USF Relies on Strong Defensive Performance in Season-Opening Win Over FIU

TAMPA, Fla. — The South Florida Bulls began Brian Hartline’s tenure as the team’s head coach with a 19-9 win over the Florida International Panthers on Saturday.

And while the Bulls will start the season with a perfect record, the way in which they got there was anything but perfect.

USF’s offense sputtered all night. The Bulls finished the game with just 208 total yards, averaging 3.7 yards per play. USF didn’t have a drive that went longer than 39 yards all night.

“Seasons are not dictated by how you start,” Hartline said after the game. “I’ll use the cliché saying, but it’s true. Usually your biggest growth is from Week 1 to Week 2.”

The Bulls will look to improve offensively next week. The 208 total yards are USF’s lowest output since the Bulls had 201 total yards in a blowout loss against Tulane on Sept. 28, 2024.

Junior LSU transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren made his first start as a Bull and 13th overall on Saturday night. He completed 11 of 18 passing attempts for 100 yards.

“I was confident in my preparation and it was already written before it happened. As long as I’m following my process, the game’s gonna play out how it’s gonna play out,” Van Buren said after the game.

It’s the first time he’s started a team’s season opener in his career.

USF’s offense heavily leaned on the run all night, with 38 rushing attempts compared with 18 passing attempts. The Bulls ran for 108 yards, averaging 2.8 yards per carry against FIU.

Junior Morgan State transfer running back Jason Collins Jr. led the Bulls with 59 yards on the ground. Graduate Dartmouth transfer running back D.J. Crowther added 42 rushing yards, as well as scoring the Bulls’ only touchdown of the game in the third quarter.

As much as USF struggled on offense, it succeeded on defense.

The Bulls’ defense held FIU without a touchdown until the final play of the game. The Panthers went 5 for 17 on third down and 3 for 7 on fourth down.

USF’s defense picked off junior quarterback J.J. Kohl twice.

The first interception came from senior BYU transfer cornerback Tayvion Beasley, who jumped Kohl’s screen pass attempt. The interception helped set up Crowther’s touchdown that put the Bulls up 10 points.

The second interception came from graduate safety Tavin Ward. It was Ward’s sixth interception in his collegiate career.

Kohl finished the game with 301 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with the interceptions. Junior BYU transfer wide receiver Maguire Anderson led the Panthers with eight catches for 87 yards.

USF junior kicker Nico Gramatica made all four of his field goal attempts on Saturday. In the second quarter, Gramatica drilled a 53-yard field goal, the second-longest made kick in his career and his sixth 50-yard make in his career, extending his school record.

The win improved USF to 23-6 in season openers in program history and 21-2 when those games are at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls played in front of a crowd of 41,487 people on Saturday, the seventh-largest home opener crowd in program history and the largest since the Bulls’ 2021 home opener against Florida. A total of 9,873 students attended the game as the student section spilled into the second deck of the stadium.

“The support is there. Do we want to put 60 points on the board and have everyone leave happy? Of course we do. But we want to win football games no matter what it takes. You’re going to be proud of this team and how they operate,” Hartline said after the game.

Next week, the Bulls will head to West Point to play their first American Conference game of 2026 against Army at noon on CBS Sports Network.