Western Kentucky vs. South Florida: Score and Reaction for 2015 Miami Beach Bowl

Spurred on by a 28-point third quarter, Western Kentucky picked up a 45-35 win over South Florida in the Miami Beach Bowl on Monday evening at Marlins Park in Miami.

The high-powered Hilltoppers offense more than lived up to the hype, gaining 612 total yards.

In his final college game, quarterback Brandon Doughty went 32-of-45 for 461 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. His 97 touchdowns over the past two seasons are the most in FBS history, per WKU Football, while his 111 career passing TDs put him 15th place all-time.

Offense was the dominant theme of the game, as South Florida gained 597 yards of its own, including 290 yards on the ground.   

Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee is all about bowl expansion if it means games like this:

As a result of the constant second-half scoring, the game ran over four hours, which wasn't a positive development for Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman:

Early on, the Miami Beach Bowl didn't look like it'd be a shootout after the two teams combined for 24 first-half points.

South Florida jumped out to a 14-0 lead following touchdown runs in the first and second quarters. Quinton Flowers scored on a designed quarterback keeper at the 5:21 mark of the opening frame, and Rodney Adams doubled the Bulls' advantage 2:42 into the second.

Western Kentucky relied on a little bit of trickery to get back into the game. Doughty and wideout Taywan Taylor connected on a 53-yard flea-flicker to get the ball down to the Bulls' 13-yard line. A better pass and Taylor would've had an easy six points. Instead, he had to wait on Doughty's heave, which allowed USF to eventually bring him down.

The mistake didn't prove costly for the Hilltoppers, as they scored on the next play after Anthony Wales ran it in from 13 yards out. There was a bit of controversy after Wales fumbled the ball at the goal line. Upon further review, the official upheld the original call of a touchdown.

WDRB's Eric Crawford wasn't sure Wales maintained possession before he broke the plane:

On its next possession, Western Kentucky looked sure to tie the game near the end of the first half after getting a 1st-and-goal at the South Florida 6-yard line with 2:19 left. However, what followed was one of the worst sequences of plays inside the red zone you'll see for some time. CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli provided the full play-by-play from the disastrous series:

"

It’s glorious. pic.twitter.com/fal0OVT24O

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 21, 2015"

A 39-yard field goal from Garrett Schwettman to make it a 14-10 game as the first half ended did allow Western Kentucky to take some momentum into the locker room.

Kicker Emilio Nadelman had a chance to increase South Florida's lead but missed on a 43-yard field goal to open the third quarter. The Hilltoppers took full advantage, as Doughty found Nicholas Norris for a 69-yard touchdown to give their team the lead, per ESPN CollegeFootball:

The two teams then exchanged scores later in the third as Western Kentucky hung on to a 24-21 lead. Sports On Earth's Matt Brown was ready to fully embrace the bowl-season experience:

Nacarius Fant put WKU ahead by two scores with a nine-yard touchdown run, and Jared Dangerfield capped off the quarter with an acrobatic 26-yard TD catch in triple coverage:

For The Comeback, the impressive grab echoed one of the more famous football plays in the fictional realm:

Western Kentucky had little time to settle in before South Florida scored on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter that took a combined 2:21 off the clock. But Wales offered the Hilltoppers a little more breathing room, scoring a 42-yard run with 5:09 left in the game, which prompted this tweet from CBS Sports' Robby Kalland:

WKU forced a turnover on downs on USF's next possession, which all but sealed the result.

With the victory, Western Kentucky closes out its best season since making the jump to FBS. Mark Ennis of SB Nation's Card Chronicle sees head coach Jeff Brohm moving to greener pastures sooner rather than later:

Replacing Doughty won't be easy for the Hilltoppers next year, but you wouldn't bet against Brohm once again getting the team in line for a fourth trip to a bowl game in five seasons.

Brohm's counterpart, Willie Taggart, also looks to have a promising future after taking the Bulls from a two-win team in his first season to eight wins in 2015. He signed a contract extension with the school Monday that runs through 2020, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).

The competition for a New Year's Six bowl will be tough in 2016, but both South Florida and Western Kentucky should be among the top teams fighting for the automatic berth offered to the best "Group of Five" team.

Postgame Reaction

Taggart rued his team’s mistakes in his postgame press conference.

"I don't think we played a very disciplined football game," he said, per Collin Sherwin of Bulls247.com. "We gave up too many explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball."

In addition to the 600-plus yards it allowed to Western Kentucky, South Florida also committed nine penalties totaling 67 yards. That combination put too much pressure on the Bulls offense, which couldn't match Western Kentucky’s stifling attack.

Doughty was a big reason the Hilltoppers were such a potent offensive team. Both head coaches heaped praise upon the senior quarterback, per Natalie Grise of WLKY:

Western Kentucky fans must have some conflicted emotions about the team's prospects for next season. They'd obviously love for the Hilltoppers to repeat their success from 2015 or go even one step further. But doing so would increase the likelihood of Brohm leaving the program.

At least he and Doughty helped deliver what is the biggest win in program history to date.