Notre Dame went into the locker room at the end of the first half under an increasingly darkening sky and an increasingly bleak outlook to its season opener.

South Florida took a 16-0 lead into the break thanks to numerous errors and missed plays by the Irish.

Notre Dame turned the ball over twice in the red zone in the opening half, one a fumble at the 1-yard line that was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter and another an interception thrown in the end zone in the second quarter.

The Irish also had a special teams blunder, and Dayne Crist hasn't found a comfort zone, completing 7 of 15 passes for 95 yards in the first half. Running back Cierre Wood has been the Irish's best weapon, running for 84 yards.

The defense has kept Notre Dame in the game forcing three field goals, but the offense has to get going in the second half.

The start of the second quarter didn't treat Notre Dame any better than the start of the first.

The Irish picked up the second quarter from the Bulls' 26 and moved to the 7-yard line, but Crist under threw Theo Riddick in the end zone and was picked off by South Florida linebacker DeDe Lattimore.

Notre Dame did catch a break on South Florida's first drive of the second quarter.

The Bulls got down to the Irish's 34 but on third-and-9, linebacker Manti Te'o recorded a sack forcing South Florida to go for a 52-yard field goal that missed wide left.

Notre Dame committed another mistake two series later after forcing South Florida to punt, Riddick muffed a fair catch and the Bulls recovered at the Irish 20.

The defense did its job and forced a 36-yard field goal by Maikon Bonani that gave South Florida a 16-0 lead with 4:04 to play in the first half.