South Florida takes down Florida International, 19-9
What actually decided South Florida's win over Florida International — beyond the final score.
South Florida takes down Florida International, 19-9 at Raymond James Stadium. South Florida was the steadier side of a 10-point win.
The big plays only went one way
Florida International produced 10 plays of 15+ yards to South Florida's 0, led by J.J. Kohl (involved in 9), Maguire Anderson (involved in 2) and JoJo Stone (involved in 1). South Florida won the turnover battle 0-2, chiefly Tayvion Beasley (1 TFL, 1 INT, 4 tackles) and Tavin Ward (1 INT, 4 tackles). South Florida won anyway.
How the two sides actually played on the night.
The names on it
D.J. Crowther ran 14 times for 42 yards and one score — that score from inside the 20. Jason Collins Jr. ran 17 times for 59 yards. For Florida International, J.J. Kohl threw for 301 yards on 50 attempts with one touchdown and ran six times for 31 yards, including five third-down conversions and a hand in nine plays of 15 yards or more. Maguire Anderson caught eight passes for 87 yards. James Resar caught three passes for 31 yards, one of them for a touchdown. Tayvion Beasley was the disruptive one for South Florida: 1 TFL, 1 INT, 4 tackles.
Three plays
The game turned on a handful of snaps. J.J. Kohl's 19-yard throw to Maguire Anderson on 2nd-and-10 at Q2 15:00. Then J.J. Kohl's 16-yard throw to Eric Nelson on 3rd-and-14 at Q2 01:54. Later, J.J. Kohl's 8-yard throw to Maguire Anderson on 4th-and-2 at Q3 15:00.
The order of events
South Florida struck first through Nico Gramatica, led 6-0 at the half and Florida International got the final points on a late score by James Resar.
The takeaway
Historically similar games since 2019 — close margin, both offenses held far below norm — and how often that offense outperformed this level the following week.
A solid, earned win for South Florida; Florida International is left to clean up the details that cost it.

Discussion
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