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.