Brewer brought Bulls to the brink

USF running back Vince Brewer had a night to remember, but it’s one that he would rather soon forget.

Saturday night in the waning minutes of a bitter struggle against UAB, Brewer was instrumental in obtaining 16 unanswered points to tie the game with less than two minutes to play. Even with a career high two touchdowns in a single game, Brewer was less than excited about his record-breaking performance.

“It felt alright, but it would have felt a whole lot better if we had come out with a victory,” Brewer said. “It felt good at the moment, but when that clock hits zero-zero, all that just goes away because you want to come out on top.”

The senior out of Bartow gave all he could to leave USF with only one loss at home, but the visiting Blazers robbed USF of a victory on senior night. Despite the storyline favoring the Bulls, who have escaped from several tight spots this season, USF’s luck ran out as UAB took the game with a field goal.

“There’s a whole lot of letdown,” Brewer said. “We had a good, hard week of practice; we thought we had an edge with it being our last home game and it being senior night.”

Brewer became the Bulls’ playmaker late in the game — he not only rushed for two touchdowns on his 59-yard night, he caught a pass in the end zone on the second two-point conversion attempt. Brian Fisher put the ball in Brewer’s hands to tie the game 19-19.

“I was just focusing on the catch,” Brewer said. “I knew I was going to be open, but Fisher is kind of short, he can hardly see over the line, so I thought once he got past the line he would see me open.”

The world stopped around Brewer as he waited for the pass from Fisher. The veteran back had a one-track mind as the ball traveled through the air.

“I just knew if I caught it, it was going to be a touchdown, so I really focused on the catch,” Brewer said. “I wasn’t focusing on anybody else around me or anything, I was just thinking about making a catch.”

With bowl hopes dashed, Brewer said he and the Bulls would still give 100 percent when they face Memphis. No longer playing for a bowl berth, the Bulls will be playing out of principle.

“Bowl game or not, it’s good to finish,” Brewer said.