Fighting Irish Cannot Close Out Undefeated USF, Lose 38-33
Notre Dame appeared to be on the brink of completing one of the greatest comebacks in recent college football history as Jermaine Young caught his second touchdown in 20 seconds.
And then the faithful yellow flag hit the green grass, ending all hopes and giving USF a 38-33 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night in what turned out to be an epic game.
As John Dixon crossed the goal-line to give USF a two-possession lead with 1:01 left in the game, the game appeared to no longer be in the balance. Even after the Fighting Irish scored on the ensuing possession, the odds weren't in their favor with just 20 seconds left in the game.
The Irish were able to recover the onside kick after true freshman Darius Downs failed to get firm control of the ball. After a completion got them within Hail Mary range with seven seconds left in the game, John Daniels was able to connect with Andy Henley on the one-yard line with one seconds left in the game.
After Notre Dame used it's final timeout, USF did the same, changing their defense once they saw the alignment. Young, who had just beaten Jake Lott 19 seconds prior for a touchdown, was able to get separation once more and caught the wide open touchdown in the back of the endzone.
A flag was thrown on the play. After much deliberation, it was revealed that Young had stepped out of bounds before catching the pass, resulting in an illegal touching call and the end of the game.
It was miraculous win for USF who started the game down 17-0 and just when their offense got going, quarterback Mike McFarland left the game with a concussion. James Pittman, who began the season as a starter, did more than fine in his absence. He completed 7 of 8 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[ND] G. Hogan, 1 Yd run (8:57)
[ND] T. Fields, 24 Yd FG (2:26)
Quarter 2
[ND] C. Olsen, 18 Yd pass from J. Daniels (5:26)
[USF] J. Dixon, 5 Yd run (0:52)
Quarter 3
[USF] D. Fuller, 1 Yd run (7:45)
[ND] J. McDonald, 5 Yd run (5:44)
[USF] K. Justice, 29 Yd FG (3:04)
Quarter 4
[USF] S. Peterson, 34 Yd pass from J. Pittman (7:24)
[ND] T. Fields, 34 Yd FG (4:33)
[USF] R. Wagner, 8 Yd pass from J. Pittman (2:10)
[USF] J. Dixon, 40 Yd run (1:01)
[ND] J. Young, 13 Yd pass from J. Daniels -- 2pt failed (0:20)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #4 South Florida Bulls
QB Mike McFarland: 15 of 27, 237 yards.
QB James Pittman: 7 of 8, 85 yards, 2 touchdowns.
HB David Fuller: 24 carries, 142 yards, touchdown.
HB Johnny Dixon: 9 carries, 72 yards, 2 touchdowns.
WR Joel Bass: 6 receptions, 89 yards.
WR Darius Downs: 6 receptions, 87 yards.
WR Malcolm Francois: 2 receptions, 50 yards.
S Ray Thompson: 12 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack.
LB Dallas Gross: 11 tackles, 4 tackles for loss.
LB Travis Hughes: 10 tackles.
#8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
QB John Daniels: 35 of 46, 420 yards, 2 touchdowns, 16 carries, 85 yards.
HB Greg Hogan: 6 carries, 20 yards, touchdown, 3 receptions, 49 yards.
WR Mark Smith: 9 receptions, 75 yards.
WR Adam Henley: 6 receptions, 127 yards.
WR Chad Olsen: 4 receptions, 48 yards, touchdown.
S Isaac Howard: 12 tackles.
LB Brian Young: 5 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, sack.
USF, Notre Dame extend football series through 2035
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
After arguably the best game of the season, USF's athletic director Michael Kelly took to twitter to announce that the Bulls and Irish have agreed to a five-game series.
With USF's non-conference schedule booked until 2028, the first match up of the renewed series will be in Tampa in 2028 and 2035. The Bulls will then travel to Notre Dame in 2030 and 2034 with a neutral site game in 2032. Part of the agreement, reportedly, is that the home games for the Bulls will be broadcasted on The Bulls Network. The neutral site game is expected to be in New York.
Bulls Non-Conference Schedule 2025
vs. NC State
vs. San Jose
at Florida
at Miami
2026
at Alabama
at Louisville
vs. Florida Atlantic
vs. Ohio State
2027
vs. Miami
at Boise State
at Florida State
at NIU
2028
at Miami
at Ohio State
Alabama (Atlanta)
vs. Notre Dame
Bulls land commitments from four-star DE Mike Atkins, three-star S Ralph Gray
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports USF Insider
Local three-star prospect Ralph Gray and four-star south Florida defensive end Mike Atkins have both committed to the University of South Florida.
Atkins, who was received heavily by Texas, is the 22nd ranked defensive end in the nation and has played in a similar front as the Bulls currently leverage with three down lineman. There is certainly room to grow for Atkins who could continue to fill out his six-foot-five frame and end up in the 260 range weight wise.
For Gray, he's a level or two below the caliber of players that USF has recently gone after in the secondary. He's a versatile defensive back that could play corner if required to but his physical tools are limited and it'll be a wait and see approach to determine if he can play in the Bulls defense. He's not quite fast enough to play the deep safety role and not stout enough against the run to play either Rover or strong safety. A switch to corner might be his best bet to get and stay on the field.
In less than welcoming news, USF target Stan Dean, a four-star running back out of Texas, committed to South Carolina. USF currently has the 74th ranked recruiting class in the country with just three commitments to date.
The ranking should improve, especially if the Bulls are able to land their QB of the class which is looking more and more probable. Miami landed a commitment from four-star quarterback Joey Ross out of nearby Lakeland. The former Gators commit's commitment likely signals that the tea leaves have been correct and that quarterback Jed White, the sixth ranked QB in the country and the top ranked quarterback in the state of Florida, is likely headed to USF.
Undefeated USF Protects Home Turf as They Beat Kansas State 24-13
USF'S defense has had a down year, allowing over 300 yards per game through the air and struggling to keep teams from scoring a boatload of points.
On Saturday, USF's defense, despite allowing nearly 400 yards passing, held Kansas State to just thirteen points and forced three turnovers in the 24-13 win.
Mike McFarland, returning from a concussion, threw for a career high 422 yards and three touchdowns, completing 79 percent of his passes in what might be the best performance of his career. He did this despite being sacked nine times by a Kansas State defense that was relentless with the pass rush.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
[USF] V. Everett, 44 Yd pass from M. McFarland (8:53)
[USF] K. Justice, 42 Yd FG (4:08)
[KSU] R. Murphy, 29 Yd FG (1:39)
[KSU] A. Miles, 70 Yd pass from A. King (0:05)
Quarter 3
[USF] M. Rushing, 1 Yd pass from M. McFarland (7:58)
[KSU] R. Murphy, 35 Yd FG (5:15)
Quarter 4
[USF] M. Francois Jr, 10 Yd pass from M. McFarland (8:15)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #4 South Florida Bulls
QB Mike McFarland: 35 of 44, 422 yards, 3 touchdowns, sacked 9 times.
HB David Fuller: 23 carries, 132 yards, 4 receptions, 57 yards.
WR Ryan Wagner: 6 receptions, 104 yards.
WR Jason Barbour: 6 receptions, 48 yards.
TE Vincent Everett: 5 receptions, 86 yards, touchdown.
WR Malcolm Francois Jr: 3 receptions, 41 yards, touchdown.
S Ray Thompson: 12 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack.
LB Dallas Gross: 11 tackles, 2 tackles for loss.
LB Travis Hughes: 6 tackles, tackle for loss, sack.
CB Ray Hill: 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, interception.
DE Mark Robinson: 3 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
CB Ronnie Gay: 2 tackles, interception.
CB Sid Robinson: 2 tackles, tackle for loss, interception.
Kansas State Wildcats
QB Antoine King: 27 of 37, 376 yards, touchdown, 3 interceptions.
HB Chris Townes: 15 carries, 37 yards.
WR Adam Miles: 7 receptions, 119 yards, touchdown.
WR Kevin Smith: 5 receptions, 98 yards.
WR Carlos Bates: 4 receptions, 57 yards.
S Alonzo Weatherford: 12 tackles.
LB Dwayne Johnson: 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.
LB Lorenzo Alexander: 9 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks.
LB Seth Jones: 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.
Bulls lose out on 5-star ATH Ostrander but land QB in White
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports USF Insider
With College GameDay heading into Tampa, it's been a hectic week for the South Florida Bulls as they get ready to host both the Texas Longhorns and a bevy of recruits on Homecoming Weekend. USF was able to flip 4-star quarterback Jed White, land a commitment from 4-star tight end Nick Thompson but ultimately lost out on five-star George Ostrander.
The week got off to an eventful start when on Monday, White announced his decommitment from the University of Miami, a move that was expected. What was not expected was for a few hours later, the top ranked player in the state of Florida announced their commitment to the University of Minnesota, giving the Gophers the #1 ranked class in the country and two five-stars.
George Ostrander was expected to be in Tampa this weekend but never made the trip. On Tuesday, Thompson announced his commitment and by Thursday, White also revealed that he will be committing to the Bulls and intends to be on campus for the Texas game.
White is a six-foot-five quarterback that already has a pro frame at 239 pounds with not a ton of bad weight. Simply put, the Bulls may have landed some similarly ranked quarterbacks but never quite an athlete that White. True freshman Jay Jackson has impressed the coaching staff on the scout team with his speed but White, despite having thirty pounds on him, blows his testing numbers out of the water. There's work to be done with his accuracy but his commitment should help jump start what has been a slow cycle for the Bulls. White has already taken a vocal approach to being a leader of the class, commenting underneath Ostrander's announcement "pick a side and stay there"
One of White's weapons at USF will be tight end Nick Thompson although he may be more of a protector than a receiver. A similar build to Vincent Everett in last cycle's class, Thompson is more H-back however than Everett. It doesn't hurt that the Bulls also got to keep him from UCF who really wanted the local product.
With Ostrander off the board, the margin of error for the Bulls has increasingly tightened for the running back position, where they were recruiting him. Stan Dean committed to South Carolina and since then, the Bulls have yet to zero in on a running back yet. They've recently offered Florida receiver Bradley Wilkinson, who some schools like at running back, and Texas running back Ronnie Smith but both are mid-tier three-star players.
