I know what you were thinking because I was thinking the same thing.
Early in the second quarter, South Florida was already behind by two points and Kent State had the ball at the Bulls' 1-yard line. Was the unthinkable about to happen? Were the Bulls about to make a face-plant at Raymond James Stadium on Homecoming against a team they should have been dominating?
Well, ever since USF was shut out for the first three quarters at Bowling Green, there has been grumbing around Bulls Nation. Losing to the Golden Flashes might have caused flashbacks to the (shudder) Jeff Scott era.
But that's when USF defender C.J. Hicks changed the trajectory of the game and perhaps the season. He scooped up a Kent State fumble and the 4-yard line and, WHOOSH! He was off on a 96-yard romp to the end zone, tying the school record set by Kayvon Webster in 2011 against Notre Dame.
Webster just happened to be in the house Saturday night.
HOMECOMING DUB 🤘 pic.twitter.com/PtC2sixFnt
— South Florida Football (@USFFootball) October 18, 2026
Hicks' run turned the game around and the Bulls cruised to a 29-2 win. They improved to 5-2 ahead of next week's open date.
What have we learned about the first seven games of the Brian Hartline era?
1. The Bulls were mediocre again on offense and maybe that's just who they are.
Hartline came to USF hailed as an offensive mastermind but the Bulls haven't come close to fulfilling the hype. Kent State had the 96th-ranked defense in the country but the Bulls managed only 271 total yards. The ground game got stuffed -- 32 carries for 78 yards, a 2.4 yards-per-carry average.
Unlike some citizens of Bulls Nation, Green, Gold & Bold is not going to start pointing the finger at Hartline. Obviously part of the problem is that the roster was essentially thrown together through the Transfer Portal. Quarterback Michael Van Buren, Jr. has been servicable and running back D.J. Crowther has had big moments, but overall the ground game as cratered.
Over the last three games, the Bulls have just 303 rushing yards.
The line play has been erratic and the passing game hasn't been effective enough to keep opponents from concentrating on stopping the run.
With USF playing exclusively in the American Conference the rest of the regular season, the lack of an effective ground game is a major concern.
2. The Bulls can win with defense -- and may have to
The USF defense outscored Kent State 8-0 Saturday night -- Hicks' TD run and a safety by Jabari Smith.
OK, so the Golden Flashes don't have much flash offensively. The point is, the defense did what it was supposed to do against a mediocre opponent.
Well done.
It was an especially nice bounce-back for the defenders after giving up game-losing late-game scoring drives against Temple and UTSA.
The Bulls rank 36th in the country in total defense and first in the American Conference. They are allowing only 15.1 points per game. That's 5 points better than the second place team (Army).
3. The next game will tell us a LOT
The Bulls don't play again until Halloween night when the UAB Blazers come to Ray-Jay.
First-year head coach Alex Mortensen might be contending for the American coach of the year award. He inherited a train wreck last year when Trent Dilfer was fired in mid-season and Mortensen has restored order in Birmingham.
The Blazers have won three of their last four, including a 30-17 double overtime win at home over East Carolina in their last outing.
Like USF, the Blazers have an open date this week and will come to Tampa well rested and prepared. The Bulls will probably be favored by 3 points or so, and a win would improve them to 6-2 overall and even their conference record at 2-2.
But there are no more Kent States on the schedule. No more Delaware States.
If the Bulls can hold up their end of the bargain against UAB, they can reasonably shoot for at least an 8-win season. UTSA, the conference leader at 3-0, is probably the toughest team USF faced this season and the Bulls took the Roadrunners down to the wire on the road.
There is still a lot to play for.
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