USF defeated San Jose State during the fifth overtime period of the best Hawai’i Bowl in history on Christmas Eve. Despite all of the excitement, the Spartans were robbed of victory after a blatant sucker punch by the Bulls somehow went unpenalized in the fourth quarter.
The game would’ve been over if the flag was thrown.
South Florida head coach Alex Golesh made some questionable decisions as the game came to a close. His team blew a 27-10 lead at halftime and found itself down by three with three minutes left. Two incompletions bookend a one-yard run that set up 4th-and-9 from the USF 23-yard-line.
San Jose State got robbed of victory over USF in the Hawai’i Bowl!
There was 2:09 on the clock. The clock was stopped because of the most recent incompletion. The clock was going to stop again for the two minute timeout.
Despite the circumstances, Golesh called a mind-boggling timeout to talk over what everybody assumed was going to be an offensive play call on 4th down. He instead chose to punt after using a timeout before the two minute warning timeout so a first down would end the game for San Jose State.
Golesh’s gamble somehow paid off. The Bulls stopped the Spartans on 4th-and-1 to get the ball back with less than a minute remaining. They drove 27 yards on seven plays in 41 seconds and doinked-in a field goal right before time expired to send the game to overtime.
South Florida should get 4 points for the doink + FG but it's tied pic.twitter.com/3z3NdpuUaN
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 25, 2024
However, South Florida defensive end Michael Williams II threw a punch directly to the chest of a San Jose State offensive lineman immediately after the crucial fourth down stop. Even though the umpire was right there to blow the play dead and deescalate the situation, he did not throw a flag. Williams should’ve been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and a penalty would’ve moved the chains for the Spartans.
If San Jose State got a first down, per college football rules, the Hawai’i Bowl was over. Instead, play continued and USF won in 5OT.