USF pulls away in second half on tumultuous day in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The South Florida Bulls (8-3) surged in the second half to a 48-18 victory against the UAB Blazers (3-8) on Saturday afternoon.

It was a lethargic start for the Bulls. They were just a week removed from a devastating loss to Navy and played in front of a sparse crowd of 16,376 at Protective Stadium. Those factors contributed to a first half in which the Bulls looked sluggish.

USF committed eight penalties totaling 69 yards before halftime. Sophomore safety Fred Gaskin was ejected in the first quarter for targeting — the first time a Bulls player has been ejected this season.

The Bulls trailed 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. After that, USF dominated, outscoring UAB 41-8 the rest of the way.

USF scored 31 points and averaged 12.6 yards per play in the second half. The Bulls had a 64% success rate on offense in the game.

“We can’t play football like that. We looked about as average as average gets in the first half. In the second half, we were just us. We played defense where we created stops and got off the field and explosives on offense, and that looked like us,” head coach Alex Golesh said.

The 2025 Bulls became the eighth team in program history to win eight or more regular-season games. USF is 11-4 following a loss during Golesh’s tenure.

Senior quarterback Byrum Brown had another spectacular performance, posting a season-high 353 passing yards, 63 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. Brown has a rushing and passing touchdown in all seven of the Bulls’ games against American Conference foes.

The Bulls’ offense was fueled by career days from its skill players.

Sophomore running back Nykai Davenport had a career-high 121 rushing yards and added a touchdown. He became the first USF running back this season to surpass 100 rushing yards in a game.

Graduate receiver Mudia Reuben caught five passes for a career-high 174 yards and two touchdowns. Reuben hauled in scoring passes of 60 and 59 yards on Saturday, his first career game topping 100 receiving yards. His 60-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half sparked the Bulls’ surge out of the locker room.

Sophomore Keshaun Singleton had six receptions for 93 yards. His 752 receiving yards this season rank sixth-most in a single season in USF history.

USF intercepted UAB senior quarterback Jalen Kitna three times, giving the Bulls 23 takeaways this season.

Graduate linebacker Mac Harris and Gaskin both intercepted Kitna in the first half — the second pick of the year for both. Fifth-year senior cornerback De’Shawn Rucker recorded his first career interception in the third quarter.

Kitna completed 20-of-36 passes for 230 yards and did not account for a touchdown. Sophomore receiver Iverson Hooks had 10 receptions for 146 yards.

USF’s defense held UAB to 3.0 yards per rush and recorded seven tackles for loss. Senior defensive lineman Josh Celiscar and sophomore linebacker Ira Singleton each had a sack.

The biggest storyline from the game emerged before kickoff. On Saturday morning, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Daniel Mincey stabbed two of his teammates and was arrested. Mincey is facing charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder.

In a statement released by UAB, the school confirmed the two players stabbed were in “stable condition.”

“We spoke as a team and those guys really wanted to play today. And really, the conversation went back to the seniors. With it being senior day, they wanted to play for them and give them an opportunity to go out and play,” interim head coach Alex Mortensen said.

Multiple Blazers sat out because of the incident. In total, UAB had 18 players listed as out in its pregame availability report.

“About as unique of a situation I think anybody can be in with the situation that happened with the players at UAB,” Golesh said. “I’m praying for those young men.”

Next week, USF will conclude the regular season at Raymond James Stadium at 7 p.m. against Rice.