South Florida Rallies Late, Stuns Army 28-24 in Conference Opener

Saturday, September 12

West Point, N.Y.

12 p.m.

University of South Florida

2-0 , 1-0

Army

1-1 , 0-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
South Florida	7	0	7	14	28
Army West Point	0	14	0	10	24

South Florida Game Notes

South Florida Rallies Late, Stuns Army 28-24 in Conference Opener

September 12, 2026 | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes at Army Photo Gallery

Van Buren accounts for all four Bulls touchdowns; Porter's 38-yard TD catch with 19 seconds left completes the comeback as Bulls move to 2-0.

WEST POINT, N.Y. (SEPT. 12, 2026) – South Florida erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit highlighted by a fourth-down 38-yard touchdown pass from Michael Van Buren Jr. to Joshua Porter with 19 seconds remaining. The Bulls stunned Army, 28-24, Saturday at Michie Stadium to move to 2-0 in the Hartline era.

Van Buren accounted for all four of South Florida's touchdowns, with a pair on the ground and in the air. He tallied 284 total yards, connecting on 19-of-30 attempts for 239 yards, adding a team-high 45 yards on the ground over five carries with no turnovers. South Florida has not turned the ball over on offense this season.

The Bulls hit the road for the first time in 2026 for the earliest conference game in program history. It was South Florida's first trip to West Point since 2003 and the first time facing the Black Knights as members of the American Conference.

First Half
South Florida took the opening kickoff and came out clicking on a beautiful fall day. Van Buren went 3-for-3 for 55 yards passing as he led a seven-play, 75-yard opening drive and finished it off with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Bryson Rodgers to jump to a 7-0 lead. Backup quarterback Luke Kromenhoek helped convert a red zone third-and-2 with a three-yard keeper. Van Buren had two explosives on the drive, hitting tight end Wyatt Sullivan for a 17-yard gain and wide receiver Cameron Seldon for a 31-yard gain.

The Bulls defense came out equally impressive in a 4-3 set, knocking the Black Knights back for a loss on their first play and forcing a three-and-out.

Army tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter when quarterback Cale Hellums hit Zach Mundell with a 24-yard touchdown pass to complete an 11-play, 90-yard drive.

Army took a 14-7 lead into halftime after driving 92 yards in 19 plays and scoring on a four-yard pass from Hellums to Godspower Nwawuihe. The Black Knights converted a fourth-and-2 at the Bulls' 22 with a difficult catch from Brady Anderson. The drive consumed 9:57 of game clock.

Second Half
Army took the second-half kickoff, but the Bulls defense stiffened and forced a three-and-out, getting the ball back to the offense for its first true possession in nearly 40 minutes of real time.

Van Buren completed a big third-and-long pass to Arhmad Branch for a gain of 15, and the Bulls moved over midfield. Van Buren hit Branch again for 17 yards to move USF to the Army 26. On first-and-10 from the Army 19, Van Buren ran up the middle, cut to the right, and took the ball to the end zone to tie the game at 14.

The Bulls defense forced Army to punt again after five plays. Van Buren led the offense back onto the field, but the unit was unable to gain a first down and punted the ball back on third-and-3.

Army took over at its 46 and drove to the USF 10 before settling for a 27-yard field goal and a 17-14 lead.

On Army's next possession, they put together a nine-play, 90-yard drive over 5:57 to take a 10-point lead, 24-14, with 5:00 remaining.

Van Buren and the Bulls answered immediately, driving from their own 25 on five consecutive completions — 21 yards to Rodgers, 8 yards to Rodgers, 4 yards to Crowther, 9 yards to Rodgers and 9 yards to Rodgers again — before Van Buren scored his second rushing touchdown of the game on a 24-yard scramble. The six-play, 75-yard drive took only 1:47 and cut the deficit to 21-24.

After South Florida's onside kick attempt was recovered by Army, Zavier Hamilton recorded the first sack of his career on third-and-9 to help force a three-and-out. An unnecessary roughness penalty on the ensuing punt handed the Bulls a fresh set of downs at their own 19.

Van Buren found Joshua Porter on back-to-back completions of seven and 22 yards to move South Florida to its own 48 with 63 seconds left. Completions of 10 yards to Branch and four yards to Wyatt Sullivan pushed the Bulls to the Army 38, putting kicker Nico Gramatica just on the edge of career-long range for a potential game-tying field goal.

South Florida sent out the offense to try and draw Army offsides on fourth-and-6, ultimately using a timeout when the play clock reached 1 second remaining. The offense remained on the field following the timeout, and Van Buren connected with Porter on a 38-yard touchdown pass, putting South Florida ahead 28-24 with 19 seconds left following the extra point.

Army got the ball back, and on the ensuing snap, Hellums found Mundell for a 14-yard gain to the USF 48, but Mundell's backwards pass was tipped by Mike Williams, and South Florida's Herlin Perry Jr. recovered the fumble at the USF 48 to clinch the Bulls' first conference victory of the season.

This marks back-to-back seasons that the Bulls have started 2-0.

KEY STATS
• The Bulls are 2-0 for the second consecutive season and improved to 1-0 in American Conference play.
• QB Michael Van Buren Jr. accounted for all four South Florida touchdowns — throwing for a pair and running for two more — while finishing 19-of-30 passing for 239 yards and adding a team-high 45 rushing yards on just five carries.
• South Florida erased a 24-14, fourth-quarter deficit with 14 unanswered points over the final 4:59, capped by Porter's 38-yard, go-ahead fourth-down touchdown catch with 19 seconds to play.
• The Bulls outgained Army, 369-347, in total offense despite being outrushed, 219-130, and losing the time-of-possession battle, 35:46 to 24:14.
• South Florida did not turn the ball over for the second consecutive game; Army's lone giveaway — a fourth-quarter fumble recovered by Herlin Perry Jr. — sealed the win. South Florida now has a plus-four turnover ratio through two games.

NOTABLES
• WR Joshua Porter – hauled in the game-winning 38-yard touchdown with 19 seconds remaining, part of a three-catch, 67-yard day.
• WR Bryson Rodgers – led the Bulls with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown, including four of the five receptions on the first fourth-quarter scoring drive that pulled the Bulls back into the game.
• LB Zavier Hamilton – recorded the first sack of his career, dropping Cale Hellums for a six-yard loss on third-and-9 to help force a critical fourth-quarter punt, setting the Bulls up for the drive that would regain them the lead.
• DB Herlin Perry Jr. – recovered Army's backwards pass that was tipped by Mike Williams to force a fumble at the USF 48 on the Black Knights' final offensive snap to clinch the victory.

UP NEXT
South Florida returns to Raymond James Stadium next Saturday to face Delaware State in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on Q105FM and Bulls Unlimited digital radio.

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About South Florida Football
The South Florida football program first took the field in 1997 and will play its 30^th season in 2026.

In 2025, the Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. South Florida completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023, and construction is in progress on $349-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke slated for completion by 2027.

The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), and 35 first-team all-conference honorees. South Florida has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), tied for the third-most nationally in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. South Florida posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. The Bulls spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the AP rankings during the 2007 season.

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