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  • USF Bulls Blitz The UNT Mean Green Behind Byrum’s 5 TDs, Explosive Second-Half Surge

USF Bulls Blitz The UNT Mean Green Behind Byrum’s 5 TDs, Explosive Second-Half Surge

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Football

(BCSNN) -- No. 24 South Florida erupted for 42 second-half points and handed previously unbeaten North Texas its first loss of the season, 63–36, on Friday night at a sold-out DATCU Stadium in Denton, TX.

Quarterback Byrum Brown accounted for five touchdowns - three passing and two rushing - while the Bulls (5–1, 2–0 American) turned a 21–21 tie into a blowout with a 21–0 run to open the third quarter. USF scored three touchdowns in about two minutes of game clock, including a 34-yard fumble return by Jhalyn Shuler and a trick-play touchdown pass from receiver Christian Neptune.

All of this happened after Brown tied the game just before halftime with a 2-yard strike to Jonathan Echols, capitalizing on a muffed punt. The Bulls then forced three turnovers in the second half and converted each into points.

North Texas (5–1, 1–1) hadn’t started 5–0 since 1959. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw a pair of touchdowns, but the Mean Green defense couldn’t contain USF’s balanced attack. And the bigger the Bulls' lead got, the more the Mean Green had to play from behind, forcing Mestemaker into making 48 pass attempts, of which three were picked off.

It was a tough way for North Texas to have its win streak come to an end, but South Florida proved that it can adjust and outlast solid competition. Up until the muffed punt with less than a minute to go in the first half, the game was incredibly close, and leaning in favor of Eric Morris and the Mean Green. But once Byrum Brown found Jonathan Echols in the endzone to tie it up, everything shifted.

“I hate it,” said Morris of his team's loss Friday night. “You know, for me, I’ll beat myself up for a long time over this one, just because it was such a great opportunity for our fans, our program, our university, on national TV.”

There is still a lot of football left to be played and a lot more opportunities for both of these American Conference programs to make statements on the national stage in 2025. South Florida returns home to face Florida Atlantic next Saturday on Oct. 18. And that same day, the Mean Green will be looking to rebound when North Texas hosts UTSA in Denton.