Week 1 against Boise State at Ray Jay at 5:30 PM on a Thursday? Unusual yes, but when it’s go time, it’s go time! Kicking off Week 1 of the Bulls 2025 campaign against a Boise State squad who played in the College Football Playoff in 2024 is a heck of a way to begin the season. Let’s dive into the game and we promise to not make any knee-jerk reactions to Game 1 with us being “reasonable” supporters of this great University…
Offense… Welcome Back Byrum Brown!
BB might not have thrown a touchdown against the Broncos, but he found the endzone twice on the ground! This was Byrum’s first game back with “meaningful” snaps behind center since the Tulane game last year and it’s safe to say that BB is back like he never left. We saw the same player on Thursday night akin to his 2023 campaign where Byrum put up similar numbers to Heisman trophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels. BB combined for 253 total yards with a 67% completion rate against the Broncos where it wasn’t until the second quarter for the offense to find a rhythm. Oh yeah… Byrum also claimed a few bodies on the Boise State squad on the ground too. As they used to say when I played ball in high school (or still say today…) HIT THE WEIGHT ROOM KID!
You all know about Keshaun Singleton who followed up last year’s breakout campaign with 5 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown against Boise State, but Chas Nimrod introduced himself to the Bulls offense in a big way on Thursday night as well. Nimrod had two huge plays at different points in the game which ignited a USF offense that needed a kick in the butt to get going. Look for #2 and #11 this year on the outside for this Bulls offense.
Defense… #HitSquad
It’s not often that you see a complete effort from a defense, especially against a Top 25 team in the nation. The Bulls defense was everywhere on Thursday and one thing that stood out to me throughout the game was the level of physicality that USF played with through four quarters. 1 sack, 5 TFLs, 6 breakups, 5 quarterback hits, and 2 forced fumbles give you an idea of what type of performance it was but trust me when I tell you that you needed to see it for yourself that this defense was not the same ‘ol South Florida. This was the first time (in a long time) that I saw USF play with this type of intensity on defense and it paid off in a big way. If the defense continues to play at a high level throughout the rest of the season, this team will be hard to beat.
There are a number of guys that I can name who shined on defense but let me give you two that really stood out to me. First (to no surprise) is LB Jhalyn Shuler who is the epitome of the “He’s Everywhere!” moniker as #7 finished the night with 14 total tackles. Not bad having double the number of tackles as your jersey number! Next on the list is CB Jonas Duclona who really flashed in Week 1 as a potential “dude” for this defense posting 6 tackles (all solo), 1 TFL, 1 breakup, and 1 forced fumble. The Naples product who spent a few seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers made himself known and if this is the launching point for his career with the Bulls, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit.
Special Teams… Special Players
Nico Gramatica from 52 yards sounds about right and it’s safe to say that Gramatica is back to form from his 2024 season as USF’s guy from long range. Nico also hit from 33 yards in the 4th and was 4-4 on XPs. Chase Leon replaces Andrew Stokes as the punter who averaged 42.3 yards per punt with one downed inside of the 20-yard line.
Wait, I think I’m missing something…
Absolute cinema 🤌#ComeToTheBay | #StayInTheBay pic.twitter.com/heEe6RBcSk
— USF Football (@USFFootball) August 29, 2025