Brian Hartline's head-coaching debut wasn't pretty, but South Florida got out of a season-opening slog with FIU at Raymond James Stadium in one piece.
Michael Van Buren Jr. beat out Luke Kromenhoek to win USF's starting job, taking over an offense that lost nearly every piece when Alex Golesh left for Auburn. Across the field, JJ Kohl — a 6-foot-7 transfer making his third stop in three seasons — got the start for FIU after throwing for 1,465 yards and 12 touchdowns at Appalachian State a year ago. Neither offense had taken a live snap with this cast of characters, and it showed for most of the afternoon.
−9-plus new offensive starters, no returning identity
FIU arrived off just its second bowl berth since 2019, but coach Willie Simmons is replacing nearly his entire two-deep — 2 returning starters on offense and 3 on defense — after that 7-6 breakthrough. USF's talent evaluation said the Bulls should still be the better team mid-rebuild, and the market leaned that way too, installing South Florida as a heavy favorite. Both staffs, though, were starting from scratch in ways a straight power rating doesn't fully capture.
That uncertainty played out early. USF managed just a field goal in each of the first two quarters, and FIU didn't get on the board until a third-quarter field goal of its own, leaving it 6-3 heading into the fourth. It took a 13-point final period for the Bulls to turn a nervy debut into a final score that looked more comfortable than the game actually felt.
Kohl and the FIU offense had their moments late, closing with a 6-point fourth quarter of their own, but 9 total points from a unit with almost no returning pieces was always going to struggle against USF's talent gap at nearly every position. The final margin — with USF's defense doing enough to keep FIU out of the end zone until it barely mattered — was the real story of Hartline's debut, more than any offensive fireworks either fan base was hoping for.
It's one data point in what both programs hope is a much longer season. FIU still gets to find out what its 2 returning offensive starters can build around Kohl, and USF still has to prove its overhauled offense is more than a field-goal unit against real competition in the American. For a 90-degree, sun-soaked opener in Tampa, defense-first football wasn't the show either fan base wanted, but it's a starting point.
