By FRANCIS FEDOR
francisfotography@outlook.com
USF head coach Brian Hartline and the Bulls traveled to Ohio to take on Bowling Green with USF looking to extend their season opening winning streak to four. The Bulls had to battle to pull it off and had to work for the 14-6 win. The Bulls are now 4-0 for the first time since 2018, and it is only the eighth time that USF has started 4-0. USF entered the weekend as only one of two teams in the American Conference to start play undefeated, with Tulsa, who took its first L on the road against Arkansas.
Bowling Green is coached by former NFL running back and Ohio State assistant coach Eddie George, setting up a match-up of two former coaches who left Ohio State for head coaching roles. As in the opener, USF started slow and the defenses dominated the first half with the Falcons getting the better of the opportunities and finding the scoreboard with two FGs. Both FGs were setup by fumbles on the first two USF drives. USF found some cohesion in the closing moments of the first half and sent out kicker Nico Gramatica to attempt a 41-yard FG, but Gramatica’s attempt sailed wide left and Bowling Green held a 6-0 advantage at the half. The Gramatica miss ended a streak of 12 consecutive made FGs. The Falcons had averaged 29.5 points allowed per game in the first half coming into the USF game, but were up to the challenge against the Bulls in pitching the first half shutout. Falcons defensive end Myles Bradley wreaked havoc on the USF offense, getting into the backfield and sacking starting QB Michael Van Buren Jr. four times.
The USF defense played another strong game and held the Falcons to only the two FGs for the game, keeping the game in reach for Van Buren and the offense. The Bulls faced an additional challenge when offensive lineman Thomas Schrader (Venice HS), one of the team captains, went down with an injury and sophomore Brayden Carter had to step in and take over against a defense that was finding success in getting into the Bulls backfield. But USF found fourth quarter life after the change, and the six-play drive was culminated with Kromenhoek’s coming in at QB for Van Buren, calling his own number (as was shown in the win over Delaware State) and sprinting to the front corner of the end zone for the game’s first TD that handed USF their first lead. After holding the Falcons to one first down on their next offensive series and forcing a punt, USF took over; DJ Crowther found space in the secondary and scored on a 1-yard run on the seventh play of the drive. Crowther was named American Conference Offensive player of the week after the Delaware State win where he scored three times.
Bulls QB Van Buren finished with 52 yards passing, and D.J. Crowther churned out 163 yards on the ground. The defense did get to the Falcons QB for three sacks, but it was a team effort in keeping Bowling Green out of the end zone, even though the secondary lost track of a Falcon WR and he was wide open, but the pass fell incomplete on what could have been a game tying score.
The Bulls return to Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3, for a conference game as the 1-3 Temple University Owls make the trip from Philadelphia for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, televised by ESPNU.
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