchdown, the Cougars kicked off with 2:16 to play in the First Half. The Cougars clearly hadn’t learned their lesson because their kicker sent the ball Battie’s way again.

Just like the first one, he turned the jets on and returned the kickoff 100-yards for a touchdown yet again.

At Halftime, Battie had three total touchdown for a total of over 200 all-purpose yards.

To end the game, Battie’s total yardage reached over 230 yards.

Battie joined former Bull, Terrence Horne (Georgia Tech 2018), among 27 players in NCAA History to score two touchdowns on kickoffs in a game and the only two in AAC History. The only other player to do it this season is Jameson Williams from Alabama.

Additionally, Battie tied an NCAA Record recording two 100-yard kickoff returns in the same game, marking three for him on the season which is one off the NCAA record of four set by Reggie Dunn of Utah in 2012.

To simplify everything, Brian Battie is currently one of the best players currently playing College Football.

Additional Offense

 Yes, players other than Brian Battie touched the ball and scored.

Quarterback Timmy McClain completed 22-46 of his passes for 289 yards (6.3 yards/completion) and two touchdowns. McClain’s first touchdown pass was a 33-yard completion to Tight End Mitchell Brinkman.

The second was to Tight End Chris Carter and was his first career touchdown.

McClain also led the Bulls in rushing yards with 46 on 11 carries. He even ran in a touchdown in the game’s closing minutes.

Wide Receiver Xavier Weaver hauled in 6 catches for 105 yards (17.5 yards/catch) with his longest of the night being 40 yards over the middle of the field on a laser of a pass from McClain. Though he did not score, Weaver continued to prove why he is a valuable asset to this USF Squad.

Running Back Kelley Joiner brought in four catches for 44 yards (11.0 yards/catch), and Wide Receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. caught two passes for 34 yards (17.0 yards/catch).

Defense

 It’s hard to evaluate what went well defensively considering the Defense allowed Houston to gain a total of 646 offensive yards. It is incredibly tough to win a football game while allowing that many yards and nearly 60 points.

With that being said I’d like to credit Linebacker Antonio Grier (12 TOT, 8 Solo, 1 Sack, 2.5 TFL), Defensive Back Mekhi LaPointe (7 TOT, 6 Solo), Defensive Back Daquan Evans (5 TOT, 4 Solo, 1 PD), and Defensive Tackle Blake Green (3 TOT, 2 Solo, 1 Sack, and 1 TFL) for their incredible efforts in the game.

Special Teams

 Kicker Spencer Shrader attempted six extra points and made all of them. He is gradually climbing the rankings for the Lou Groza Award.

Tonight on ESPN2

 Tonight, Nov. 12, the South Florida Bulls host the highest ranked team in program history in the No. 5 Cincinnati Bearcats. The game will air on ESPN2 with a scheduled 6:00 PM kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.