The Brian Hartline era is officially underway at USF.
It wasn’t always pretty. It certainly wasn’t explosive. But it was a win.
The Bulls opened their 30th season of football—and their final season at Raymond James Stadium—with a 19-9 victory over FIU in front of 41,847 fans.
USF’s new-look offense struggled to establish a rhythm, but the Bulls protected the football, created three takeaways and received four field goals from Nico Gramatica. It was enough to give Hartline his first victory as a college head coach.
“Winning’s always hard,” Hartline said. “It’s never easy. Never take it for granted, because if you do, it’s fleeting.”
That is a fair way to describe this one.
For three quarters, USF’s offense looked like a unit still searching for its identity. The offensive line was inconsistent, the running game had difficulty finding space, and quarterback Michael Van Buren was rarely asked to stretch the field.
After three seasons of watching Alex Golesh’s fast-paced offense, it took some time to adjust to a slower, more methodical style. These Bulls wanted to control the football, avoid mistakes, and win the battle in the trenches. USF did enough of those things to win.
“We’re going to play complementary football,” Hartline said. “We’re going to play tough, sound football. Whatever it takes is what we’re going to do.”
Gramatica carries the offense early
The Bulls’ first possession began with promise. Behind Van Buren and running back Jason Collins Jr., USF gained 32 yards, including 23 on the ground. But FIU stopped the Bulls on third-and-1 and forced a punt.
The special teams unit immediately made an impact by downing the ball at the FIU 1-yard line. FIU eventually drove into USF territory, but its fourth-down pass intended for Kyle McNeal fell incomplete. The Bulls turned the favorable field position into points when Gramatica made a 37-yard field goal as the first quarter expired.
USF’s defense stopped FIU on fourth down again early in the second quarter, with Fortenberry bringing down Anthony Carrie behind the line of scrimmage. Gramatica followed with a 53-yard field goal, giving USF a 6-0 advantage. It was the second-longest kick of his career and extended his school record to six career field goals of at least 50 yards.
Van Buren later described Gramatica with one appropriate word.
“Automatic,” Van Buren said. “We know he’s going to get the job done. It’s our job to put the ball in the end zone, but if we don’t, we know we’re good.”
That safety net mattered because USF didn’t reach the end zone in the first half. The Bulls ran for only 48 yards before halftime, averaging 2.8 yards per attempt. Collins led the way with 39 yards on nine carries, while Van Buren completed 7 of 10 passes for 59 yards.
There is no reason to press the panic button after one game, but the offensive line’s performance should raise some concern. For a unit promoted as one of the biggest in USF history, the Bulls had too much trouble moving FIU’s defensive front. Hartline acknowledged that the offense left too many plays on the field.
“We had a couple drives and opportunities, and we were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Hartline said. “Whether it was a missed assignment, execution, a penalty, or a drop, those things add up. We’ve got to clean them up.”
USF’s defense changes the game
FIU opened the second half by driving to the USF 12-yard line, but the Bulls kept the Panthers out of the end zone. Robert Czeremcha’s field goal cut the lead to 6-3.
USF’s offense continued to sputter until the defense created the game’s defining moment.
With FIU driving again, Tayvion Beasley recognized a screen, broke toward the football and intercepted quarterback JJ Kohl. He returned it 25 yards, giving USF possession at the FIU 35.
“That was just him trusting and knowing he had guys behind him,” safety Tavin Ward said. “They had run that play a few times. For him to recognize it and go pick it off, that was great.”
This time, the Bulls took advantage.
DJ Crowther powered the offense down the field, and Van Buren completed a 12-yard pass to Wyatt Sullivan to help move USF to the FIU 13. Crowther finished the possession with a 2-yard touchdown run, fighting through contact before receiving a push from his offensive line.
“I hit it, made a dude miss, and then it was just mindset,” Crowther said. “I kept driving my legs, and the big guys pushed me. We got in there and put six on the board.”
The touchdown gave USF a 13-3 lead with 13:07 remaining. It also represented the Bulls’ only trip into the red zone. The good news is they scored a touchdown. The bad news is that USF reached the red zone only once.
Hartline made it clear that settling for field goals cannot become the offensive standard.
“Every time you kick a field goal, you’re that much closer to letting somebody back into the game,” Hartline said. “Field goals, a lot of times, are wins for the defense. Would you rather drive every single drive and put it in the end zone? Absolutely.”
Turnovers seal Hartline’s first victory
The defense kept giving USF short fields. A fourth-quarter fumble gave the Bulls possession at the FIU 36, leading to Gramatica’s third field goal. Ward later intercepted Kohl, giving the offense the ball at the FIU 40. Gramatica finished that opportunity with his fourth field goal, tying his career high and extending the lead to 19-3. USF scored following all three FIU turnovers.
Van Buren did not produce eye-popping numbers, but he accomplished Hartline’s primary objective: take care of the football. The Bulls finished without a turnover, and Van Buren managed the huddle without communication problems or delay-of-game penalties.
“I was confident in my preparation,” Van Buren said. “As long as I’m preparing well and following my process, the game is going to play out how it’s going to play out.”
FIU added a touchdown on Kohl’s 15-yard pass to James Resar as time expired, making the final margin 19-9.
Ward was not pleased that the Bulls allowed a touchdown on the final possession.
“That’s not the way we want to finish,” Ward said. “That finish was unacceptable, regardless of what the outcome of the game was.”
The Bulls won, but nobody sounded satisfied.
USF’s defense recorded five tackles for loss, three pass breakups, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one sack. That produced 12 havoc plays in 56 defensive snaps—a 21.4 percent havoc rate, just below the unit’s goal of 25 percent.
The defense bent at times, especially against Kohl’s passing, but repeatedly made plays when the game demanded them.
Offensively, Collins led USF with 59 rushing yards on 17 carries. Crowther provided the game’s only USF touchdown and the physical running Hartline wants to make part of the program’s identity.
This looked like what it was: a new team playing its first game in a new system under a new coaching staff.
There were encouraging signs. USF protected the football, committed few penalties, controlled field position and forced three turnovers.
But the Bulls need better blocking, more explosive plays and far more consistency before next week’s trip to West Point.
Army will test USF’s discipline and physicality considerably more than FIU did.
“Usually your biggest growth is from Week 1 to Week 2,” Hartline said. “That will be a huge goal of ours.”
Hartline’s first USF team has plenty to correct. They will get to make those corrections while sitting at 1-0.