South Florida Bulls football

South Florida Bulls football
2016 South Florida Bulls football team
First season 1997
Athletic director Mark Harlan
Head coach Charlie Strong
1st season, 0–0 (–)
Stadium Raymond James Stadium
(Capacity: 65,890)
Field surface Grass, Tifway Bermuda 419
Location Tampa, Florida
Conference The American
Division East
All-time record 136–103 (.569)
Bowl record 5–3 (.625)
Rivalries UCF Knights
Colors Green and Gold[1]
         
Fight song Golden Brahman March
Mascot Rocky D. Bull
Marching band Herd of Thunder
Website GoUSFBulls.com

The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of American football. The Bulls started playing in 1997 and currently compete in the American Athletic Conference (The American) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

History

Jim Leavitt era (1997–2009)

In 1997, Jim Leavitt, previously the defensive coordinator at Kansas State, was hired as the team's first head coach.[2] Their first team meeting was held under a shade tree, as the school had no proper football facilities on campus.[3][4][5] In 2001, after competing for four years as a Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) independent, the Bulls moved to Division I-A (now Division I FBS), where they remained independent.[6] They joined Conference USA in 2003,[7] but only stayed until 2005, when they became a member of the Big East Conference (now the American Athletic Conference).[8][9] On December 31, 2005, USF lost to NC State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the team's first bowl appearance.[10] On December 23, 2006, USF won its first bowl game, the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl, with a victory over former Conference USA rival, East Carolina.[11] Leavitt would lead the Bulls to 5 straight bowl games from 2005-2009, earning a 3-2 record.

South Florida received increased press coverage for their upsets of Top 25 ranked teams such as Louisville (2005),[12] West Virginia (2006, 2007, 2009),[13][14][15] Auburn (2007),[16] Kansas (2008)[17] and Florida State (2009).[18] During Leavitt's tenure, the Bulls were 7–12 against opponents ranked in the Top 25.

The 2007 football season marked the first ascent into both the AP Poll and BCS standings for the Bulls. They reached #23 after defeating #17 Auburn 26-23 in OT, #18 after defeating North Carolina 37-10, #6 after defeating #5 West Virginia 21-13, #5 after defeating FAU 35-23, and the team finally peaked at #2 after defeating UCF 64-12. The Bulls' high ranking was short lived, as South Florida lost its next 3 games, and tumbled out of the rankings. The Bulls would rebound and win three straight games to close out the regular season ranked #21 in the BCS standings and #23 in the AP Poll. After a 9-3 season,[19] the Bulls earned a bid to their third straight bowl game, the Brut Sun Bowl against Oregon. The Bulls entered the game as favorites, but surrendered 56 points (a Sun Bowl record) in a blowout loss.[19] Following the loss, USF dropped from the national rankings in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Poll.

Leavitt was fired on January 8, 2010 after an investigation revealed that, during halftime of a game against Louisville, he grabbed a player by the shoulder pads and struck him twice across the face.[20] The investigation also claimed that Leavitt interfered with the investigation by telling several coaches and players to change their stories.[20] Leavitt maintains he never struck the player, but was merely trying to console him, and after a wrongful termination suit against USF, the school eventually settled with Leavitt for $2.75 million.[21]

Skip Holtz era (2010–2012)

On January 14, 2010, Skip Holtz, son of legendary coach Lou Holtz,[22] was hired as the team's second head coach, leaving East Carolina[23] A press conference to introduce Holtz to the community was held on January 15, 2010, and during the event someone in the crowd called out, "Beat Florida!", to which Holtz replied, "That's why I'm here!"[24] However, later that season, the Bulls would lose their one, and to this date only, game agianst the Gators by 24 points.[25]

During his first season, Holtz led the Bulls to the program's first victory over the Miami Hurricanes.[26] Following the regular season, he led the Bulls to 31-26 victory over the Clemson Tigers in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.[27] USF finished with an overall record of 8-5 record, which marked the fifth consecutive season of at least eight wins.[28]

To start the 2011 season, Skip Holtz led the Bulls to a dramatic 23-20 victory against Notre Dame, his alma mater.[29] Unfortunately, the Bulls finished the season with an overall record of 5-7, the team's first losing season since 2004.[30] The team struggled again during the 2012 season, as the Bulls finished with a 3-9 record, which, at the time, was the worst in school history.[31] USF athletics director Doug Woolard fired Holtz at the conclusion of the 2012 season, and Holtz was subsequently hired by Louisiana Tech to be the new head coach.[32][33]

Willie Taggart era (2013–2016)

On December 8, 2012, USF announced that Willie Taggart, who previously served as head football coach at Western Kentucky, would be the third head coach in USF football history.[34] Despite having the top rated recruiting class in the American Conference heading into the 2013 season, the Bulls struggled in Taggart's first year, posting a 2-10 record, which still stands as the worst record in school hisroty[35]

USF once again had the top recruiting class in the American Conference heading into the 2014 season, and the Bulls showed improvement in Taggart's second year, finishing with a 4-8 record.[36]

In Taggart's third season, after having the second best recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference, the Bulls finished with an 8-5 record.[37] After a 1-3 start, with losses to FSU,[38] Maryland,[39] and Memphis,[39] USF won seven of their next eight games, including a 44-23 upset of #22 Temple,[39] a 65-27 victory over Cincinnati,[40] and a 44-3 victory over in-state rival UCF.[40] The Bulls earned a bid to the Miami Beach Bowl against Taggart's former team, and alma mater, Western Kentucky, a game USF lost by a score of 45-35.[41] During the bowl game, multiple school records would be set, including single season rushing yards (1,381), and 100-yard rushing games (9), by Marlon Mack, and single season receiving yards (822) by Rodney Adams. The same day as the team's bowl game, Taggart received a three-year contract extension.[42]

Before the 2016 season, the Bulls were selected by many media outlets to win the East division of the American, and were projected to play the University of Houston in the American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game. The Bulls ended the 2016 season tied with Temple for 1st place in the East division, but because of a Week 8 loss to the Owls, USF would not play in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. In a Week 5 game against Cincinnati, Marlon Mack passed Andre Hall to become the leading rusher in program history. Two weeks later, in a Week 7 game against Connecticut, Mack passed B.J. Daniels to become the program leader in rushing touchdowns. After that game, Coach Taggart was included on the watch list for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, which is presented annually to the best coach in college football. During their Week 9 game against #22 Navy, the Bulls set a school record for rushing yards in a game, racking up 412 yards in a 52-45 victory.[42] The Bulls would break that record two weeks later in their Week 11 game against Memphis, rushing for 416 yards in a 49-42 victory.[42] Also in that game, the Bulls broke the school record for offensive touchdowns in a season (58). In a Week 12 game against SMU, Quinton Flowers passed Matt Grothe to become the school leader in single-season total offense. The Bulls secured their first 10-win season after a 48-31 victory over UCF in Week 13.[43] During that game, Quinton Flowers set the school record for single season rushing yards (1,425), passing the mark Marlon Mack set in 2015. On November 30, 2016, Quniton Flowers was named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, which is the first such award in school history. On December 7, 2016, Willie Taggart was announced as Oregon's new head coach, a position that was vacant after the firing of Mark Helfrich on November 29, 2016.[44] The Bulls ended their season with a 46-39 OT victory over South Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl on December 29, 2016.[45] On January 12, 2017, Quinton Flowers was named the 2017 College Football Performance Awards National Performer of the Year.[46]

Charlie Strong era (2017–present)

On December 11, 2016, USF announced that former Texas and Louisville head coach Charlie Strong would become the Bulls' new head coach, the fourth in school history.[47][48][49] Strong's deal is for five years, which will keep him in Tampa through the 2021 season.[50] Strong was hired, in part, because of his strong professional and recruiting ties to the state of Florida, as he served as an assistant coach at the University of Florida for almost a decade.[51][52]

Before the 2017 season, the American Athletic Conference Media Poll listed USF as the favorites to win the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship Game and the unanimous pick to win the East division.[53] On August 3rd, the Bulls were ranked #21 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll.[54]

Season-by-season results

NCAA Division I champions Conference Champions Division Champions Bowl Eligible Undefeated Season
Year NCAA Division Conference Conference Division Overall Conference Coach Highest Ranking
Games Win Loss Pct. Games Win Loss Pct. Standing
1997 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 5 6 .455 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt –
1998 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 8 3 .727 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt –
1999 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 7 4 .636 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt –
2000 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 7 4 .636 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt –
2001 I-A Independent N/A 11 8 3 .727 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt –
2002 I-A Independent N/A 11 9 2 .818 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt –
2003 I-A C-USA N/A 11 7 4 .636 8 5 3 .625 T-3rd Jim Leavitt –
2004 I-A C-USA N/A 11 4 7 .364 8 3 5 .375 T-6th Jim Leavitt –
2005 I-A Big East N/A 12 6 6 .500 7 4 3 .571 T-3rd Jim Leavitt -
2006 FBS Big East N/A 13 9 4 .692 7 4 3 .571 T-4th Jim Leavitt -
2007 FBS Big East N/A 13 9 4 .692 7 4 3 .571 T-3rd Jim Leavitt #2 (Week 8)

AP & Coaches Poll

2008 FBS Big East N/A 13 8 5 .615 7 2 5 .286 6th Jim Leavitt #10 (Week 6)

AP & Coaches Poll

2009 FBS Big East N/A 13 8 5 .615 7 3 4 .429 T-4th Jim Leavitt #21 (Week 7)

AP & Coaches Poll

2010 FBS Big East N/A 13 8 5 .615 7 3 4 .429 T-5th Skip Holtz -
2011 FBS Big East N/A 12 5 7 .417 7 1 6 .143 T-7th Skip Holtz #14 (Week 5)

Coaches Poll

2012 FBS Big East N/A 12 3 9 .250 7 1 6 .143 8th Skip Holtz –
2013 FBS The American N/A 12 2 10 .167 8 2 6 .250 8th Willie Taggart –
2014 FBS The American N/A 12 4 8 .363 8 3 5 .428 7th Willie Taggart –
2015 FBS The American East 1385 .615 8 6 2 .7502nd East Willie Taggart -
2016 FBS The American East 13112.846871 .8752nd EastWillie Taggart #19 (Final)

AP & Coaches Poll

2017 FBS The American East Charlie Strong #21 (Preseason)

Coaches Poll

Total 239 136 103 .569 104 48 56 .462

Bowl games

Year Date Bowl Opponent Result PF PA Coach
2005 December 31, 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl NC State L 0 14 Jim Leavitt
2006 December 23, 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl East Carolina W 24 7 Jim Leavitt
2007 December 31, 2007 Sun Bowl Oregon L 21 56 Jim Leavitt
2008 December 20, 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl Memphis W 41 14 Jim Leavitt
2009 January 2, 2010 International Bowl Northern Illinois W 27 3 Jim Leavitt
2010 December 31, 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl Clemson W 31 26 Skip Holtz
2015 December 21, 2015 Miami Beach Bowl Western Kentucky L 35 45 Willie Taggart
2016 December 29, 2016 Birmingham Bowl South Carolina W 46 39 T. J. Weist*
Total 5–3

* Interim coach after Willie Taggart accepted the head coaching position at Oregon.

Stadium

#5 West Virginia vs. #18 USF – Raymond James Stadium

The Bulls played at Houlihan's Stadium in 1997. Raymond James Stadium is a $168.5 million facility, which opened on September 20, 1998 with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the Chicago Bears. Two weeks later, the Bulls debuted in their new home with a 45-6 win over The Citadel in front of 32,598 fans.[55] From 1998 to 2007, only the lower half of the stadium has been typically opened for USF games, allowing for a capacity of 41,441,[56] although the upper deck has been opened numerous times to accommodate crowds in excess of what the lower bowl can handle. However, as of 2008, USF has opened the upper deck for every home game and is selling season tickets in the upper deck as well.

On September 28, 2007, the #18 ranked Bulls played the #5 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in front of 67,012 fans.[57] This remained the largest USF Bulls home game crowd in the stadium's history until September 29, 2012, when the USF Bulls played the FSU Seminoles in front of 69,383 fans.

The Bulls have enjoyed a winning edge in Raymond James, building an 86-42 (.672) record since 1998,[58] including one streak of 21 straight victories (11/6/1999 – 10/10/2003). The Bulls are 14-1 in Week 1 games played at Raymond James, with their only loss coming in 2013 at the hands of McNeese State.

Current professional players

Current as of May 1, 2017.

National Football League (16)
Arena Football League (2)
Canadian Football League (1)

Media

USF football games currently air on the radio on Sports Radio 98.7 The Fan WBRN-FM. Play-by-play man Jim Louk is teamed with color analyst, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Mark Robinson for the broadcasts. Due to USF's affiliation in the American Athletic Conference, many of the televised games air nationally on ESPN3/WatchESPN, while some replays can be seen on Spectrum Sports.

Rivals

Before major conference realignment in the early 2010s, USF had many competitive games with Louisville (5–6 overall record), West Virginia (3–4 overall record; 3–3 when opponent ranked in Top 25), and Cincinnati (0–3 when USF ranked in Top 25). USF also began a 6-year Thanksgiving weekend series in 2008 with Miami, with the last four games (2010–2013) being televised by one of the ESPN networks.[59] West Virginia left the Big East conference before the 2012 season to join the Big 12, while Louisville left the American Athletic Conference after the 2013 season for the ACC.

UCF Knights

As a young program that has grown rapidly and shifted conferences several times, USF has developed few lasting rivalries. The most noteworthy has been the South Florida-UCF football rivalry against in-state opponent, the University of Central Florida. The matchup had been the subject of much discussion and fan enthusiasm since the 1990s, but it was not until 2005 that games were scheduled. The two schools met in a four-year, home-and-away series through 2008. USF won all four games, which drew substantial crowds, but declined to schedule any further games.[60][61] However, the series resumed as an annual conference game when UCF joined the American in 2013.[62]

Florida opponents

Opponent Wins Losses Win Pct. Year(s)
UCF 6 2 .750 2005-2008, 2013-Present
Florida A&M 3 0 1.000 2005, 2011, 2015
Florida Atlantic 3 1 0.750 2002, 2007, 2010, 2013
Florida International 2 0 1.000 2006, 2008
Florida State 1 3 0.250 2009, 2012, 2015-2016
Miami 1 5 0.167 2008-2013
Florida 0 1 0.000 2010
Total 16 12 0.571

Ranked opponents

USF has played many ranked opponents in their short history, earning several marquee victories.

Year Opponent AP Rank Score
2005 Louisville 9 45-14
2006 West Virginia7 24-19
2007 Auburn17 26-23OT
2007 West Virginia 5 21-13
2008 Kansas 13 37-34
2009 Florida State 18 17-7
2009 West Virginia 20 30-19
2011 Notre Dame 16 23-20
2015 Temple 21 44-23
2016 Navy 22 52-45

Statistics & rankings

Future out of conference opponents

Announced schedules as of May 12, 2017[65]

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
at San Jose State vs Elon vs Wisconsin at Texas vs Central Michigan vs Texas at Western Kentucky vs Western Kentucky at Northern Illinois
vs Stony Brook vs Georgia Tech at Georgia Tech vs San Jose State vs BYU vs FAU at Texas
vs Illinois at Illinois at Central Michigan vs Nevada at BYU
vs UMass at UMass at Florida Atlantic

References

  1. ↑ Color Palettes – University Communications. University of South Florida. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1252964
  3. ↑ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/463423-kennesaw-state-football-five-models-the-new-program-should-follow
  4. ↑ http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-ga-state-starts-new-program-in-tough-economy-2010aug20-story.html
  5. ↑ http://lubbockonline.com/stories/082110/spo_698236288.shtml
  6. ↑ http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204765601
  7. ↑ http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/6/17/11928994/south-florida-HC-head-coaching-g5-big-east-cfb-USF-Bulls
  8. ↑ http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=215996
  9. ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/sports/colleges/usf-enters-american-athletic-conference-on-monday/2129274
  10. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=253650152
  11. ↑ http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap/_/id/263570151
  12. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=252670058
  13. ↑ http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap/_/id/263290277
  14. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=272710058
  15. ↑ http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap/_/id/293030058
  16. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=272510002
  17. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=282560058
  18. ↑ http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap?id=292690052&redirected=true
  19. 1 2 http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2007.html
  20. 1 2 http://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=4807719
  21. ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jim-leavitt-back-in-college-game-while-player-he-struck-is-struggling/
  22. ↑ http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-beckman-holtz-illinois-football-spt-1225-20141224-story.html
  23. ↑ "South Florida Hires Skip Holtz". ncaafootball.fanhouse.com. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  24. ↑
  25. ↑ No. 8 Florida 38, South Florida 14.
  26. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=303312390
  27. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=303650228
  28. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2010-schedule.html
  29. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=312460087
  30. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2011-schedule.html
  31. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2012-schedule.html
  32. ↑ McMurphy, Brett (December 2, 2012). "USF fires Skip Holtz, sources say". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
  33. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2012/12/14/la-tech-tapping-skip-holtz-as-new-coach/1770129/
  34. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/8727288/willie-taggart-introduced-south-florida-bulls-coach
  35. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2013-schedule.html
  36. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2014-schedule.html
  37. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/2015-schedule.html
  38. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400792601
  39. 1 2 3 http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400763510
  40. 1 2 http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400764912
  41. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400852687
  42. 1 2 3 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-usf-willie-taggart-0201-20160131-story.html
  43. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400869569
  44. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/pac12/2016/12/07/oregon-football-hires-south-florida-coach-willie-taggart/95082152/
  45. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400876100
  46. ↑ http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bulls/quinton-flowers-wins-national-honor/2309423
  47. ↑ http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18254340/charlie-strong-agrees-become-south-florida-bulls-next-head-coach
  48. ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/south-florida-hires-charlie-strong/
  49. ↑ https://www.si.com/college-football/2016/12/12/charlie-strong-usf-bulls-coach
  50. ↑ Blodgett, Aimee (December 11, 2016). "CHARLIE STRONG NAMED HEAD COACH OF USF FOOTBALL". Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  51. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/12/13/south-florida-football-coach-charlie-strong-texas-longhorns-contract/95385694/
  52. ↑ http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/charlie-strong-south-florida-bulls-visit-head-coach-120916
  53. ↑ "USF Is The Favorite In 2017 American Athletic Conference Media Poll". theamerican.org. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  54. ↑ "NCAA Football - Amway Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports". sportspolls.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  55. ↑ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 12
  56. ↑ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 10, sixth paragraph.
  57. ↑ 67,018
  58. ↑ http://www.GoUSFBulls.com
  59. ↑ Sports: USF adds statement series with Hurricanes
  60. ↑ Greg Auman (September 6, 2008). "Should USF play UCF every year?". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  61. ↑ Greg Auman (April 29, 2011). "USF says no contracts proposed for football with UCF". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  62. ↑ Mike Bianchi (December 7, 2011). "Finally, Big East gives UCF some much-needed good news". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  63. ↑ http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/5471317/
  64. 1 2 3 4 Game Preview: UCF at No. 5 USF – GoUSFBulls.com—Official Athletics Web Site of the University of South Florida
  65. ↑ "USF Bulls - Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
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