South Florida football survives five overtimes vs. San Jose State in Hawaii Bowl
Yesterday at 01:43 AM
There were not a lot of big sporting events on Tuesday night, given that it was Christmas Eve. But there was one notable gridiron action out in the Pacific, with South Florida Football and the San Jose State Spartans meeting in the Hawaii Bowl at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu, Hawaii.
While there was barely any college football action happening on Tuesday, the South Florida Bulls and the Spartans made up the dearth in games with an absolutely wild contest that went down to the wire and ended in a 41-39 victory by South Florida football.
When halftime arrived, the Bulls held an 11-point lead. San Jose fought back in the third quarter by scoring 10 unanswered points to cut the Spartans’ deficit down to just a point entering the fourth quarter. South Florida scored first in the final quarter off a 33-yard field goal from John Cannon before San Jose State grabbed the lead for the first time with a Lamar Radcliffe touchdown run. Down three points and with just under 10 seconds left in regulation, the Bulls relied on Cannon to make a 41-yard kick to tie the game and send it to overtime, which he did after getting some help from the uprights.
FREE CHRISTMAS EVE FOOTBALL IN THE HAWAI'I BOWL
South Florida doinks in the kick to send it to OT!
: ESPN pic.twitter.com/85pvkAa5g0
— ESPN (@espn) December 25, 2024
South Florida football outlasts San Jose State in Hawaii Bowl thriller
Ta’Ron Keith scored a touchdown to open the scoring in the first overtime followed by Cannon’s extra-point make. However, South Florida football failed to make the stop on the other end of the field, as San Jose State forced another OT after Walker Eget scored on a touchdown grab. In the second overtime, the Spartans and the Bulls traded field goals, necessitating a third overtime. The game only ended after five overtimes, with Bryce Archie finding Keshaun Singleton for a two-point conversion.
Cannon deserves plenty of credit for his steady performance despite being under immense pressure, as he went 3-for-3 on his field-goal tries and 4-for-4 on extra-point kicks.
This is the second year in a row that South Florida has won a bowl game, as the Bulls won the Boca Raton Bowl in the 2023 college football season. The Bulls finished the regular season with a 6-6 overall record and a 4-4 slate in conference play. As for San Jose State, this is the third year in a row that the Spartans lost in a bowl game. A year ago, San Jose State fell prey to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at the 2023 edition of the Hawaii Bowl.
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