It was the night before Christmas when the whole house went crazy
No living creature moved, not even a mouse;
The stockings were carefully hung by the fireplace
When South Florida narrowly won the Hawaii Bowl.

While many of the country’s children slept with dreams of Santa Claus, the Bulls won one of the wildest games of the bowl season, a five-overtime thriller, 41-39, against San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl. It was the first NCAA bowl or postseason game to have more than three overtime periods.

However, the game almost ended in a back-and-forth when South Florida regained possession with less than a minute left and trailed by three points. A good punt return and two first downs got them into field goal territory, after which kicker John Cannon got a charitable rebound to tie the game.

Overtime then turned into a classic college football shootout, with the teams trading touchdowns, then field goals, then two-point conversions, and finally failed two-point conversions. With each set, the game neared midnight ET until, finally, it was Christmas for much of the country.

The game ended a half hour later when USF converted its two-point attempt and got the stop it needed.

USF picked up the win despite being outrebounded 441-291 and gaining just 1.6 yards per rush. His biggest plays came on special teams and defense, including a 93-yard kick return touchdown by Ta’Ron Keith. USF quarterback Bryce Archie finished the game 24 of 34 with 235 passing yards and one interception.

It was the kind of game designed for people who wanted to spend the final hours of Christmas Eve cheering on a tug-of-war between two Group 5 programs. The win gives South Florida back-to-back winning seasons and bowl victories after going 7-6 with a win in the Boca Raton Bowl last year.