Ball State knew it was in trouble against South Florida right from the opening kickoff.

The Bulls recovered a fumble and brought it back for a touchdown on the Cardinals' opening return en route to a 37-7 rout Saturday in Tampa, Fla.

That opening play seemed to suck the air out of the Cardinals, who struggled to contain South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels. The senior passed for 359 yards and one touchdown, and eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark for his career.

Ball State (1-1) was overwhelmed by an aggressive Bulls' defense, which forced three fumbles and held the Cardinals to 71 yards rushing.

Jahwan Edwards snapped the shutout with a 13-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning passed for 147 yards.

The Bulls (2-0), who led 30-0 at halftime, ate up the clock with the run in the second half. They finished the game with 147 yards rushing and 33 first downs.

Two bright spots for Ball State were a pair of acrobatic interceptions, giving the Cardinals their first forced turnovers of the season.

This was Ball State's second straight game in an NFL stadium after beating Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium last week.