Coming off two straight conference losses, the South Florida Bulls looked to get back on track in a non-conference matchup against the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Looking back on the last two weeks, the Bulls’ offense had struggled to find consistency. Despite showing some life late against UTSA, those issues returned Saturday night.
South Florida logged just 271 yards of offense against a Kent State defense that entered the game ranked 125th nationally in scoring defense. The Bulls had hung their hat on their ability to run the football, but were only able to produce 78 rushing yards.
The final score was 29-2, but the South Florida offense accounted for only 20 of those points. The Bulls’ defense didn’t allow a single offensive point and scored eight points of their own.
The game started slowly, with Kent State actually opening the scoring with a safety to gain a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, that safety represented all of their scoring for the night.
The Bulls were held scoreless in the first quarter, but early in the second, Kent State quarterback Dru DeShields fumbled the snap at the three-yard line, and C.J. Hicks scooped up the fumble and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.
The play was one of multiple first-half stands from a South Florida defense that kept Kent State off the scoreboard despite the Golden Flashes reaching the Bulls’ five-yard line.
The teams exchanged punts before the Bulls were able to mount a drive that led to a Nico Gramatica 49-yard field goal to close the first half, giving South Florida a 10-2 lead.
Head coach Brian Hartline was not pleased with the team’s play at halftime, saying, “I think we’re playing terrible. I don’t understand why we can’t take what we do in our practices to game day.”
Coming out of the half, the Bulls’ offense still couldn’t quite find a rhythm, but the defense continued to keep Kent State off the board until the offense finally found the end zone.
Luke Kromenhoek scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it a two-possession game.
South Florida finally created some separation in the fourth quarter when Michael Van Buren Jr. connected with Cameron Seldon on a 36-yard touchdown pass to put the game out of reach.
Gramatica tacked on another short field goal, and the Bulls’ defense finished the night with a safety with 15 seconds remaining to cap the 29-2 victory.
Van Buren Jr. had an efficient day, completing 22-of-27 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, but the Bulls’ offense was still only able to produce 20 points against a defense that had struggled throughout the season.
The defense, on the other hand, continued to be the strength of the team. Kent State finished with just 228 total yards, rushed for only 63 and didn’t produce an offensive point all night.
As South Florida prepares for a long stretch of conference games, it will need more production from the offense. The Bulls have now scored 20 or fewer offensive points in three of their last four games, putting more pressure on a defense that has continued to answer the call.
USF will head into the bye before hosting UAB on October 31 at Raymond James Stadium. The win also completed South Florida’s first undefeated non-conference slate since 2018, but the Bulls enter the bye with plenty of work to do on offense before returning to conference play.
