NCAAF
Back in Black, Back in Business: USF Bodies Boise in Primetime Beatdown
By the time the final whistle blew in Tampa on Thursday night, the message was loud and clear: South Florida football is done being a punchline. Under the lights at Raymond James Stadium and rocking their “Back in Black” threads, the Bulls slapped No. 25 Boise State around on national television, stomping the Broncos 34-7 and delivering their first Top 25 win in nearly a decade.
This wasn’t a fluke. This was a flex.
Quarterback Byrum Brown looked like a man on a mission in his long-awaited return, and the USF defense turned Boise's high-powered offense into a puddle of three-and-outs, fumbles, and regret. For a program trying to shed years of irrelevance, this was more than just a win — it was a declaration.
Boise State opened the game doing what Top 25 teams are supposed to do against unranked ones: capitalize on mistakes. After a gutsy — or reckless, depending who you ask — 4th-and-1 gamble from USF at their own 38-yard line came up short, the Broncos only needed nine plays to punch in a 6-yard score from Maddux Madsen to Chris Marshall.
And then… radio silence.
That early touchdown would be the only time Boise reached the end zone all night. From that moment forward, it was a 34-0 avalanche of Bulls dominance. Nico Gramatica’s 52-yard missile got the Bulls on the board, and midway through the second quarter, Brown capped off an 80-yard drive with a 23-yard keeper to put USF ahead 10-7 heading into the half.
Whatever Boise State thought they fixed at halftime — they didn’t.
USF turned the momentum into a highlight reel in the third quarter — and the turning point came in the form of straight-up wizardry. Facing 4th-and-6 at the Boise 45, the Bulls lined up to punt… or so we thought.
Freshman QB Locklan Hewlett, masquerading as the punter, pulled the classic “not-a-punt” maneuver and delivered a dime to Keshaun Singleton for a 45-yard fake punt touchdown that sent Raymond James into orbit.
That wasn’t just a trick play — it was a dagger. A bold, “we-actually-want-this-more-than-you” kind of dagger.
Boise tried to punch back but got stuffed on a 4th-and-2 at the USF 23. Two plays later, Brown hit Chas Nimrod for 55 yards, then kept it himself for a 15-yard TD sprint that broke the game wide open at 24-7.
From there, the floodgates were open and Boise was drowning. Cartevious Norton put the final nail in the Broncos' coffin with an 8-yard power run early in the fourth, and Gramatica drilled his second field goal to cap a 34-point unanswered run.
Let’s not bury the lede here: Byrum Brown is the heartbeat of this team.
In his first start since a season-ending injury in 2024, the redshirt sophomore looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. 210 passing yards on 16-of-24 accuracy. Two rushing touchdowns. Zero turnovers. And most importantly, complete command of the offense.
He didn’t just make throws — he made statements. Whether it was threading tight windows, scrambling when things broke down, or taking off around the edge for six, Brown was that guy.
And the Bulls followed.
For all the praise the offense earned, the real MVP might’ve been the USF defense. Three forced fumbles (from a Boise team that lost only five all of last season)? That’s no coincidence. That’s ball-hawking, swarming, punch-you-in-the-mouth defense.
Linebacker Jhalyn Shuler played like he had the cheat codes turned on — career-high 14 tackles and a fumble recovery. De’Shawn Rucker added 11 tackles of his own, and Mac Harris brought the hammer with a forced fumble.
And if you’re wondering how Boise — a team that averaged 37.7 points per game last season — managed just seven, you’re not alone. It was their lowest output in a season opener since 2013 and their worst scoring performance in any game since 2019.
Call it a meltdown if you want, but the Bulls defense was the match.
And don’t sleep on Nico Gramatica either. He tied a program record with his fourth 50+ yard field goal. Ice in the leg.
It’s not the end of the world for Boise State — but it’s definitely a reality check.
Madsen threw for 225 yards and found 10 different targets, which sounds nice on paper. But when you score once and lose by 27 to an unranked team, those yards don’t mean much. The run game stalled. The defense got tricked, then trucked. And worst of all? They looked stunned once the game turned against them.
Now, the Broncos limp home to face Eastern Washington — and if they don’t fix the fundamentals fast, that game might not be the cupcake it was meant to be.
For South Florida, this wasn’t just about beating a ranked team. It was about proving something — to themselves, to the fans, to the rest of the AAC.
This program has been through the mud lately. Coaching changes, quarterback questions, irrelevance on the national stage. But Thursday night? That was a moment. A win that could flip the script for a team playing the toughest non-conference schedule in the country.
And next up? A date with No. 15 Florida in The Swamp.
You wanted to be back? Prove it in Gainesville.
This game had everything — a bold fake punt, a quarterback redemption arc, defensive havoc, and a ranked team getting cooked on ESPN.
If you tuned in expecting a blowout, you got one — just not the direction you thought. South Florida didn’t just beat Boise State. They bullied them. And if this is what the Bulls look like with Byrum Brown healthy and confident?
Buckle up.
The bounce-back tour just got real.
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