USF Football Flashback: Bulls Roll to 611 Yards vs. Delaware State
September 21, 2026 | Football
Takeaways, highlights, notables, sights, sound bites and learning experiences from South Florida's 59-17 home victory against the Delaware State Hornets.
The Quick Read
* Very impressed so far with the student support for South Florida football. On an afternoon filled with every potential excuse to sit one out — including torrential rains, parking backups, a delayed kickoff and an FCS opponent the Bulls were heavily favored to beat — the student section was full and lively.
* With each week, we're getting more insight into how Brian Hartline wants this South Florida team to evolve. Mistake-free. Disciplined. Aggressive. Physical. Versatile. More layers are being added to the offense. Most importantly, Hartline wants South Florida's best play to occur in November, not September. That's the template. Can't argue with that.
* Before halftime, Hartline termed South Florida's first half play as "atrocious.'' The defense allowed a 90-yard touchdown reception (with about 80 yards after the catch) and a 50-yard run. Two offensive possessions ended in a punt and a turnover. At no time did you feel like the Bulls were in serious trouble as they took a 28-17 lead to the locker room, but Hartline knows such errors won't fly in American Conference play.
* The Bulls have options in the backfield. Lots of them. We already had gotten a good view of D.J. Crowther (101 yards, three touchdowns against Delaware State) and Jason Collins Jr. But we also got a first look at Alvon Isaac, Chase Garnett and Tray Kinkle. They are all very capable.
* With LB Grayson "Pup'' Howard out for a second straight game, that meant more opportunities for Zavier Hamilton, who took advantage. Hamilton is a heady performer who always seems to be around the ball.
* Fifty-nine points, 611 total yards, and pitching a second-half shutout … but the feeling that there's plenty to clean up. The Bulls know they haven't yet scratched the surface of this team's potential.
* QB Luke Kromenhoek is becoming a weapon when he is utilized on the Tim Tebow-esque, bull-moose rushing attempts. Could a jump pass attempt be far behind?
The Big Play
The first half was competitive (South Florida led 28-17). The Hornets were held on downs to begin the third quarter, then Bulls RB D.J. Crowther ripped a 39-yard touchdown run that began the onslaught.
Game Balls
* QB Michael Van Buren Jr., who was 23-for-32 with 300 yards and one touchdown.
* RB D.J. Crowther, who had eight rushes for 101 and three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 38 and 39 yards.
* The running game in general. The 290-yard effort included Crowther (101 yards), Tray Kinkle (67), Chase Garnett (45), Jason Collins Jr. (35), Alvon Isaac (19) and QB Luke Kromenhoek (18).
* Just one attempt, but P Luke Goater continues to be a special-teams force. His 52-yard punt was downed inside the 20-yard line. So far, nine punts and six have been downed inside the 20.
* LBs Sam Robinson and Zavier Hamilton, who each had six tackles and two tackles for a loss.
* WR Joshua Porter, who had a career-high eight receptions for 106 yards and a 5-yard score.
* WR Bryson Rodgers, who had his best game as a Bull (career-high seven catches for 86 yards).
Notable Numbers
1 — Number of South Florida turnovers through three games.
2 — Number of unbeaten teams in the American Conference — South Florida (3-0) and Tulsa (3-0), which do not meet during the regular season.
3 — Rushing touchdowns for RB D.J. Crowther, who became the first Bull to accomplish that since 2021 (Jaren Mangham vs. Florida A&M).
3-0 — South Florida is 3-0 for the first time since 2018 (and the 10th time in program history).
7 — South Florida rushing touchdowns against Delaware State, which ranks behind the program-record eight in the inaugural game against Kentucky Wesleyan on Sept. 6, 1997.
9 — Consecutive South Florida victories at Raymond James Stadium, the second-longest streak in program history (behind a program-record 21 straight home wins from 2000-03).
35 — Number of unbeaten teams (out of 138) in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
36-1 — South Florida's all-time record against Football Championship Subdivision opponents since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2000.
80 — Pass attempts by QB Michael Van Buren Jr. without an interception. For USF QBs, that's the third longest non-interception streak to start a season (Byrum Brown 132 in 2024, Marquel Blackwell 88 in 2002).
Quotable
"We didn't do a very good job getting started. We were not elite in any kind of fashion. We'll look at the film and see where that really stemmed from, then attack it. You can't really start games like that.''
— Brian Hartline on the first-half performance.
"It's about the way we responded, and that deserves (the final) outcome. We weren't playing with detail (while) doing our job. We were lacking in that area. But we came back out in the second half and did our job.''
— LB Sam Robinson.
"It's all love. Being able to go out there and see my brothers execute and perform, we're all working, we're all grinding. So being able to have them have the opportunity to go out there and do what they do, it's just a blessing. … We had to come out with a killer mindset. I just put that in my head and we were tapping into that killer mindset.''
— RB D.J. Crowther on the overall running game.
"Credit to our O-line. They were just being being nasty today and imposing their will against our opponents. I just love to see the growth of them and just how they keep getting better each and every week.''
— QB Michael Van Buren Jr., on the offensive line.
"That package, I promise you, will grow. He is earning the opportunities.''
— Hartline on the use of QB Luke Kromenhoek.
"We've to make sure we understand that we're running out of time and the game doesn't care. The conference doesn't care. Your opponents don't care. We've making up for lost time right now and we don't have time to squander a whole half of football. I'm sure there are some good things on film, but I'm holding them to the standard they want to be held to. For me not to do that, I'm letting them down. There's just an opportunity to play better football early in the game than we did.''
— Hartline on the urgency to improve.
"He's such a consistent person. That's such a rarity to find sometimes. The ones you really rely on have that trait. I love his growth and looking forward to seeing the more growth that he's going to have.''
— Hartline on WR Joshua Porter.
"He never put the ball in jeopardy. I think the ball location was pretty darn good all day. There were a lot of positives. Not just stats, but it's everything under the hood that allows this thing to click. That's what Mike is doing a great job with.''
— Hartline on QB Michael Van Buren Jr.
"It's always good to put up good numbers. But I'm more focused on how we can get better and how I can improve personally. This game is already over, so it's about how I can get better tomorrow or the day after that.''
— Van Buren.
"Whenever those guys' numbers were called, they stepped up. They (were) fed and they ate. It's just competitive excellence. When one man is down and it's the next man up, you've got to go.''
— Robinson on the defense playing without three injured starters.
The List
For the 10th time — and the first time since 2018 — South Florida has begun 3-0. Here's how the other nine teams finished:
1998 — 8-3
2006 — 9-4 (Won PapaJohns.com Bowl)
2007 — 9-4 (Lost Sun Bowl)
2008 — 8-5 (Won St. Petersburg Bowl)
2009 — 8-5 (Won International Bowl)
2011 — 5-7
2016 — 11-2 (Won Birmingham Bowl)
2017 — 10-2 (Won Birmingham Bowl)
2018 — 7-6 (Lost Gasparilla Bowl)
Next Up: Bowling Green
Brian Hartline was a 9-year-old in Plain Township, Ohio when Ohio State RB Eddie George won the 1995 Heisman Trophy. Hartline and George will meet as head coaches next Saturday at 5 p.m., when the Bulls visit the Mid-American Conference's Bowling Green Falcons. BGSU (0-3) has been beaten by FCS Tarleton State (20-13), Nebraska (56-7) and Iowa State (55-7). The Falcons went 4-8 in George's first season as head coach. USF has won the only meeting (29-7 in 2002 at Ray-Jay, when Urban Meyer was BG's head coach).
–#GoBulls–
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
