A muffed punt derailed a potential upset in Denton, Texas, on Friday night.
No. 24 USF was punting back to North Texas with 51 seconds remaining in the first half with a 21-14 deficit on its turnover-ridden hands. The Bulls already had three giveaways.
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Their third takeaway, however, was about to swing the pendulum.
A booming punt from Chase Leon bounced off the hands of North Texas wide receiver Miles Coleman, and USF safety Cedrick Hawkins Jr. hopped on the muffed return.
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Just like that, the Bulls were off to the races. In the span of three-and-a-half minutes of game time, they scored four touchdowns, turning a one-score deficit into what ultimately became a 63-36 blowout in a packed DATCU Stadium.
How it happened
Touchdown No. 1: 0:02 left in Q2, 2-yard pass to TE Jonathan Echols
After the muffed punt, USF quarterback Byrum Brown bounced back from his shaky start to quickly lead the Bulls down the field. With two seconds and no timeouts left in the opening half, USF head coach Alex Golesh rolled the dice. The Bulls went to the air, and Brown found tight end Jonathan Echols wide open in the end zone for a two-yard score to tie the game at 21.
Touchdown No. 2: 13:51 left in Q3, 29-yard pass to WR Keshaun Singleton
From there, the Bulls rode the momentum.
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Halloween came early for USF because it tricked North Texas with an end-around pass that treated the Bulls with a highlight-reel touchdown.
Speedy wideout Christian Neptune motioned pre-snap and then shuffled at Brown’s hip before taking an end-around to the right side of the field, where he uncorked a 29-yard pass to fellow receiver Keshaun Singleton.
Singleton made the grab near the pylon and dove into the end zone for a score that put the Bulls up 28-21.
Touchdown No. 3: 12:35 left in Q3, 11-yard run by RB Sam Franklin
Three plays later, USF safety Fred Gaskin picked off North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker and returned the interception 27 yards to the Mean Green 15-yard line.
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It wasn’t long before running back Sam Franklin scored from 11 yards out to make it 35-21.
Touchdown No. 4: 11:35 left in Q3, 34-yard fumble return by LB Jhalyn Shuler
On the ensuing North Texas drive, USF jarred the ball loose on a shallow crosser, and linebacker Jhalyn Shuler had some fun — almost too much fun — on a 34-yard scoop and score.
Shuler was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but that was an afterthought following USF’s runaway victory.
“We came out of the half just rocking, and that’s offense and defense,” Golesh said postgame, per The Associated Press. “Defensively, to cause four turnovers against a really good offense, against a really good quarterback that hasn’t turned it over, I thought really intentional by what our guys practiced, what our guys’ mindset was going into the game.”
USF, which began the season with wins over then-No. 25 Boise State and then-No. 13 Florida, is now 5-1. The Bulls have scored 180 points over their past three games, averaging 60 per contest in that stretch.
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