Observations from a lost night for South Florida at UTSA
Defense melted in the clutch: Whatever momentum USF had after winning its first four games this season has evaporated. Before a national TV audience Thursday night, the Bulls collapsed in the closing moments against UTSA and fell 31-24.
It was USF's second consecutive loss and dropped it to 1-2 in the American Conference. Barring a rapid reboot of a season that is starting to look like so many others for the Bulls, USF likely continue its ignominious streak of never winning a conference title.
What made this one hurt a little bit more was the fact USF's defense, which has been a team strength for much of the season, couldn't close the deal after the Bulls took a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter after a 12-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Michael Van Buren, Jr. to D.J. Crowther with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Alas, the defense folded when it needed to make a stand. The Roadrunners took just 1:41 to drive 74 yards in 10 plays for the winning TD with 15 seconds remaining. USF entered the game with the American's top scoring defense, allowing opponents just14.8 points per game.
UTSA TAKES THE LEAD OVER USF IN THE FINAL SECONDS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hXfUxumQBE
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) October 9, 2026
On the Roadrunners' winning drive, only 5 yards came through the air while 70 of the 75 yards came on the ground.
Speaking of the run defense ... The Bulls came into the game ranked a pedestrian No. 63 nationally in run defense. They will surely be lower after UTSA rambled for 277 yards on the ground.
Trailing 17-10 at the break, the Roadrunners opened the second half with an 8-play, 75-yard TD drive. Only 20 of those yards came through the air as UTSA ran at will.
It wasn't a typical grind-it-out type of running game, either. The Roadrunners broke big runs seemingly will. They had sprints of 53, 30, 26, and two of 19 yards. That has to get fixed in a hurry because USF's remaining opponents will study this tape and feed the Bulls more of the same until they prove they can stop it.
And then there is this: Defensive backs Tavin Ward (9) and Ayden Jackson (8) were the Bulls top two tacklers. That's probably not a good sign when the last line of defense has to make that many stops.
Offense picked up the pace: For all the noise directed at the Bulls' offense, they actually held up their end of the bargain in this game. Van Buren, Jr. had a solid night with 16 of 29 completions for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Receiver Bryson Rodgers had five catches for 72 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown. Running back D.J. Crowther rushed for 83 yards and had a pair of touchdowns -- one on the ground, one through the air.
And the Bulls did put together a late comeback on the road against a good to take the lead. That's a positive development.
Where do they go from here: The Bulls get a little time to regroup as they don't play again until October 17 at home against Kent State followed by an open date.
This season was always going to be a work in progress with a new coaching staff and essentially a new roster, and that's how it is playing out.
We are halfway through the regular season and I'd give the Bulls a "C" grade so far -- not real bad, not real good. While they show occasional flashes, they have yet to put together the kind of game where both offense and defense shines.
We saw that again on Thursday night. At this point, that's just who they are.
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