South Florida foothall coach Brian Hartline has a way of slipping potentially significant news into the middle of what seems to be an almost low-key answer to a question.
He did that Saturday night in the aftermath of USF's 17-13 loss at home against Temple. It was the Bulls' first loss after four wins, but after the post-game booing by fans and a social media meltdown you'd think that somehow Jeff Scott was back on the headset for the Bulls.
Much of the fans' ire was directed at offensive coordinator Tim Beck after USF's second straight game with a misfiring offense. I'm not saying Hartline is listening to the noise -- nor should he -- but when asked what needs to change, he seemed to address the fans' concerns without directly doing so.
— South Florida Football (@USFFootball) October 4, 2026
"When you have those drops, when you have negative plays, I think we need to do a better job, probably, putting guys in position to execute better at times. We'll take a hard look at what plays we're selecting at the right times and see if we're putting guys in the right spots for those opportunities to do better, to be honest. So everything's under review," he said.
Everything means everything, and that includes Beck's play-calling. With the exception of a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the second half, the Bulls' offense was disjointed for most of the night. Beck can't do anything about the dropped passes that hurt USF, but to the casual observer the Bulls never got into an offensive rhythm.
Last week at winless Bowling Green, we could point to the makeshift offensive line as a reason they Bulls were held scoreless for three quarters before rallying for a 14-6 win. That was not the case against Temple, however.
"The O line stepped up in a good way," Hartline said.
The defense held up its end of the bargain for most of the night, except when it mattered most. Nursing a 3-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, USF saw Temple drive 96 yards in 10 plays for the eventual winning score. The drive was aided by two penalties against the Bulls and set up quarterback Ajani Sheppard's 34-yard touchdown run for the Owls.
Every season has its ups and downs, and this is certainly a downer. The upcoming Thursday night game at UTSA was always going to be a challenge on a short week, but the result against Temple raised the stakes. A second American Conference loss would be crippling, especially with teams like East Carolina, Memphis, and Tulane left on the schedule.
Memphis, by the way, mashed winless Charlotte 59-8 on Saturday, while UTSA squeeked past Rice 16-14.
Coaches like to talk about cleaning up mistakes after games like the last couple of ones the Bulls have played. This seems like more than just a tweak here and an adjustment there.
USF is almost halfway through the regular season, and while four wins in its first five games is a good start, the last couple of games have shown just how far away from being really good the Bulls are.
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