University of South Florida
Temple
USF Football Takes On Temple In Conference Home Opener
October 01, 2026 | Football
GAME 5: Bulls vs. Templeย ย ย
Raymond James Stadium (65,000) โข Tampa, Fla. โข Saturday, Oct. 3 โข 7:30 PM
TV:ย ESPNU - Play-by-Play:ย Jason Ross Jr.; Analyst: Tyoka Jackson
RADIO: Q105FM &ย Bulls Unlimited (digital) - Play-by-Play: Jim Lighthall, Analyst: Sam Barrington, Sideline: Joey Johnston
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The preliminaries have ended. For the South Florida Bulls, the main event will resume Saturday night when the Bulls (4-0, 1-0) jump into the teeth of American Conference play by hosting the Temple Owls (1-3, 0-1) at Raymond James Stadium.
As one of 22 remaining unbeaten teams (out of 138) in the Football Bowl Subdivision, South Florida has so far successfully navigated non-conference play, although last weekend's 14-6 win at Mid-American Conference member Bowling Green was nerve-wracking. Bulls head coach Brian Hartline said he'll never take winning for granted, but he knows that the remaining seven games of league play (the Bulls won their league opener at Army in Week 2) will define this season's progress.
"Every rep matters at this point,'' wide receiver Mudia Reuben said. "We've taken that to the practice field and we're attacking it as such. We know the way we did things the first four weeks can't be the same way that we do things these next eight (weeks).
"The standard has to increase and only keep increasing. It can't drop at any point, and we know that. Playing a conference game versus any team, but (especially) Temple, it's going to be a physical, gritty match. It's all in just executing the (practice) reps perfectly and then taking it to the game day.''
Hartline just completed his fourth game as a head coach. Last week's 21-17 home defeat against Army was the 400th career game for Temple head coach K.C. Keeler, 67, who has gone 277-122-1 in 33 seasons while winning Football Championship Subdivision national championships at Delaware (2003) and Sam Houston (2020).
"Coach (Keeler) has won a lot of games and you can see how well these guys are coached,'' Hartline said. "Their hand placement, their (ability) to shed blocks, the way they get guys on the ground (with tackles) โฆ we know what kind of challenge is upon us.
"I don't care about the record of the team that we're playing. We'll focus on their technique and how hard they play. We'll try to do a better job of being the tougher football team on that given day. We do see who they compete against. We see their toughness, how hard they play, how schematically sound they are. We're expecting everyone's best punch. I think we have gotten that so far. The better the punch, the more we can grow.''
Last week at Bowling Green, the Bulls got a much better punch than anyone could have expected from the winless Falcons. Trailing 6-0 as the fourth quarter began, the Bulls stuffed the Falcons on a fourth-and-1 play, then proceeded to mount a pair of game-winning touchdown drives, mostly behind the rushing muscle of D.J. Crowther (143 yards, one touchdown).
For the first time in 14 years, South Florida won by scoring 14 or fewer points. The Bulls managed just 214 yards overall.
"Last week was kind of a wrench in the fire, if you will, at least offensively,'' Hartline said. "We've got to get that cleaned up.''
Meanwhile, South Florida's defense continued to shine. The Bulls haven't allowed a touchdown in six consecutive quarters (and only six TDs all season). They limited the Falcons to a pair of field goals (both on short fields after turnovers) and 207 total yards.
The Bulls are No. 21 nationally in scoring defense (14.0 points per game) and No. 55 in total defense (322.3 yards per game). That's trending toward a huge improvement from the past eight seasons, when South Florida averaged No. 100 in scoring defense and No. 104 in total defense.ย
"Our defense came out locked down and ready to play,'' linebacker Sam Robinson said. "We have each other's backs. We are our brother's keeper. If it might be a game where the defense is struggling, but the offense has our back. It might be a game where the offense is struggling, but the defense has got their back.
"I don't think of it like, 'Oh well, the defense is playing good this game, but the offense isn't doing anything.' We're all in this together. We all win together and we all lose together.''
But this season, there hasn't yet been a loss.
Since Nov. 9, 2024, there hasn't been a South Florida defeat at Raymond James Stadium, either. Saturday night, the Bulls are shooting for the program's 10th consecutive home-field victory.
"I like the fans here,'' said Robinson, a transfer from Rutgers University. "I'm initially from Florida (Tallahassee), so it feels good to be home. The students in that student section โฆ amazing! I think that the fan base should just keep building. Because at the end of the day, that's what our football team is doing. It's (getting) better and better.''
The preliminaries have ended.
It's time for full-on American Conference play โ and an opportunity for South Florida to define its season.
โ#GoBullsโ
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
