USF football head coach Alex Golesh stood at the podium after a 50-15 loss to Miami and, in one sentence, summed up the Bulls’ second-half difficulties. 

“You want a second half that replicates the first half,” Golesh said. 

USF is proving it can hang with some of the top teams in the nation throughout the first 30 minutes

The second half – however – now that’s a different story. 

Related: PHOTOS: USF v. Miami

USF (2-2) kept the Hurricanes at bay through two quarters, even taking a 15-14 lead after a field goal by senior kicker John Cannon. 

But little did the Bulls know, the scoreboard would remain stagnant for them after that. 

Miami would drop 36 unanswered points on USF’s head as the No. 8th ranked team in the country flexed its muscles. 

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It’s a second half performance reminiscent of two weeks ago, as USF suffered a similar  collapse against Alabama on Sept. 7

Combining the second halves against Alabama and Miami, USF has been outscored 58-10 in the final thirty minutes of play. 

Cam Ward is that guy

Miami (4-0) senior Cam Ward may have proved why he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. 

Related: Miami offense pummels USF in blowout loss

Ward took command in the pocket, picking apart the Bulls defense en route to a 404-yard, three touchdown performance. 

USF head coach Alex Golesh credited Ward’s ability to extend plays and pick up third downs. Miami converted seven of its 10 third-down attempts.

“That quarterback is special,” Golesh said. “He made some throws that we’ve been able to defend for the first three weeks, but today we couldn’t.” 

What happened to the run game?

One week after gouging Southern Mississippi on the ground, the USF rushing attack was seemingly nowhere to be found against Miami.

After averaging nearly 269 yards per game coming into Saturday, the Bulls only managed to churn out 62 rushing yards, and averaged just 1.9 yards a carry. 

Miami did manage to negate a powerful USF rushing tandem – which came into the matchup ranking within the top 10 in the nation. But the Bulls hardly used their running backs at all.

Graduate running backs Kelley Joiner and Nay’Quan Wright each only toted the ball six times. Senior Ta’Ron Keith only saw three carries. 

Byrum’s injury concerns loom

After exiting the game for one play in the first half, Brown left the game early in the fourth quarter accompanied by medical staff. 

After the game, Golesh said Brown was “fine,” and could’ve come back into the game, but did not disclose the injury that Brown suffered.

Related: Live updates: USF vs. Miami

Brown’s status for Saturday’s matchup against Tulane is unclear, and surely will be closely monitored as the Bulls enter conference play. 

It ‘kicks’ in the family

The Bulls offense was sparse, the defense was outmatched, but one name on special teams looked particularly sharp.

Freshman kicker Nico Gramatica drilled two deep field goals in the first half – including a 58-yarder on his first career attempt. 

Gramatica’s uncle, Bill, holds the record for the longest field goal in USF history, a 63-yard kick in 2000. 

Coming up next 

USF will open up conference play on the road against Tulane on Saturday. 

Like the Bulls, The Green Wave (2-2) come into this game battle-tested against the best in the nation, having faced ranked programs Oklahoma and Kansas State in recent weeks.