Photo by Vanessa Wenzl | The Crow’s Nest
By Dominic Feo
Last season, USF lost back-to-back games against the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Florida Atlantic University. This season, they have a chance to flip the script after beating UAB 35-25 on Oct. 19, and now facing FAU in Boca Raton tomorrow.
The loss to FAU last season was the team’s worst, losing 56-14 at home. That game has remained in the players’ heads according to head coach Alex Golesh during his weekly press conference.
”You shouldn’t need that to motivate you to go play a game on Friday night on national TV, and I don‘t think we need it necessarily in that regard, but they are fully well aware of what happened,” Golesh said.
The game will be nationally televised at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Golesh was also asked if star quarterback, Byrum Brown, has recovered from the leg injury he suffered in September. He expressed confidence in all three of his quarterbacks to succeed.
”We’re ready to go either direction with it, same way as Izzy [Israel Carter] is ready to roll if he has to,” Golesh said.
Even if Brown is good to go, they may stick with junior quarterback, Bryce Archie, who got his first win as a starter against UAB. In USF’s run-heavy offense, Archie did enough to win, throwing for 201 yards and two touchdowns.
Whether it is Brown or Archie under center, the Bulls will need senior running back, Kelley Joiner to have another solid performance. Joiner gashed UAB with a combined 128 yards and three touchdowns.
USF will need to rely on Joiner and the rest of the running backs to produce against an Owls defense that gives up the third least passing yards in the American Athletic Conference.
Moving the ball on the ground will cause FAU to commit more players to stopping the run. That will create space for sophomore wide receiver, Keshaun Singleton, to make plays. Up until the most recent game at UAB, Singleton had only played on special teams.
Singleton took full advantage of his opportunities on offense last game, proving that he can be a deep threat for the Bulls offense. He caught four passes last game, and he turned them into 105 yards and a touchdown.
Hopes are high that fans will show up and players will show out for a game where USF could even their record and keep their hopes of making a bowl game alive.
