TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — No. 18-ranked South Florida (6-2, 3-1 American) saw Memphis (7-1; 3-1 American) come back from a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to claim a 34-31 victory over the Bulls Saturday at Liberty Bowl Stadium in Memphis.
USF used the dynamic play of quarterback Byrum Brown to build a 31-17 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Bulls defense had allowed Memphis, one of the nation’s top rushing teams, just 53 yards on the ground through three quarters and held the Tigers to 6-of-16 on third down, but Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis led the Tigers to a 17-point fourth quarter to keep Memphis’s 11-game home win streak alive.
Brown finished with 390 total yards and three touchdowns, running for 121 and two touchdowns on the ground – his eighth career 100-yard rushing game – and passed for 269 yards and a touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Koger posted his fourth-straight game with a touchdown catch as he made five catches for 78 yards. Sam Franklin ran for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Mac Harris posted a career-best 13 tackles and Jarvis Lee had seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack to lead the Bulls defense.
Memphis drove 70 yards in 11 plays to take the lead with 1:07 to play when Lewis hit Cortez Braham Jr. with a 10-yard touchdown pass – his second of the day.
USF took the kickoff at the 25 and Brown led the Bulls to the Memphis 24, completing four straight passes to Keshaun Singleton. On 2nd-and-10 at the 24 with 10 seconds to play, USF went for the win as Brown took the snap and rolled out under pressure. The Bulls were called for a holding penalty that moved the ball back to the 34. Nico Gramatica came on with three seconds to play to attempt a 52-yard, game-tying field goal that sailed wide left, just missing as time expired.
The Bulls found themselves trailing early after they took the opening kickoff and Brown was intercepted in Bulls territory and Memphis took over at the USF28. Three plays later they had a 7-0 lead after Frank Peasant ran in from 19 yards out.
The Bulls responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game on Brown’s three-yard touchdown run. Brown completed 12-yard and 34-yard passes to Koger to spark the drive.
Late in the first quarter, the Bulls took the lead when Brown orchestrated a 92-yard drive, moving the Bulls from their own 8 and capping the drive with a spectacular 44-yard touchdown run that included breaking several tackles and hurdling a Tiger defender on his way to the endzone.
Another 92-yard drive from the Bulls made it 21-7 after Brown hit Koger with a five-yard touchdown pass, marking the true freshman’s fourth straight game with a touchdown grab.
Memphis closed the gap in the final minute of the first half when Lewis completed a five-yard touchdown pass to cap a 75-yard drive.
With 50 seconds remaining in the half, the Bulls moved the ball 47 yards to set up a 46-yard Gramatica field goal that sent the teams to halftime with USF leading 24-14. The Bulls had posted 349 yards to Memphis’s 121 and held the Tigers to 1-of-7 on third down and just 41 yards rushing in the opening half.
Memphis got the opening second half kickoff and drove 75 yards to cut the lead to 24-17 when Lewis hit Braham with a 5-yard touchdown pass.
The teams exchanged field goals, Gramatica hitting a 45-yarder for USF and Gianni Spetic a 55-yarder for Memphis, that had the Bulls leads leading 24-17 with 9:51 to play in the third quarter. Memphis drove the ball into USF territory but stalled at the USF27 and Gianni’s 45-yard field goal attempt was no good.
One play later, Sam Franklin found a hole up the middle, bounced outside and ripped off a 73-yard touchdown run that put the Bulls up 31-17 as the third quarter expired.
The Tigers responded by outscoring the Bulls 17-0 in the final 15 minutes. The run began with an eight-play, 75-yard drive to cut the lead to 31-23 on a 13-yard run from Greg Desrosiers Jr. The Tiger’s went for two to cut the eight-point deficit, but the attempt failed.
Brown drove the Bulls to midfield, but the Tiger defense held and forced a punt from Chase Leon that was downed at the UM9 with 11:05 to play. Lewis hit Jamari Hawkins on a 57-yard bomb up the middle that put the Tigers on the USF11. The Bulls defense stiffened and didn’t allow Memphis to move the ball from there, forcing a 28-yard field goal that cut the lead to 31-26 with 7:08 to play.
USF picked up two first downs on its ensuing drive and moved to its own 47 before the Bulls were forced to punt. Leon’s 23-yard angled punt went out of bounds at the UM30 setting up the Tiger’s final three-minute and 51-second game winning drive.
KEY STATS
• Memphis won the turnover battle, forcing one on the Bulls opening possession that was converted into a touchdown. USF’s 15-game string of forcing a turnover was broken.
• Memphis gained 76 of its 129 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. It was their second lowest total on the season.
• Memphis outscored USF 20-7 in the second half and 17-0 in the fourth quarter.
• South Florida ran for 295 yards against Memphis. The Bulls have recorded five straight games with 250 or more yards rushing.
• The Bulls recorded 564 yards of total offense. South Florida recorded four straight games with over 500 yards of total offense.
NOTABLES
• QB Byrum Brown posted his eighth career 100-yard rushing game – running for 121 yards and two touchdowns – and tied B.J. Daniels and Jordan Cronkrite for fifth all-time in 100-yard rushing games while moving into third place in the USF record book for rushing TDs with his 25th career rushing TD.
• WR Jeremiah Koger produced 78 receiving yards. He had a career-high five receptions. Has recorded a touchdown in four straight games for the first time in his career.
• RB Sam Franklin produced the longest offensive scoring play of the season with a season-long 73-yard rushing touchdown. He finished the game with 81 yards rushing
• LB Mac Harris led the Bulls with a career-best 13 tackles.
UP NEXT
USF gets a bye week before returning to Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 6 for a Thursday night primetime clash with UTSA. That game is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.