University of South Florida
FIU
Keys To The Game: Bulls vs. Panthers
September 05, 2026 | Football
GAME 1: Bulls vs. FIU Title sponsor: Power Design
Raymond James Stadium (65,000) • Tampa, Fla. • Saturday, Sept. 5 • 7:00 PM
TV: ESPN+ - Play-by-Play: AJ Ricketts, Analyst: Patrick Murray, Sideline: Maria Trivelpiece
RADIO: Q105FM/Bulls Unlimited (digital) - Play-by-Play: Jim Lighthall, Analyst: Sam Barrington, Sideline: Joey Johnston
Giveaway: 30th Anniversary Branded Rally Towels (first 10,000 fans)
WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
GAME NOTES
BULLSEYE COACHES SHOW
For more than three decades, South Florida head coach Brian Hartline has been preparing for football games — youth ball, high school, college and professional as a player, then nine seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio State.
It's still football tonight at Raymond James Stadium, when the Bulls host the FIU Panthers in the season-opener.
It's also very different.
Hartline, a first-time head coach, is in charge.
His old boss, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, came to South Florida practice in August and passed along some advice.
"Coach Meyer said, 'Suggestions versus decisions … your entire (coaching) life, you've been giving suggestions and now you make the decisions,' '' Hartline said. "I was like, 'That's a good little line there.' I made sure to write that one down.
"But you know, I think that I don't really know (what it will be like as a head coach). I think we will be well-prepared and I look forward to the opportunity. I think I find my confidence in the people around me, and that's really how the players should feel, (gaining confidence from) the coaching staff and their teammates. I feel empowered by the coaches around me, the players around me and the process that we put together the last eight months. So … nerves? We'll see. But I'm glad I'm with the guys I'm with.''
As South Florida begins its 30th football season — and its final one at Ray Jay before moving into an on-campus stadium in 2027 — there are plenty of new faces (110 combined new players and staff). The projected starters include 19 transfers (16 in their first USF season, 14 who once played at Power Four programs). As is the case almost everywhere in college football, there was a roster overhaul at FIU, which enters its second season under head coach Willie Simmons.
At Florida A&M, Simmons was 66-24 in six seasons. That included a 12-1 finish in 2023, when the Rattlers' only defeat was against USF, 38-24 (Alex Golesh's first victory with the Bulls). Last season, Simmons' first year at FIU, he had the Panthers at 7-6 and in a bowl game. You've got to respect that production and stability.
"They had a good Year One,'' Hartline said. "You know he's probably working with a lot of good athletes. I think 70-percent of their roster is from from Florida. They really recruit the state hard. So, you're gonna have some guys who love ball and love to compete.
"We're excited to get out there and play somebody else. We've got a lot of respect for how they play and how they operate. I know they're just looking forward to stepping in here, too.''
As Hartline approaches tonight's game, he's more apt to approach it as his latest season-opener instead of a personal milestone.
"Probably not a lot of talking (in the pregame),'' Hartline said. "It probably depends on what your team needs and that's what you should be thinking about as a head coach. I'm not a rah-rah type of guy. My normal characteristics (are) maybe (providing) a quick nugget, a quick thought. The work has been put in. Let's go get on the field.''
Here are the keys for South Florida to start successfully:
1. Keep It Clean
On Opening Night, it's unrealistic to expect a mistake-free performance. As coaches always say, a team's greatest improvement is from Week 1 to Week 2, usually because there are multiple areas to correct. That's particularly true with a proliferation of players who haven't worked together in a game-like setting. So, it's imperative to display fundamentals and master the basics.
For success, the Bulls must avoid penalties and turnovers, while operating with crisp efficiency.
"I've been doing this a long time and you never know what to expect on the first game,'' Bulls offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. "The goal for us is to play as clean as we can, to eliminate pre-snap penalties, post-snap penalties, miscues on alignments and formations, delay of game, those type of things. My expectation going in … I feel like we'll be flawless. That's the hope, to execute at a high level.''
"We talked about the penalties in the Week Zero games — the foolish unsportsmanlike conducts, the pre-snap penalties, the substitution penalties, all those things,'' Bulls defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge said. "That's what you want to be clean and hopefully we've done a good enough job emphasizing that. Until you get out there and the bullets start flying, you never know.''
It's probably unrealistic to expect a completely mistake-free game, but perfection remains the lofty goal.
"The last thing I tell the defense right before we take the field each game is this: 'You're not going to play perfect today, which is why you should play confident … you shouldn't be worried about messing up … but that doesn't mean we can't strive for perfection,' '' Aldridge said.
2. Pressure JJ Kohl
FIU's quarterback is JJ Kohl (6-foot-7, 250 pounds), who had a nice 2025 season at Appalachian State (61.6-percent completions, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions in eight games) after transferring from Iowa State. Kohl is a pocket presence who wants to get his feet set and make plays behind a wall of protection.
The Bulls can't let that happen.
Defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge must dial up the havoc-creating pressure he has been preaching all offseason. Kohl can move OK, but he isn't much of a running threat. The Bulls will get a big advantage by forcing him into obvious passing situations.
"Our coaches told us to make his game as hard as possible," said defensive end Michael Williams II. "That's what we're here for. I've been here for a while and I've never had my D-line be able to take over a practice or a scrimmage or a game like I've seen so far.''
3. Move The Chains
By all accounts, the Bulls will emphasize the running game, likely with Jason Collins Jr. (5-9, 190, Morgan State) and D.J. Crowther (5-11, 215, Dartmouth), along with an offensive line that averages 6-4, 315 pounds.
"We want to be physical,'' Beck said. "We want to set the tempo and dictate the game on our own terms. That's how you control a game.''
4. Find The Playmakers
Former SEC player Michael Van Buren Jr. (6-0, 195, Mississippi State/LSU) gets the initial call at quarterback. He has shown flashes in some big-game settings, throwing for 267 yards and three touchdowns in his last action (vs. Houston in the Texas Bowl), while also passing for 309 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas to highlight his 12 starts in SEC competition. Van Buren also is a capable runner.
Van Buren will mostly be judged on his ability to find South Florida's key playmakers — expected to be led by receivers Bryson Rodgers (6-2, 187, Ohio State) and Arhmad Branch (6-0, 185, Purdue), plus a more active tight-end room — while protecting the ball.
Spectacular makes headlines. Steady wins games.
"Mike doesn't need to try and do anything special … Mike just needs to be Mike,'' Beck said. "Scoring touchdowns. That's everyone's goal. But we want him to protect the football and make sure he's making good decisions. Making proper reads and getting the ball to the right guy at the right time. That's the goal for Mike.''
–#GoBulls–
Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer
