TAMPA - J.R. Reed's performance in South Florida's 21-16 win Saturday at Memphis garnered several awards Monday.
Reed, a senior safety, earned national player of the week from collegefootballnews.com and cnnsi.com's Stewart Mandel, and Conference USA defensive player of the week.
"It was one memorable way to go out in the final collegiate game for Reed, who likely will be playing on Sundays next fall," Mandel said.
Reed scored on a 96-yard kickoff return and 45-yard fumble return and made seven tackles and three interceptions. His seven interceptions this season broke his school record of six, and his 18 career interceptions are a school record.
END OF THE LINE: The Bulls season officially is over. USF said it had no appeal recourse to attempt to get one of its two I-AA wins to count toward its overall total for bowl eligibility. The I-AA schools, Nicholls State and Charleston Southern, could appeal to have their status changed (so they would meet minimum scholarship requirements) but did not. USF played 11 games, one shy of the allowable 12, and finished 7-4, 5-4 against I-A teams, one fewer than the six-win minimum.
"It's unfortunate that we came up a little short in becoming bowl eligible," USF athletic director Lee Roy Selmon said in a statement. "We knew what that would take going into the season, and we didn't quite reach that. I still applaud the tremendous accomplishments of our coaches and players."
