USF Bulls run for 7 touchdowns in a 59-17 rout of Delaware State

D.J. Crowther ran for three of South Florida's seven rushing touchdowns and the Bulls sped away in the second half to beat Delaware State 59-17 on Saturday night.

The seven rushing touchdowns were one short of the school record of eight set against Kentucky Wesleyan in 1997 - the USF program's first-ever game 30 years ago.

The Bulls put up 611 yards of total offense against the Hornets, with 290 on the ground.

"Credit to our (offensive) line, just being big and nasty and just imposing their will against our opponents," said South Florida quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., who completed 23 of 32 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown.

Crowther finished with 101 yards rushing on 11 carries, a 12.6-yard average.

"We talk about all week, you got to run hard, you got to play physical, play disciplined," Crowther said. "And I couldn't do it without the boys up front, so shout out to them."

The Bulls are off to their first 3-0 start since 2018, although first-year head coach Brian Hartline was not pleased with his team's play in the first half, when USF gave up 250 yards in the air.

The Hornets, of NCAA's Championship Subdivision, trailed only 21-17 in the second quarter after passing scores of 90 and 20 yards.

"We lost half a game," Hartline said. "We didn't execute the right way, prepare the right way or motivate the right way. Whatever that is, it's got to get fixed."

ALSO READ: USF comeback stuns Army, 28-24, on a last-minute game-winning TD pass

Backup quarterback Luke Kromenhoek's second TD run came from a yard out on the half's last play to make it 28-17 about a minute after Delaware State scored on Ui Ale's 20-yard TD pass to Jaylin Terzado.

After the Hornets came up just short of converting a fourth-and-7 early in the second half, the Bulls went 61 yards with Crowther scoring on a 39-yard run for a 35-17 lead. That started a run of four second-half TDs on consecutive possessions.

"We talk about a lot about winning the middle eight (minutes)," Van Buren said. "I feel like at that point of the game, I feel like we did a great job executing, going down the field and getting a score right before the half, so it was good."

USF's Joshua Porter, who caught a game-winning, last-minute catch last week against Army, had 106 yards on eight receptions.

ALSO READ: Republican candidates' appearance at a USF football game sparks debate

"I see a lot of like growth potential, and I see a lot of unmaximized opportunity," Hartline said. "So, I got to figure out why that's not fully there yet.

"Everyone keeps telling me it takes time, but I'm not going to believe that. So, I know there's time requirements, but at in the end, we can get this done and we got to make sure we do a better job of it."

Ale was 16-of-22 for 249 yards and two scores for Delaware State (2-2), a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

X

/

@SoFloFootball

The Hornets' Nathan Stewart had 102 yards receiving, most of that coming on the catch-and-run 90-yard TD with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

Like USF and Hartline, Delaware State is coached by a former NFL wide receiver: DeSean Jackson, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017-18.

"I have a lot of respect for the way he's operating, the way his team played, and frankly, they were bringing the heat in the first half, and I give them a lot of credit that way," Hartline said of Jackson.

"I mean, they're not nearly blessed with the resources that we have here at South Florida. ... And he's doing a great job with who he has, and the belief in it."

An announced crowd of 32,345 attended at Raymond James Stadium. The game began about 25 minutes late because of inclement weather.

USF travels to play Bowling Green next Saturday at 5 p.m. The Falcons, of the Mid-American Conference, dropped to 0-3 after losing 55-7 to Iowa State on Saturday.

WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.