Porter's Playbook | The Coaching Career of DJ Porter

[djp73]

No pressure win against NIU. The Ville gonna be a test tho

This Louisville game might be the biggest team OVR deficit we have faced in this dynasty.

[ShireNiner]

A good warm up game against NIU, hopefully the pass defense is more prepared for Louisville. The offense is ready.

[djp73]

A good warm up game against NIU, hopefully the pass defense is more prepared for Louisville. The offense is ready.

feels like we might get shredded here but their QB situation isn't as good as I expected.

[djp73]

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USF SURVIVES LOUISVILLE ON LATE MISSED KICK

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Bulls hold Cardinals to 14 in defensive battle

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Saturday September 4, 2027 | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, Florida | 7:00 PM

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Tampa, Florida - DJ Porter’s home debut at Raymond James Stadium didn’t come with the offensive fireworks of last week, but it came with something far more important: a win. South Florida edged Louisville 17–14 in a physical, defensive battle that saw both teams struggle to sustain drives but the Bulls make the key plays late.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Louisville struck first with a 48-yard field goal from Nick Robbins, but USF answered just before halftime. Locklan Hewlett rolled right and found Jordyn Bridgewater in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 7–6 lead at the break.

The momentum carried into the third quarter, where sophomore running back George Shembo powered into the end zone from five yards out to extend the lead to 14–6. Shembo, who finished with 105 yards on just 14 carries, was the focal point of an offense that leaned heavily on the ground game while executing a conservative passing attack.

Louisville refused to go quietly. Early in the fourth, Clay Coker found Noah Rogers on a 29-yard strike, and the Cardinals converted the two-point attempt to tie the game at 14–14 with just over six minutes remaining.

That’s when veteran kicker Nico Gramatica delivered.

After Hewlett guided the Bulls into scoring range, Gramatica drilled a 19-yard field goal with 2:32 remaining, putting USF ahead by three.

The Bulls’ defense bent before Ira Singleton, who sacked Coker on the Cardinals' first possession, struck again to push the Louisville field goal attempt to the edge of kicker Nick Robbins comfort zone.

Robbins would hook the field goal attempt and USF ran out the clock, securing the win and improving to 2-0 on the season.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was tough,” Porter said. “These are the games that define you early in a season. We didn’t panic, we stayed together, and we found a way.”

USF’s defense was the story of the night. Jermaine Dalias, Cedrick Hawkins, Eric Rance, and Izaiah Guy all finished with seven tackles, while Ira Singleton wreaked havoc in the backfield with three tackles for loss and two sacks.

Louisville managed just 82 rushing yards and converted only 50% of its third-down attempts.

Hewlett finished 23-for-29 for 175 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball around but rarely pushing it downfield while Louisville pressured the pocket. Tyler Williams led all receivers with nine catches for 89 yards, while Dion Zipperer continued to emerge as a reliable target.

“It’s early in the season, we’re still figuring out our identity,” Hewlett said. “But we trust Coach Porter, we trust each other, and we’re learning how to win close games.”

With the victory, USF improves to 2–0 under Porter and now turns its attention to a challenging road trip to Boise State as the season begins to take shape.

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Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
(LOU) Nick Robbins, 48-yard FG, 7:17
(USF) Jordyn Bridgewater, 13-yard pass from Locklan Hewlett (Nico Gramatica kick), 0:39
(LOU) Nick Robbins, 51-yard FG, 0:00
Third Quarter
(USF) George Shembo, 5-yard run (Nico Gramatica kick), 0:18
Fourth Quarter
(LOU) Noah Rogers, 29-yard pass from Clay Coker Grant Houser (2-point conversion), 6:41
(USF) Nico Gramatica, 19-yard FG, 2:32

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USF Stat Leaders
Passing
L. Hewlett – 23/29 175 Yds 1 TD
Rushing
G. Shembo – 14 Car 105 Yds 7.5 Avg 1 TD
S. Snead – 4 Car 6 Yds 1.5 Avg
Receiving
T. Williams – 9 Rec 89 Yds 9.8 Avg
D. Zipperer – 3 Rec 26 Yds 8.6 Avg
D. Troup – 4 Rec 26 Yds 6.5 Avg 1 TD
J. Bridgewater – 1 Rec 13 Yds 13.0 Avg
Defense
J. Dalias – 7 Tkl 4 TFL
E. Rance – 7 Tkl 1 TFL
C. Hawkins – 7 Tkl 1 TFL
I. Guy – 7 Tkl 2 TFL
I. Singleton – 4 Tkl 3 TFL 2.0 Sck
D. Felton – 2 Tkl 2 TFL 1.0 Sck
Special Teams
Nico Gramatica – 1/1 FG, 2/2 XP

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Louisville Stat Leaders
Passing
C. Coker – 12/21 159 Yds 1 TD
Rushing
K. Brown – 15 Car 51 Yds 3.4 Avg
C. Johnson Jr. – 4 Car 34 Yds 8.5 Avg
D. Adams – 1 Car 15 Yds 15.0 Avg
Receiving
G. Houser – 5 Rec 50 Yds 10.0 Avg
N. Rogers – 2 Rec 44 Yds 22.0 Avg 1 TD
K. Brown – 2 Rec 42 Yds 21.0 Avg
Defense
R. Mosby – 13 Tkl
D. Nelson – 9 Tkl
M. Davis – 7 Tkl
T. Capers – 7 Tkl 1 TFL 1.0 Sck
D. McCullough – 6 Tkl
F. Gaskin – 6 Tkl
Special Teams
N. Robbins – 2/3 FG

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Team Stats Comparison

Category	USF	LOU
Score	17	14
First Downs	18	12
Total Offense	284	241
Total Plays	51	46
Yards Per Play	5.6	5.2
Rush|Yards|TD	22|109|1	25|82|0
Yards Per Rush	5.0	3.3
Comp|Att|TD	23|29|1	12|21|1
Yards Per Pass	6.0	7.6
Passing Yards	175	159
3rd Down Conv.	5|10 (50%)	6|12 (50%)
4th Down Conv.	0|0 (0%)	0|0 (0%)
2 Pt Conv.	0|0 (0%)	1|1 (100%)
Red Zone TD|FG|%	2|1|100%	0|0|0%
Turnovers	0	0
Fumbles Lost	0	0
Interceptions	0	0
PR Yards	26	0
KR Yards	18	28
Total Yards	328	269
Punts (Avg)	1|49.8	4|44.0
Penalties	1|10	0|0

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[redsox907]

J. Bridgewater – 1 Rec 13 Yds 13.0 Avg

Louisville needs to try him at QB lmao

not pretty, but for a team with a questionable defense they sure stepped up big in that one

[djp73]

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USF POSTGAME REPORT

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USF 17 – LOUISVILLE 14

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Offense
USF’s offense wasn’t as explosive as Week 1, but it was efficient when it needed to be. Locklan Hewlett completed 23 of 29 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball around with poise against a tough Louisville front.
George Shembo was the tone-setter, rushing 14 times for 105 yards and a score. His ability to consistently get north-south kept the Bulls ahead of the chains and opened up passing opportunities.
Receivers weren’t asked to attack downfield often, but they were reliable on the underneath game. Tyler Williams hauled in nine receptions, repeatedly converting manageable situations.
The offensive line allowed pressure at times, but tightened up late in the game, especially on the final field-goal drive.

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Defense
USF’s defense delivered a gritty performance, holding the Cardinals to just 14 points and 82 rushing yards. The front seven consistently reset the line of scrimmage, forcing Louisville into long-yardage scenarios.
The pass defense allowed 159 yards and one touchdown, but overall played disciplined football, with just a couple busted assignments and explosive plays, and solid tackling across the board.
Jermaine Dalias, Cedrick Hawkins, Eric Rance, and Izaiah Guy tied for the team lead with seven tackles each. Ira Singleton was disruptive all night, recording three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, one on the first drive of the game and one on the last.

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Special Teams
Nico Gramatica was perfect once again, knocking through a crucial 19-yard field goal with 2:32 left to give USF the win. He finished 1-for-1 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points.
Punter Dorian McSordy bounced back from last week with a much stronger performance, averaging 49.8 yards on four punts.
David Igbinoghene returned one kick for 18 yards on one he probably should have taken for a touchback. Elton York returned three punts for 26 yards.

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Quotables
"It wasn’t pretty, but it was tough. Games like this show you who you are. We stayed together and found a way to win." – DJ Porter, USF Head Coach.
"We tightened up when we needed to. Our guys battled, communicated, and made the late stops that win games." – Tony White, USF Defensive Coordinator.
"Coach kept telling us to trust the plan. We stayed patient, took what was there, and finished the drive when it mattered.” – Locklan Hewlett, USF Quarterback.

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Injury Notes
A handful of Bulls briefly left the game with minor setbacks, but none are expected to miss time. All players are currently available for next week’s matchup.

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News
RB George Shembo has been nominated for this week’s American Conference Honor Roll after his 105-yard performance.

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Next Up
USF (2–0) will travel to face #25 Boise State (1-0), who defeated Appalachian State 22-17.

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[djp73]

J. Bridgewater – 1 Rec 13 Yds 13.0 Avg

Louisville needs to try him at QB lmao

not pretty, but for a team with a questionable defense they sure stepped up big in that one

we're not giving up Bridgewater :nope:
would like a bit more pop on offense but we played it safe and leaned on the run and short passes. no turnovers, we'll take it

[djp73]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRAP-UP

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AMERICAN CONFERENCE REPORT

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American Conference Week 1 Scores
Florida Atlantic 52 FCS West 10
UAB 48 FCS Southeast 10
UConn 43 Temple 19
Rice 24 Western Michigan 23
Navy 22 FCS Southeast 15
North Texas 31 FCS Midwest 7
East Carolina 34 FCS Southeast 31
Ole Miss 27 Charlotte 21
UTSA 34 Southern Mississippi 37
Tulsa 38 Arkansas 33
Tulane 41 Louisiana 10
USF 17 Louisville 14

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American Conference Players of the Week
Defensive: Mike Wright III FS #25 FAU | W 52–10 vs FCS West | 5 TKL 2 INT 1 PBU 1 TD
Offensive: Jaylin Carter WR #81 UAB | W 48–10 vs FCS Southeast | 10 REC 170 REC YDS 17.0 AVG 2 REC TD

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[djp73]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRAP-UP

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NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

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Top 25 Media Poll

Rank	LW	Team	W–L	Last Week	This Week
1	10	Duke	1–0	W 38–30 vs 9 Texas	FCS Southeast
2	3	Auburn	1–0	W 66–10 vs Missouri State	FCS Southeast
3	4	Florida	0–0	—	Kent State
4	5	Notre Dame	1–0	W 45–34 vs Purdue	FCS East
5	7	Boston College	1–0	W 38–6 vs FCS East	at Rutgers
6	8	USC	2–0	W 37–17 vs UNLV	at Washington
7	9	Oklahoma	1–0	W 55–17 vs Utah State	at 8 SMU
8	12	SMU	1–0	W 52–44 vs Mississippi State	7 Oklahoma
9	1	Texas	0–1	L 38–30 vs 1 Duke	11 Michigan
10	13	Penn State	2–0	W 48–38 vs Syracuse	Delaware
11	14]	Michigan	1–0	W 38–14 vs Buffalo	at 9 Texas
12	24	Utah	1–0	W 28–18 vs 17 Miami	FCS Northwest
13	15	Oregon	1–0	W 56–0 vs FCS Northwest	at Baylor
14	16	Texas Tech	2–0	W 48–13 vs FCS Southeast	at BYU
15	17	Ohio State	1–0	W 34–21 vs Bowling Green	FCS East
16	18	Tennessee	1–0	W 45–7 vs Jacksonville State	FCS Midwest
17	6	Miami	0–1	L 28–18 vs 12 Utah	Troy
18	2	Georgia	0–1	L 41–22 at Florida State	Nevada
19	20	UCLA	2–0	W 31–21 vs California	—
20	21	Kentucky	1–0	W 49–13 vs Toledo	—
21	22	Arizona State	2–0	W 48–7 vs FCS West	Texas A&M
22	23	LSU	1–0	W 14–13 vs Houston	UTSA
23	11	Clemson	0–1	L 45–38 at NC State	at Alabama
24	25	Pittsburgh	1–0	W 41–14 vs Wisconsin	—
25	NR	Boise State	1–0	W 22–17 at Appalachian State	USF

Others receiving votes: BYU 204 Mississippi State 149 North Carolina 148 Delaware 122 Colorado 63
Dropped from rankings: Mississippi State 19

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National Players of the Week
Defensive: Mike Wright III FS #25 Florida Atlantic | W 52–10 vs FCS West | 5 TKL 2 INT 1 PBU 1 TD
Offensive: Liam O’Reilly WR #84 San Diego State | W 45–31 at Eastern Michigan | 12 REC 139 REC YDS 11.6 AVG 3 REC TD

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Heisman Watch
Arch Manning QB Texas | Last Game vs 1 Duke (L 38–30): 21–38 319 PASS YDS 8.4 YPA 1 PASS TD 16 CAR 120 RUSH YDS 1 RUSH TD
Julian Sayin QB Ohio State | Last Game vs Bowling Green (W 34–21): 29–38 328 PASS YDS 8.6 YPA 2 PASS TD 3 CAR 15 RUSH YDS
Micah Hudson WR Texas Tech | Last Game vs FCS Southeast (W 48–13): 6 REC 86 REC YDS 14.3 AVG 3 CAR 15 RUSH YDS 5.0 AVG
Dallas Wilson WR Florida | No Game Last Week
Quincy Porter WR Ohio State | Last Game vs Bowling Green (W 34–21): 9 REC 79 REC YDS 8.8 AVG 1 REC TD

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[djp73]

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