In the absence of NFL, NBA, NHL, and college basketball, the 2024 Hawaii Bowl was thrust into the thick of the sports spotlight on Christmas Eve. Not only did the matchup between South Florida and San Jose State revel in that spotlight — it did so in historic fashion.
South Florida and San Jose State strung together the longest bowl game in college football history by sheer number of periods needed to decide a winner. It took five overtimes before the Bulls prevailed 41-39 over the Spartans in Honolulu to earn the right to be called the 2024 Hawaii Bowl champions.
Overtime would have never happened in the first place if not for a fortuitous bounce off the goalpost where South Florida kicker John Cannon doinked in a 41-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. That set up a war of attrition where neither team could gain an edge over the other until several rounds of a 2-point shootout passed. South Florida struck with a touchdown in first overtime, and San Jose State matched to keep it at 34 apiece. In second overtime, both teams nailed short field goals to extend the game into the 2-point shootout.
Third overtime is when the chaos was fully unleashed. After South Florida made its 2-point attempt, San Jose State answered but its successful conversion was nullified by a holding penalty to move back to the 13-yard line. However, the Bulls regifted the Spartans advantageous field position thanks to a pass interference penalty, and San Jose State capitalized with a conversion from the 2-yard line.
San Jose State and South Florida failed their attempts in fourth overtime, extending the game into a fifth overtime — becoming just the fourth game since the overtime rules changed in 2019 to tack on five extra periods (2019 Virginia Tech-North Carolina, 2021 Illinois-Penn State, and 2024 Georgia-Georgia Tech). In that fifth and final period, South Florida quarterback Bryce Archie connected with Keshaun Singleton to hand the Bulls a 41-39 advantage. San Jose State looked to respond as quarterback Walker Eget backpedaled while targeting wide receiver Justin Lockhart. Thanks to South Florida’s backfield pressure, the throw landed short and middle linebacker Mac Harris broke it up to usher in a thrilling victory.
The path from regulation to a quintuple overtime affair was anything but linear. South Florida took full command of the first half, opening its lead to as large as 21-7. One instrumental first quarter play that set the tone was a San Jose State fumble on the 1-yard line which was originally ruled a touchdown, but overturned to a touchback in favor of the Bulls. South Florida capitalized with an 80-yard drive, finishing in the end zone with Nay’Quan Wright to strike first in Honolulu.
An interception by Tavin Ward returned to the San Jose State 16-yard line perfectly positioned the Bulls for a 14-0 advantage. Five plays after the critical takeaway, South Florida sixth-year senior running back Kelley Joiner cashed in for his 16th and final rushing touchdown of a lengthy career in Tampa.
San Jose State dug its way out of the 14-0 hole with a Floyd Chalk Jr. rushing touchdown, but the Bulls instantly responded as Ta’Ron Keith raced 93 yards to the end zone on the ensuing kickoff. The tide didn’t begin to turn in San Jose State’s favor until a pair of Kyler Halvorsen field goals cut the deficit to 21-13 by the mid-third quarter.
The Spartans inched within one point on a Walker Eget passing touchdown and then rewrote the score to 27-24 lead with 11 minutes remaining on a Lamar Radcliffe rushing touchdown, assisted by an interception credited to inside linebacker Noah McNeal-Franklin.
South Florida watched its 14-point cushion dwindle into a deficit mainly due to offensive futility. The Bulls gained a collective nine yards on their first four drives of the fourth quarter, with none of those four series lasting more than four plays. They were subject to five three-and-outs overall, but remained in the game due to consistent stops generated by the defense. The most essentially stop transpired after the 2-minute timeout when Michael Williams II stuffed a Chalk run on 3rd and 1. San Jose State opted to punt rather than risk a 4th and 1 from its own 14, where converting would have sealed the victory.
A stellar return from super senior wide receiver Sean Atkins (11 receptions, 104 yards on the night) brought the ball to midfield and Archie did the rest, guiding the Bulls down to the Spartan 23 with six seconds remaining. Then on his 41-yard attempt, Cannon received an early Christmas present from the goalpost just a few hours early on Dec. 24, as the ball ricocheted off the right crossbar and through the uprights to force overtime, where South Florida prevailed after five periods.
San Jose State dropped to 7-6, while South Florida improved to 7-6 after securing its fifth win in its last seven contests in the historic Hawaii Bowl. The Bulls clinched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2017 and 2018 and consecutive bowl wins for the first time since 2016 and 2017. Some bowl games are more memorable than others though, and this 5-overtime barnburner was a piece of history to all who participated and to all who watched.
