Sophomore running back Brian Battie finished the season in record fashion, totaling 1,277 yards and eight touchdowns.
Courtesy of Max Steele | The Crow’s Nest
By Max Steele
It’s been 86 days since the University of South Florida last won a football game, and that number will only grow larger until next season kicks off.
Since the team’s lone victory against Howard in early September, USF has fired its head coach and defensive coordinator, lost two starting quarterbacks and a dozen other players to injury, all the while being ridiculed from head to toe by the media and disgruntled fans.
It’s not been the year the Bulls had hoped for. The team’s final 1-11 record, with zero conference wins, marks the worst season in school history.
But the coaches and players believe there is hope around the corner, especially with the return of young talent and the signing of new head coach Alex Golesh today, current offensive coordinator of No. 6 Tennessee.
Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
USF showed a glimpse of its potential in a hard-fought 46-39 loss to state-rival No. 22 University of Central Florida (UCF) in the final game of the season on Nov. 26.
The Knights went up 28-0 in the first half, mocking the USF players and fans with “horns down” gestures in what was beginning to look like a blowout.
But the Bulls had other plans, and they decided that’s not how their season would end.
USF came out in the second half with an energy that shocked the Knights, as well as a packed Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls forced three fumbles and piled on four touchdowns, which was enough to take a one-point lead with less than three minutes in the game.
UCF ultimately responded with a game-winning drive capped off by a one-handed touchdown catch, but, despite the final score, the USF crowd cheered on the home team for their valiant effort that proved it can hang with the best of the best.
Heading into the locker room, the Bulls players and coaches kept their heads high, convinced that better days are ahead for the program.
When asked about the team’s trajectory going forward, USF interim head coach Daniel Da Prato had no doubt in an upward trend.
“It’s taking off,” Da Prato said in a press conference. “This program is set and it’s ready. You saw a glimpse of that tonight. I see this program taking off, and I see it happening very soon.”
Following the firing of former head coach Jeff Scott on Nov. 6, Da Prato took control with three weeks left in the season.
“We got better each week in the three weeks I was in charge,” Da Prato said. “Since I got here, I poured everything I had into this place, and I’m damn proud to be a Bull.”
But Da Prato believes it wasn’t anything he did to inspire the Bulls’ improved play in recent weeks, but rather that the players motivated him through their work ethic and resiliency.
“After a tough, difficult, rip-your-heart-out loss [to Tulsa], these kids showed back up and inspired me. What’s inside the locker room, that nobody else sees, that’s what’s there,” Da Prato said.
Along with heart, the Bulls also have young, skillful players they can build around for the future, including freshman quarterback Byrum Brown, who totaled 249 yards and three touchdowns against UCF.
“[Brown’s] best days are way ahead of him,” Da Prato said. “He’s coming now. You better be ready.”
USF running back Brian Battie, who rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown that Saturday, also had high praises for his new quarterback.
“You can’t ask more from him. He looked like he’d been back there for four years now. He just proved that last week wasn’t no fluke and he can do this every week,” Battie said.
Battie is another player that’s shined amid an otherwise dreary season. The sophomore tied a school record during the final stretch of the season, finishing with over 100 rushing yards in each of the last five games.
The Bulls acknowledge they have plenty of work to do in the offseason, but are determined that brighter days are ahead.
And with UCF, Cincinnati and Houston leaving the American Athletic Conference next season, there’s going to be room at the top for a team to step up to the plate.
