USF rallies from seemingly hopeless to heroic in stunning comeback win over Army

True confession time: When Army went ahead of South Florida by 10 points with 5 minutes to play, I thought the Bulls were finished.

Be honest. You probably did too. There was no reason to believe otherwise. The Black Knights had made all the plays they needed to and, I figured, even if USF managed to put a score on the board as the game wound down, Army would just the grind away the clock and the Bulls wouldn't stop them.

But what transpired in those final frenetic five minutes will go down as one of the top "What. Just. Happened?" moments in this program's 30-year history.

Down by the aforementioned 10 points, quarterback Michael Van Buren engineered a clutch drive that resulted in his second touchdown of the day to pull the Bulls within three. They still had to get the ball back after a failed onsides kick attempt gave Army the ball near midfield.

But the defense bowed up and forced a punt, giving the ball back to USF 81 yards away from the end zone with 1:39 to play.

Hopeless, right? It's time we learned that this team doesn't understand that word. The stunning 28-24 win was finally punctuated by a 38-yard touchdown pass from Van Buren to Josh Porter even though ....

It was fourth down and the Bulls were in field goal range, albeit from 55 yards, trailing by three.

The play wasn't a "safe" pass to get Groza Award hopeful Nico Gramatica closer for a game-tying kick. This was a push the chips to the middle of the table and dare Army to make a play move.

The comeback embodied the toughness first-year coach Brian Hartline has maintained since his arrival that his team has.

"Trust our guys, and I think it comes down to how we're wired, how we're built, and we have that mentality," Hartline told the USF radio network afterward. "We've got the right guys for the job. They've earned it. We had confidence because of the work they put in and time to let them shine."

Porter, a junior out of Fort Meade High School, has earned his stripes in practice and Hartline was paying attention.

"He's so consistent as a person and as a player. You know, I have a lot of respect for him. He maximizes his tool set, his skill set, and I can't wait to see him grow over the next couple of years. But he's building a great foundation," Hartline said.

Speaking of great foundations, games like this are cornerstones to build on. The Bulls were on the road, underdogs entering the game, and allowed Army to seize control. That's not a recipe for success, but USF had some secret sauce that was prepared in the blast furnace of summer and fall workouts.

"We train for this. We never get out of character. We live for games like this, man. That's what it is," Porter said. "I''m gonna get this. Yeah, I'm gonna get it for my brothers. That's it. I've got to get it from my brothers."

Add to the number of obstacles the Bulls faced, top linebacker Grayson "Pup" Howard missed the game with an undisclosed injury, defensive end C.J. Hicks left the game late with a possible head injury, and receiver Bryson Rodgers -- who had six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown -- missed time after taking a hard hit but did return.

Even though the Bulls struggled last week to put FIU away, they made plays when they had to be made. This was more of the same, albeit with eyeball-bulging drama.

It was also impossible to watch this transpire and not drift back to last year, when the Bulls didn't make plays that had to be made in losses to Memphis and Navy. That USF team could be wildly entertaining at times, but this team seems to be built for sterner stuff.

It starts with trust.

The players trust their coaches, and the coaches trust their players. Lots of teams say they do the same, but when the game is there to be won or lost, that's when we find out who really walks the walk.

The Bulls proved that on a bright fall afternoon at West Point. It's a 60-minute game, and going forward fans would be well advised that no matter the situation, don't give up. Their football team certainly never will.

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