A sizeable portion of Bulls Nation had their fingers poised to hit the panic button last week when South Florida struggled to put winless Bowling Green away.
Although the Bulls scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win 14-6, the game did raise some doubts about how good USF can be, even though the Bulls are 4-0 for the first time since 2018.
Perhaps Saturday's home game against Temple will provide some answers. USF will be trying to go 2-0 in the American Conference while reassuring the faithful that everything is going to be fine.
Temple presents an interesting challenge. The Owls (1-3) have lost three straight, but the last two setbacks were gut-wrenching. They lost 49-48 in overtime at Toledo and followed that with a 21-17 home loss against Army. The. Black Knights scored the go-ahead touchdown with a little more than a minute to play.
USF, of course, beat Army 28-24 in heart-stopping style on September 12. A 38-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Michael Van Buren, Jr. to Joshua Porter with 19 seconds left gave the Bulls the victory.
USF has won its last nine games at Raymond James Stadium.
It's unclear what the Bulls' offensive line will look like in this game., They've had to play different combinations in each game because of injuries, and Bowling Green took advantage of that by sacking Van Buren six times.
Head coach Brian Hartline expects another tough battle and welcomes the challenge.
"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," he said.
"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.''
How to watch USF vs. Temple in Week 5
Date: Saturday, October 3 at Raymond James Stadium
Time: 7:30 p.m.
How to watch: ESPN+ Play-by-Play: Jason Ross, Jr., Analyst: Tyoka Jackson
How to listen: Q105 FM & Tune-In Digital Radio – Bulls Unlimited. Play by play: Jim Lighthall. Analyst: Sam Barrington. Sideline: Joey Johnson. Pregame Show (1 hour prior to kick): Darek Sharp, Rock Riley and Joey Johnson
What are the betting odds for USF at Bowling Green?
FanDuel Sportsbook favors USF by 5.5 points, although odds can change up until kickoff. The ESPN matchup predictor gives USF a 68.7 percent chance of winning.
Series between USF vs. Temple
What's the weather forecast for this game?
The forecast at kickoff is for temperatures in the low 80s with a 75 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms.
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