TAMPA, Fla. ? On a clear day bereft of humidity, South Florida's 17 seniors encountered a sparse audience as they ran onto the Raymond James Stadium field a final time, and an even smaller one as they exited it in dejection.
Strewn in between were missed field goals, missed blocks, missed tackles and missed opportunities. Such are the snapshots of an anemic program.
USF's bowl aspirations formally flamed out Saturday as the Bulls quickly relinquished early momentum in a 49-10 loss to No. 18 Memphis (10-1, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) before a generously announced crowd of 25,136.
USF (4-7, 2-5) will sit out the bowl season for the first time since 2014, Willie Taggart's second year. Its season ends Friday night at UCF; whether Charlie Strong's tenure ends as well remains the program's most pressing question.
His alibis for 2019 will include injuries and youth, both of which were on unflattering display Saturday.
Senior tailbacks Jordan Cronkrite and Trevon Sands sat out with shoulder injuries, junior defensive tackles Kelvin Pinkney and Kevin Kegler also didn't suit up, and middle linebacker Patrick Macon (ankle) dressed but didn't play.
Additionally, the image of Blake Barnett limping out for Senior Day in a protective boot reminded fans of how green USF remains at quarterback.
Nonetheless, the Senior Day pageantry was followed by a promising start, courtesy of sleek freshman Kelley Joiner Jr., the only healthy scholarship tailback available.
Joiner broke loose for 13 yards on his first run of the day. He found a seam to his left on his second carry, dashing for 47 yards to set up sophomore walk-on Dave Small's 1-yard touchdown.
The rest of the half, the Bulls managed 31 yards on 22 plays. Interceptions by KJ Sails and Daquan Evans on consecutive drives gave USF possession at Memphis' 23 and 42, respectively, but the Bulls converted the picks into three total points.
USF finished with 170 yards, and had more punts (seven) than pass completions (six) after three quarters. Redshirt freshman Jordan McCloud struggled mightily (5 for 14, 45 yards) before exiting after appearing to re-aggravate a throwing-hand injury. USF's first downs (10) and passing yards (44) were its fewest in a game ever.
Meantime, Tigers graduate-transfer Brady White (18 for 28, 222 yards) found his normal groove following his sketchy start, directing TD drives on five of his last six possessions before being spelled by sophomore Connor Adair with a 42-10 lead.
His most memorable sequence occurred in the second quarter. Facing second-and-38 after an errant snap, White found receiver Damonte Coxie for a 20-yard gain. He then tossed a short throw across the middle to Kedarian Jones, whose defender slipped, allowing him to dash for a 50-yard TD.
That gave Memphis a 21-10 lead. And the pageantry had regressed to a pummeling.
