Football Drops Home Contest to South Florida

Saturday, September 12

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 p.m.

Army West Point

1-1 , 0-1

South Florida

2-0 , 1-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
South Florida	7	0	7	14	28
Army West Point	0	14	0	10	24

Sep 12, 2026; West Point, New York, USA; The Army Black Knights take the field holding American flags in memory of September 11th (9/11) victims before a game against the South Florida Bulls at Michie Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Photo by: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Football Drops Home Contest to South Florida

September 12, 2026 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The South Florida Bulls scored a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes of Army West Point football's Week 2 contest to defeat the Black Knights 28-24.

The contest between the Black Knights (1-1, 0-1 American) and Bulls opened American Conference play in front of a crowd of 23,670 at Michie Stadium Preserved by USAA.

USF (2-0, 1-0 American) took possession with five minutes to play in a 10-point game and scored less than two minutes later. After Army recovered a Bulls onside kick attempt, the Black Knights gave the ball back to USF a minute and 24 seconds later.

The visitors then drove back down the field after getting the ball with 1:46 on the clock, putting the go-ahead points on the board with a 38-yard pass from quarterback Michael Van Buren to Joshua Porter with 19 seconds remaining.

Quarterback Cale Hellums went 9-for-10 for 91 yards through the air and a pair of passing touchdowns. Slotback Zach Mundell's 47 yards on three catches paced the Black Knights in receiving, while running back Godspower Nwawuihe's 94 rushing yards and 20 carries were both team highs on Saturday.

Linebacker Elijah Walton tallied 10 total tackles, doubling his previous career high of five set in Week 1. Jaquavious Moss closely followed with his own career high of eight tackles and also doubled his Week 1 total.

For the second consecutive game, Army won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. USF then took its opening drive 75 yards down the field, facing just one third down before a seven-yard touchdown pass from Van Buren to Bryson Rodgers made it 7-0 Bulls exactly four minutes into the contest.

Army's first drive saw a four-yard loss on the opening play, before James Wagenseller placed a 57-yard punt, with the ball downed at the Bulls 12-yard line to start their second drive.

After the Bulls drove past midfield, Army's defense got a stop on USF's second drive, when on third-and-6 from the Army 41-yard line, safety Caleb Williams recorded a pass breakup to force a punt.

The offense took back over, gaining its first first down of the game before facing fourth-and-1 from its own 30-yard line on the second quarter's opening play, which quarterback Cale Hellums easily converted with a sneak.

Slotback Zach Mundell got his first touch of the game on the following play, a toss sweep for a gain of 18 yards, and five plays later, caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hellums in stride to set up the game-tying PAT with 11:47 left in the first half, to complete the 90-yard drive.

A pair of Army pass breakups over the middle of the field on deep ball attempts forced a punt for USF on its ensuing series, but a penalty pinned Army at its own 7-yard line to start its next offensive possession.

Despite the poor field position, Army was undeterred on its drive, going 93 yards over 9:57 for its longest drive of the season in time of possession, plays and yards. The Black Knights converted a pair of third-and-short plays as well as a fourth-and-2 on a pass to Brady Anderson, his first catch of the season. Then, with just 13 seconds before the break, Hellums found Nwawuihe in the back corner of the end zone to make it 14-7.

Hellums finished the first half 8-for-8 passing for 77 yards and a pair of scores.

Army looked to continue its momentum coming out of the half by getting the ball first, but went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Bulls after chewing up just two minutes of clock.

USF then needed just four minutes to tie the contest, marching 74 yards on eight plays, with Van Buren keeping the ball himself for an 18-yard rushing touchdown with 8:59 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulls got the ball back with 5:44 left in the quarter after an Army drive resulted in just one first down before punting. However, the Black Knights defense secured a quick stop to regain some momentum, with a tackle for loss from Elijah Walton and Kody Harris-Miller setting up a three-and-out and good starting field position for the offense at its own 46-yard line to start its next series.

A pair of Nwawuihe rushes for first downs opened the drive and set the Black Knights up inside the USF 30-yard line. While the drive stalled in the red zone, Dawson Jones put Army back in front with a 27-yard field goal less than a minute into the fourth quarter to make it 17-14. Army's defense then forced a USF punt on the Black Knights side of midfield, setting the offense back up at its own 10-yard line with 10:56 to go.

Army marched 90 yards on the ensuing possession, capped by a 10-yard Nwawuihe rushing touchdown on the drive's only third down to make it 24-14 with five minutes left in the contest.

Division of the Game: The 25th Infantry Division is a United States Army division based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. The division, which was activated on October 1, 1941, in Hawaii, conducts military operations primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.

Carrying the Flag: Slotback Samari Howard led the Black Knights onto the field with the Black Flag.

Postgame Notes

The meeting between Army and USF was the third all-time, with the programs splitting a home-and-home series in 2003-04. The 2003 game – held at Michie Stadium Preserved by USAA – was featured on ESPN's College GameDay.
Defensive lineman Cael Newton made his first career start on Saturday in place of Jack Bousum, who still saw action in the contest.
Army's drive of 9:57 in the second quarter for its tying touchdown was its longest of the season to date.
Hellums' touchdown pass to Mundell was the first Army passing score in 2026, after collecting eight rushing touchdowns in Week 1 vs. Bryant.
The Black Knights scored multiple touchdowns through the air for the first time since doing so vs. North Texas in 2025.
Hellums' completion percentage of .900 was his career high.
Tobi Olawole's 37 yards receiving were the most since Army's 2023 contest vs. UMass.
The Black Knights have yet to turn the ball over through two games in 2026.
Army faced USF for the first time as an American Conference member.
The Black Knights opened the season with back-to-back home games for the first time since 2020.

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