USF overcomes lifeless start, stays undefeated with 14-6 win over Bowling Green

D.J. Crowther ran for 143 yards and a touchdown as South Florida overcame a lifeless three quarters to beat Bowling Green 14-6 on Saturday.

The Bulls, who trailed 6-0 as the fourth quarter began, remained undefeated through four games under first-year coach Brian Hartline.

The coach was ready to quickly turn the page “after we try to learn from the film.”

“You can never take winning for granted,” Hartline said. “That being said, you always want to be beautiful, and you want to love it all the time. But I would say most teams I've been a part of, you rarely enjoy true victories because you're always looking for opportunities to grow. That's what it comes down to.”

USF’s first two drives of the second half resulted in 22 yards of offense in 11 plays. The next two went 13 plays for 116 yards and 14 points.

On the latter, Crowther scored from a yard out with 5:43 left in the game. It finished USF’s best drive of the game – six plays and 72 yards, with Crowther carrying for 41 yards.

USF took the lead, 7-6, on a 2-yard sprint around right end by backup quarterback Luke Kromenhoek 2:43 into the fourth quarter.

The six-play drive was set up when defensive tackle Asani Redwood stopped Austyn Dendy for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-5 from the Falcons' 45 as the fourth quarter began.

Crowther accounted for 31 of the go-ahead drive's 44 yards on four carries.

“I think I have the mentality of just not letting the first man bring me down and just being gritty and running hard,” Crowther said.

South Florida’s defense kept the score close against Bowling Green, which came into the game with one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (9 points per game).

"Winning is hard. We celebrate this win," Redwood said. "Tomorrow we go in, get some corrections, and we move on. But every day, it don't matter (if) we win by 40, we win two, we still got to get better."

It was Crowther’s second straight 100-yard rushing game. He was named the American Conference offensive player of the week after last Saturday's 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns in USF’s 59-17 win over Delaware State.

Hartline said Crowther has done a good job of making the first defender miss.

“D.J.'s running hard. He's done that in practice. He is a very consistent individual. I think he's just continuing to get better and better and better, so really proud of him, really happy for him and look forward to hopefully having this continue,” Hartline said.

“Again, we don't get better on game day. Game day is a reflection of our prep. And so, everything he's doing is just because of the work he's been doing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”

On the next series, Bowling Green (0-4) went 66 yards on 11 plays, but Jay Kastantin’s pass to Winn Sharp came up short on fourth-and-16 at the USF 30 with 37 seconds remaining.

The Bulls could not have played worse in the first half, with two fumbles by Van Buren setting up short fields for the Falcons. Yet, Bowling Green could manage only field goals of 28 and 43 yards by Travis Kenner.

During the half, Van Buren passed for only 8 yards, completing two of five. The closest the Bulls came to scoring was on the half’s final play, a 30-yard scramble by Van Buren that left one second on clock. But Nico Gramatica’s 41-yard field-goal try floated wide left.

Van Buren, who was sacked six times, finished 7-for-11 for 52 yards. The Falcons also tallied nine tackles for loss. Myles Bradley accounted for 4.5 of the sacks.

Because of injuries, the Bulls started their fourth line combination this season, but Hartline refused to blame that for the protection issues.

"The people trying to sack the quarterback, you have to block those guys," Hartline said. "So, we'll just have some guys be ready to block."

USF had given up only two sacks over the first three games, and the coach noted that Van Buren "does a great job taking care of the football."

Over the first two quarters, the Falcons’ offense was only slightly better, with Kastantin going 3-for-5 for 11 yards. He finished the game 16-for-28 for 122 yards.

USF's defense held the Falcons to 85 yards rushing, 2.6 yards per carry.

"The mindset is always, we have to stop the run," Redwood said. "And coming in, the D-line had that mindset. The linebackers had that mindset. We all had that mindset. We go down there we stuff them. Stuff them. Stuff them. We killed their will to run that ball so they had to throw it."

Both teams were led by former Ohio State and NFL players: Hartline for USF and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George for Bowling Green. George's son, Eriq, is a defensive lineman for the Falcons who recovered Van Buren's first fumble.

"My hat goes off to South Florida because they have really good athletes," George said. "They have depth, and we knew that coming in it was going to be one of those physical ball games against a really good team."

An announced crowd of 22,265 attended the game at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio.

South Florida hosts American Conference foe Temple this Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The Bulls are 1-0 in conference play.