C.J. Hicks Posts Four Sacks, USF Scores Two Defensive Touchdowns in 30-10 Comeback Win Over UAB

UAB led South Florida by 10 points after one quarter on Saturday. Then C.J. Hicks started getting to the quarterback, and the rest of the afternoon belonged to the Bulls.

USF beat UAB 30-10 on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium, scoring 30 unanswered points after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter. Hicks, a defensive end, finished with four sacks, and two of them ended with the ball on the ground and a Bulls defender running it into the end zone. USF improved to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the American. UAB fell to 4-4 and 2-2.

The win gave USF its sixth victory, the usual threshold for bowl eligibility, with four regular-season games left. Coming into the day, the Bulls were chasing a fourth straight bowl-eligible season, which would tie the second-longest bowl streak in program history, according to USF Athletics.

How UAB built its early lead

Both teams came in off a bye week, and UAB looked the sharper of the two early. The Blazers took the opening possession of the game 67 yards in seven plays, and Rod Robinson II finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:58 left in the first quarter. Jonah Delange added the extra point.

UAB's next drive went 43 yards in nine plays and ended with a 30-yard Delange field goal at the 3:49 mark. At that point the Blazers led 10-0.

That was the end of the scoring for UAB. The Blazers did not score again, and Delange missed two later field-goal attempts, finishing 1-for-3 on the day. Against a defense ranked 10th nationally in scoring defense at 15.4 points per game coming in, according to USF Athletics, the misses hurt.

Seventeen points before halftime

USF's first points came on a long, patient drive. The Bulls went 64 yards in 11 plays over 7:11, and Nico Gramatica kicked a 31-yard field goal with 5:03 left in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 10-3.

USF tied it before halftime. The Bulls covered 52 yards in six plays, and Jason Collins Jr. ran it in from 6 yards out with 47 seconds left in the half. Gramatica's kick made it 10-10.

What happened next swung the game. On UAB's next possession, Hicks sacked Ryder Burton for an 11-yard loss. The ball came out, and Asani Redwood scooped it up and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown. Ten seconds of game clock after Collins tied it, USF led 17-10, and that is how the teams went to the locker room.

The fumble return was a big moment for a defense that had been looking for takeaways. In its first seven games, USF had recovered only five fumbles and intercepted two passes, both in the opener, according to the school's preview of this game. Head coach Brian Hartline had listed forcing more turnovers among the things the team needed to improve during the bye week.

Hicks takes over the second half

The second half belonged to the USF defense. UAB had scored all 10 of its points in the first quarter, and the Bulls' front made sure there were no more.

USF added to its lead late in the third quarter. A nine-play, 45-yard drive that took 5:07 ended with a 30-yard Gramatica field goal with 4:53 left in the period, making it 20-10.

The game was effectively decided early in the fourth. With 12:28 to play, Hicks got to Burton again, this time for a 6-yard loss, and the ball came loose again. Linebacker Grayson Howard picked it up and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown. Gramatica's extra point made it 27-10.

Gramatica closed the scoring with a 33-yard field goal with 1:36 left, capping a seven-play, 27-yard drive. The kicker finished 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points for 12 points.

Hicks finished with five tackles, four of them solo, along with four sacks, four tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Howard led USF with eight tackles and added two sacks to go with the touchdown. Redwood had two tackles and the first defensive score.

USF finished with six sacks and 11 tackles for loss as a team. The pressure showed in the box score: UAB ran 33 times for 17 yards, and Burton was charged with minus-37 yards on 10 rushing attempts, with sacks counting as runs in college statistics.

USF wins without much passing

The Bulls did not need much from their passing game. USF completed 8 of 12 passes for 46 yards and leaned on its running game for 191 yards on 43 carries.

Michael Van Buren Jr. started at quarterback and went 1-for-2 for 7 yards with three carries for 13 yards over USF's first two possessions, neither of which produced points. Luke Kromenhoek ran the offense from the first drive of the second quarter on, completing 7 of 10 passes for 39 yards and leading the team with 92 rushing yards on 15 carries, including a 42-yard run that set up the first field goal.

D.J. Crowther carried the ball 16 times for 60 yards and caught one pass for 19 yards, the longest USF completion of the game. Collins had 15 yards on five carries with the touchdown.

USF did not throw an interception, extending a stretch of ball security that had been a theme of the season. Going into the game, the Bulls had not thrown an interception in 183 pass attempts, according to USF Athletics. They also did not lose a fumble, finishing plus-two in turnover margin.

The Bulls finished with 237 yards of total offense to UAB's 177, according to the ESPN box score.

A tough day for the UAB offense

UAB came into the game with a defense that USF Athletics described as the best in the American by yards allowed and the best pass defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 126.0 yards per game. That unit did its part for long stretches. USF threw for only 46 yards and scored just one offensive touchdown, with the rest of its points coming on three field goals and two fumble returns.

The problem was the other side of the ball. Burton completed 13 of 27 passes for 149 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, and Nate Rogers went 1-for-1 for 11 yards. CJ Smith caught two passes for 53 yards, including a 41-yarder, and KJ Daniels had a 33-yard catch.

On the ground, Bam McReynolds led the Blazers with 22 yards on eight carries. Robinson had 14 yards on seven carries with the early touchdown.

Defensive back Jeremiah Jordan led UAB with 11 tackles, six of them solo, and Jo'Tavion Pierce also made 11 tackles. Linebacker Marlin Dean had 2.5 sacks for the Blazers, and Ike Esonwune added nine tackles.

UAB had arrived on a high note. The Blazers' previous game was a 30-17 overtime win over East Carolina on Oct. 15 in which they trailed 17-9 with 1:02 left in regulation, drove 93 yards for a touchdown, converted a two-point try and then won it in overtime with an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown, according to USF Athletics. Saturday was the Blazers' first conference loss since an Oct. 10 defeat at Memphis.

What it means

For USF, the result answers some of the questions raised by a midseason skid. The Bulls had lost back-to-back conference games to Temple, 17-13 at home, and at UTSA, 31-24, before beating Kent State 29-2 in their homecoming game on Oct. 17. Saturday's win was their second in a row.

Before the game, Hartline framed the final five weeks as an opportunity. "We own our own destiny in our opinion," Hartline said in the school's game preview. Van Buren said much the same thing that week: "We're very confident that we still have our destiny ahead of us," the quarterback said.

The defense also continued a theme from earlier in the year. USF has been strong at getting into the backfield, and Ayden Jackson's eight-tackle game with a fourth-down sack at UTSA earlier this month was one example. On Saturday it was Hicks' turn, and the result was the type of game a defense can win almost on its own.

For UAB, the loss drops the Blazers to .500 overall with four games left. A defense that had been the strength of the team held up well against the pass, but two turnovers that became touchdowns and two missed field goals were too much to overcome.

What's next

USF plays at East Carolina on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. UAB hosts Charlotte on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play, USF Athletics and Warren Nolan. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Trevorrrrvalent/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0), file photo from Sept. 21, 2024.