It's understandable if South Florida football fans felt a little unsettled following the Bulls opening game Saturday night.
Yes, the Bulls beat FIU 19-9, and that win might look even more impressive as the season goes on. The Panthers could contend for the Conference USA title.
But after watching Alex Golesh's pinball-machine offense pile up tons of points in the last three years, new head coach Brian Hartline showed he meant it when he said his approach would be decidedly different -- slower, more measured, with an emphasis on a ground game.
The Bulls were outgained in total yardage 381-208. Quarterback Michael Van Buren, Jr. threw only 18 times while FIU launched 50 passes. The Panthers ran 75 plays to USF's 56.
But the Bulls had no turnovers, which was huge, and they had a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery. FIU didn't score a touchdown until the final play of the game. The Bulls also had just four penalties for 30 yards while the Panthers were flagged eight times.
The numbers showed the emphasis Hartline placed on discipline and ball security.
"That's a big part of it. That's winning football, right?" Hartline said. "Don't want to beat yourself in week one. This is the biggest thing. A lot of times, I've been a part of a lot of boring week one, to say the least. Find a way to win and grow from there."
The crowd of 41,847, including 9,873 students, was noteworthy. It was USF's largest opening crowd since 2021, and the seventh largest home opening crowd in program history as the Bulls opened their final season at Raymond James Stadium.
"I'm blown away by the fans. I've got to shout them out," he said. "We had one of the biggest attendances in years, and so the support is there."
With 62 new players, including 21 new starters, some growing pains are to be expected. Hartline didn't seem too concerned about that afterward.
"The defense did a great job bending, not breaking," he said.
He wasn't happy about settling for four Nico Gramatica field goals
"Every time you're kicking a field goal, you're that much closer to letting somebody back in the game," he said.
"Field goals, a lot of times, are wins for the defense, and I kind of view it that way. Those are four-point plays sometimes, when you're in the red zone."
So, yeah, there's a lot to clean up before the Bulls head to West Point next Saturday to open American Conference play against Army.
But there were also positives to take away from the FIU game. The Bulls did seem to wear the Panthers down as the game entered the latter stages.
"I think the standards are where they need to be. I think we'll continue to grow and work, and look forward to the growth that we're going to have from week one to week two, and then it better grow again from week two to week three," Hartline said.
"We'll continue that process through the whole season."
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