USF’s Rally Falls Short in 52-41 Loss to Memphis
The South Florida Bulls could not complete their furious comeback attempt and fell to the Memphis Tigers 52-41 on Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium.
USF (6-4, 2-4 American) trailed 21-0 in the first quarter. However, the Bulls charged back to eventually take a 41-38 lead with 8:04 left in the game.
Memphis (8-2, 5-1 American) scored the game’s final 14 points after the Bulls took their first lead of the contest. The Tigers have now won six straight games against USF on the gridiron.
“We just did enough to not lose by a lot. That doesn’t do anything for me,” USF head coach Brian Hartline said after the game. “We still can’t find ways to close games out. The plays that are required to win the game, we don’t make those plays. The calls that are required to make those plays, we don’t make those calls. So we have to do a better job as coaches and players in learning how to close out games.”
The game was an offensive explosion that would have seemed impossible to Bulls fans before the game.
USF scored a season-high 41 points and produced a season-high 552 yards. The teams combined for 1,133 yards in the game.
The Bulls' defense was porous all night long. Memphis' 581 total yards were its second-most in a single game this season. The Tigers produced nine passing plays of 15 yards or longer, and 10 running plays of 10 yards or longer. They had an explosive play rate of 16%, which ranks in the 99th percentile of college football.
“We underperformed today on our side of the ball,” graduate defensive lineman Michael Williams II said about the unit's performance after the game. “We didn’t hold up our end of the bargain and that’s what it came down to. Everybody on our side of the ball feels like it’s 100% on us. We feel like no team should be putting up 41 points in a game and losing.”
USF’s came into the game with the American Conference’s top scoring defense. Memphis’ 28 points in the first half were three points shy of the 31 points the Bulls allowed in October against UTSA, which was their previous season high in points allowed.
The Tigers were led by junior quarterback Marcus Stokes, who had 313 passing yards, a season-high 73 rushing yards and four total touchdowns.
Stokes’ favorite target was junior wide receiver Jemyri Davis, who had five catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Jaylin Carter led the Tigers with 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the game.
The Bulls' offense had a renaissance on Thursday night. USF set season highs in points, yards, yards per play and passing touchdowns. They finishd with a 44% success rate on offense.
All 41 points and 502 of USF’s yards came in the final three quarters of the contest.
The Bulls offense was led by junior quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, who had career highs with 271 passing yards and 146 rushing yards, along with four touchdowns in the game.
“I think guys started believing and started trusting each other,” Kromenhoek said about the Bulls’ offense in the final three quarters of the game. He said the USF offense “caught fire” on Thursday night.
Without star running back D.J. Crowther they turned to junior Jason Collins Jr., who had his best game as a Bull. He carried the ball 12 times for 108 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Graduate wide receiver Mudia Reuben also had his best game of the season, hauling in six catches for 98 yards and two touchdown receptions. It was Reuben’s biggest output in a game since he had 174 yards against UAB last November.
“In a football game it’s a lot of back and forth, but at some point someone has to come in and make big plays,” Reuben said after the game. “I think we were able to make big plays when we needed it.”
The loss is USF’s second consecutive defeat. The Bulls have now lost four of their last five games against American Conference opponents.
“The mentality I have felt has probably been the most important piece,” Hartline said about his team’s overall attitude after the game. “I remember crying and people getting mad and almost getting into fistfights after a game because you put so much work into it. We smile here, we lock hands, I’m good. We’ve got to have a whole change of mentality.”
Up next, USF will travel to Boca Raton to play FAU in its final road game of the 2026 season.