Temple Stuns USF 17-13, Ending Home Win Streak

The University of South Florida Bulls saw their nine-game home win streak end Saturday night as the Temple Owls staged a late comeback, securing a 17-13 victory at Raymond James Stadium. The loss snapped USF’s status as one of the nation’s few undefeated FBS football teams.

USF’s offense struggled in the first half, managing only 108 total yards and five first downs, hampered by penalties. Temple capitalized on a late drive, scoring a touchdown to take a 10-3 lead into halftime. USF’s defense held Temple to 113 yards in the opening half.

South Florida showed renewed energy in the second half, scoring on its first two possessions to take a brief 13-10 lead. Running back D.J. Crowther, who finished with 68 yards on 23 carries, scored USF’s lone touchdown. Quarterback Michael Van Buren completed 17 of 32 passes for 205 yards.

Despite the second-half surge, the USF offense stalled. Temple mounted a decisive 96-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes. Quarterback Ajani Sheppard’s 34-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining sealed the victory for the Owls. USF had two final chances to regain the lead but ran out of time.

Linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard led the Bulls with a career-best nine tackles. C.J. Hicks contributed seven tackles and a fumble recovery in the end zone that stopped a potential Temple scoring threat. USF committed eight penalties for 60 yards.

The Bulls travel to San Antonio to play UTSA on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.