By USF vs. Bowling Green: The Bulls Have an Opening Up Front, but They Still Have to Earn It
By Ken Filler | Tampa Bay Sports Journal
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — At first glance, this looks like a game USF should control. The Bulls are 3–0. Bowling Green is 0–3, and the Falcons have scored just 27 points all season.
But Brian Hartline is asking his team to look beyond the records when it visits the Falcons for Saturday’s 5 p.m. homecoming game at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
USF has already shown it can win a tight road game at Army. Now it has to show it can handle a road game in which everyone expects it to win.
For the Bulls, it starts up front with the running game.
Bowling Green has allowed 295.7 rushing yards per game and 7.8 yards per carry through its first three contests.
USF is averaging 176 rushing yards per game, and has scored 10 touchdowns on the ground.
Those numbers tell us that a busy afternoon could be in store for D.J. Crowther. It will also give the offensive line a chance to take control early.
Crowther is coming off a great performance against Delaware State: 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns on only eight carries.
He scored from 10, 38, and 39 yards in the Bulls’ 59–17 victory.
Bowling Green will be a different opponent in a different setting. Still, the question for the Falcons is: How do they prevent Crowther from getting through the first level when three opponents have had so much success running the ball against the Falcons?
USF should find out early.
Run behind the offensive line. Make Bowling Green tackle. If the Falcons bring extra defenders toward the line, give Michael Van Buren Jr. room to work elsewhere.
Van Buren has completed 53 of 80 passes for 639 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions this season.
He has taken care of the football while the Bulls have found different ways to win. Against Bowling Green, he may get opportunities to turn a productive running game into explosive throws.
The Falcons are allowing 505.7 total yards and 43.7 points per game.
Those defensive stats are ugly, although Nebraska and Iowa State account for two of Bowling Green’s three opponents.
USF should be confident in the matchup, but not assume the Falcons will make every yard easy.
Linebacker Dorian Pringle has 32 tackles in three games. He had 16 in the opener against Tarleton State and has led Bowling Green in tackles twice.
He is the defender USF needs to account for when it runs between the tackles.
On the other side of the ball, Bowling Green has a statistical bright spot worth noting.
The Falcons have allowed just two sacks in three games, including none against Tarleton State or Iowa State. Quarterback Jay Kastantin has completed 66.7% of his passes for 443 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Bowling Green has struggled to finish drives, but Kastantin has usually had time to throw.
The Bulls cannot expect a sack to end every possession.
They need to close quickly on short throws and keep Bowling Green from finding the kind of sudden play receiver Winn Sharp delivered against Iowa State, when he turned a slant into a 59-yard touchdown.
If USF does that, Bowling Green will have to sustain drives with an offense averaging just 240.3 yards per game.
The Falcons have converted 10 of 37 third downs, rushed for 93 yards a game, and lost four fumbles.
USF’s defense has allowed one rushing touchdown through three games.
That is a difficult combination for Bowling Green to overcome.
The Bulls will have their own standard to meet.
Their 611-yard performance against Delaware State was their best offensive showing of the young season. Hartline appreciated the result, but he warned against mistaking production for sound football.
“We just want to make the routine play routinely,” Hartline said this week. “We want to do the easy more frequently and do the easy better.”
That is a useful way to frame Saturday. USF does not need an explosive on every snap. It needs clean exchanges, dependable blocking, and tackles made the first time.
The Bulls have converted 46% of third downs this season while Bowling Green has converted 27% of its own. Keep that margin intact, and USF should spend far more time dictating the game than reacting to it.
USF has plenty to like about a 3–0 start under a new coach.
A fourth win would send the Bulls back to Tampa, unbeaten, with another road test behind them.
Bowling Green’s homecoming crowd will want to see the Falcons make a stand. USF’s job is to make sure the matchup up front tells the story instead.
If Crowther finds running room and the defense makes Bowling Green earn its yards, the Bulls should leave Ohio 4–0.
