Bryum Brown accounted for 416 total yards and five touchdowns and South Florida overcame a slow start with 27 unanswered points in a 48-18 victory over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.
The Blazers decided to play the game after an incident earlier in the day left two players wounded and a teammate arrested and accused of stabbing them.
The Bulls trailed 10-7 after the first quarter but survived 104 yards in penalties by racking up 544 yards of total offense en route to a 34-10 lead.
USF head coach Alex Golesh called his team's start "frustrating" but blamed himself for not getting the team "ready to rock."
“The penalties are the piece that I’m most disappointed about," Golesh said. "We didn’t look like a disciplined team. We looked like a team that was walking in thinking we were going to win the game.”
Brown, who had 353 passing yards and 63 rushing yards, needs 117 in the air and 96 on the ground to become the 12th player in Football Bowl Subdivision to reach the 3,000/1,000 mark in a season.
The highlight of the senior quarterback's day was a 60-yard touchdown pass to Mudia Ruben that gave USF a 24-10 lead on the first play of the third quarter. The pair hooked up again in the fourth quarter on a 59-yard catch-and-run for a TD.
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The Bulls also scored on drives of 96 and 99 yards. The first long possession ended with Brown's 6-yard scoring toss to Wyatt Sullivan in the second quarter. That put South Florida up 14-10, and it didn't trail again. In the fourth quarter, the Bulls started from the 1-yard line and used 11 plays to set up a 2-yard scoring run by Brown.
Brown ran 1 yard to open the scoring, ending a brief drive set up by Fred Gaskin's interception on the game's fourth play. Later in the quarter, Gaskin was ejected for targeting quarterback Jalen Kitna - a penalty that led to the Blazers' first touchdown and a 10-7 UAB lead.
Nykahi Davenport added 117 yards rushing and had a short touchdown run for USF. Reuben, a senior transfer from Stanford, had 174 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions - his first 100-yard day.
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USF (8-3, 5-2 in the American Conference) closes out the regular season at home next Saturday against Rice (5-6, 2-5). The Bulls, once battling for a spot in the College Football Playoff, have already qualified for their third straight bowl appearance.
Kitna had 230 yards passing for the Blazers (3-8, 1-6) but he threw three interceptions. Iverson Hooks caught 10 passes for 146 yards.
An announced crowd of 16,376 attended the game at 47,100-seat Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
UAB player accused of stabbing teammates
UAB interim head coach Alex Mortensen said the Blazers decided to play the game despite the stabbing incident, although several players opted to sit it out. Mortensen said those that participated wanted to honor graduating seniors.
The two wounded players, who have not been named by the university, were hospitalized in stable condition, Mortensen said.
The incident occurred at UAB's football facility hours before the game.
Daniel Mincey, an offensive lineman from Pompano Beach, was arrested and booked on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder, according to Jefferson County Jail records. He was in custody and appeared to be the only UAB player arrested Saturday.
Mortensen said that once the team decided to play, players focused on their normal game-day routines. He also said counseling was made available for players who want it.
“There’s nothing that can prepare you for a situation like that, and our hearts go out to that team and that program,” Golesh said.
Battie honored by Auburn 18 months after Sarasota shooting
About 100 miles to the southeast, Auburn University celebrated Senior Day, with the loudest cheers for Brian Battie, a transfer from USF who was severely injured in a Sarasota shooting that took the life of his brother, Tommie Battie IV, 18 months ago.
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Battie and 19 others were honored before the Tigers’ win over Mercer at Jordan-Hare Stadium. As his name was announced, Battie walked with a cane out of a tunnel onto the field, where he greeted interim head coach DJ Durkin with a big embrace.
“It was pretty incredible,” Durkin said after the game. “I think the reaction of the crowd says it all. I think the look on his face says it all. ... To see him walking, and to come out there and be able to do that on his own, was really, really cool.”
Battie played football at Sarasota and Braden River high schools. He went on to USF, where his 1,936 all-purpose yards led the nation. He transferred to Auburn in 2023.
Really nice moment as former Auburn RB Brian Battie, who was injured in a shooting last summer, is recognized on senior day pic.twitter.com/C5HVg2ZXwG
— Peter Rauterkus (@peter_rauterkus) November 22, 2025
The shooting took place in the early hours of May 18, 2024, while about 200 hundred people gathered in the parking lot of a strip center hookah lounge, police said. Battie was shot in the head and taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. His brother was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the chest, police said.
Darryl Bernard Brookins was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He remains held without bond and awaiting trial, according to Sarasota County court records.
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
