DENTON, Texas -- No. 24 South Florida made its marquee road trip to North Texas awfully difficult ... at least for a half.
The Mean Green brought out all the stops. They sold out DATCU Stadium for the first time in program history -- on a high school football Friday night, no less. North Texas coach Eric Morris brought out some trickery and misdirection on key plays to build an early lead, especially as USF turned it over three times in the first quarter alone.
But it's nothing fancy or offensive wizardry from coach Alex Golesh that got the Bulls back on top in a 63-36 win to take control of the American Conference. It was old fashioned bully ball.
During a 5-minute stretch between the second and third quarter, South Florida showed the physicality that separates it from the rest of the Group of Five. The Bulls recovered a muffed punt and used the threat of a run to set up a pop pass for a touchdown. Then, they marched down the field with ease against an exhausted North Texas defense on the first drive of the second half in 69 seconds using tempo.
North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker was electric in the first half, but the walls started to close in as the Bulls' defensive line got home. He whiffed on six consecutive passes in the middle-eight, including two interceptions. When he finally completed a pass, Simeon Evans fumbled the ball after he got smacked by Jarvis Lee, and the ball was returned by South Florida for a touchdown.
In only 3:27 of game time, a 21-14 North Texas lead flipped to a 42-21 South Florida lead and the rout was on. Outside of that one sequence, the teams were largely equal. But even on a day where the Bulls did not bring their best football, their physicality gives them an advantage that could carry them perhaps all the way to the College Football Playoff.
On one of South Florida's first plays, quarterback Byrum Brown dropped back in the pocket and didn't see blitzing defensive back Quinton Hammonds. The ball dropped out of his hand, but Brown barely moved from the direct hit. UNT was able to mitigate some of the issues against its defensive line with a quick passing game, but soon, defensive tackle Jacob Merrifield and nose guard Traevon Mitchell each got home.
That level of team strength was forged over the last year after the Bulls limped out to a disappointing 7-6 campaign. The defense surrendered 104 points over their final four games against lackluster competition and proved unable to push even Tulsa and Rice off their spots.
South Florida boasts perhaps the top NIL budget in the conference in 2025, sources told CBS Sports ... and they put it to good use.
The Bulls added six defensive line and edge players via the transfer portal and now have a level of size and depth that few in the Group of Five can match. Four defensive tackles on the depth chart weigh more than 280 pounds, including former SEC transfers Devin Lee and Josh Celiscar.
South Florida was able to create plenty of disruptive plays in 2025, but what's changed the most for this team is consistency. Against North Texas, it surrendered only 97 yards on the ground on 29 carries, good enough for 3.3 yards per carry. South Florida rushed for 298 yards. Perhaps more descriptively, USF's success rate was in the 95th percentile. North Texas's offensive rate sat in the 34th percentile.
This has been more than a blip for South Florida during a 5-1 start. The Bulls pummeled Boise State, holding them to 3.2 yards per carry. They kept the chains moving in an 18-16 win against Florida, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. They have controlled games against some of the best in college football.
After beating North Texas in a blowout, the schedule starts to clear up. There's a tough test against No. 23 Memphis on Oct. 25 that will all but clinch a spot in the American Championship Game, but even a loss there could push them through. With the overall strength of the American behind South Florida, Memphis, North Texas and Tulane, it will give them a chance to earn a trip to the postseason.