South Florida Bulls football

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South Florida Bulls football
2015 South Florida Bulls football team
100px
First season 1997
Head coach Willie Taggart
3rd year, 14–23 (.378)
Stadium Raymond James Stadium
Seating capacity 66,321 (41,441 lower bowl)
Field surface Grass, Tifway Bermuda 419
Location Tampa, Florida
Conference The American
Division East
All-time record 125–101–0 (.553)
Bowl record 4–3 (.571)
Colors Green and Gold           
Fight song Golden Brahman March
Marching band Herd of Thunder
Rivals UCF
Website GoUSFBulls.com

The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of American football. The Bulls currently compete in the American Athletic Conference (The American) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bulls began playing in 1997, holding their first team meeting under a shade tree, as the school had no proper football facilities on campus. The team plays its home games in 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.

After competing their first four years as a Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) independent, the Bulls moved to Division I-A (now Division I FBS) in 2001, where they remained independent. They joined Conference USA in 2003, but only stayed until 2005, when they became a member of the Big East Conference (now the American Athletic Conference).

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. The previous year, USF lost to NC State in the Bulls' first-ever bowl appearance, the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Leavitt would lead the Bulls to 5 straight bowl games, with a record of 3-2.

South Florida received increased press coverage for their upsets of Top 25 ranked teams such as Louisville (2005), West Virginia (2006, 2007, 2009), Auburn (2007), Kansas (2008) and Florida State (2009). 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 and BCS Polls for the Bulls.

Week 3 - #23 after defeating #17 Auburn 26-23

Week 4 - #18 after defeating North Carolina 37-10

Week 5 - #6 after defeating #5 West Virginia 21-13

Week 6 - #5 after defeating FAU 35-23

Week 7 - #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. However, the Bulls rebounded towards the end of the season, finishing the regular season ranked #21 in the BCS Standings and #23 in the AP Poll. Following their final regular season game, they faced Oregon in the Brut Sun Bowl. Oregon defeated the Bulls by the score of 56-21, in which USF set a Sun Bowl record for most points allowed to an opponent. USF was dropped from the national rankings in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today polls following the loss.

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. The investigation also claimed that Leavitt interfered with the investigation by telling several coaches and players to change their stories. 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. Leavitt went on to serve as LB Coach for the San Francisco 49ers, who, in his first season (2011), reached the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1997. He is now the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Colorado.

Skip Holtz era (2010–2012)

On January 14, 2010, Skip Holtz was hired away from East Carolina and named the team's second Head Coach.[1] Although the Bulls did well in Holtz's first season, defeating #16 ranked Notre Dame in Week 1, and Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, USF steadily declined during Holtz's time with the team, going 5-7 and 3-9 in his last two seasons. During Holtz's tenure, the Bulls were 1-5 against teams ranked in the Top 25. His firing was announced by Doug Woolard on December 2, 2012.[2] Holtz was subsequently hired by Louisiana Tech as its new Head Coach.

Willie Taggart era (2013–present)

On December 8, 2012, USF announced that Willie Taggart, who previously coached at Western Kentucky, would be the third Head Coach in USF football history. Due to roster turnover, and lack of recruiting depth by Skip Holtz, the Bulls struggled in Taggart's first year, posting a 2-10 record.

USF 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. During the home opener against Western Carolina, freshman Marlon Mack tied the USF single-game rushing record, with 275 yards. He would also tally a 5 yard reception to claim the USF record for all-purpose yards in a single game, with 280 yards.

In Taggart's third season, after once again having the top recruiting class in the American Conference, the Bulls finished with an 8-5 record. After a 1-3 start, losing games to FSU, Maryland, and Memphis, USF would finish the regular season with seven wins in eight games, including a 44-23 upset of #22 Temple, a 65-27 victory over Cincinnati, and a 44-3 victory over rival UCF, earning a bid to the Miami Beach Bowl against Taggart's former team, Western Kentucky. The Bulls would lose their bowl game by a score of 45-35, however, during the game, multiple school records would be set, including single season rushing yards, and 100-yard rushing games, by Marlon Mack, and single season receiving yards by Rodney Adams.

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 Tie Pct. Games Win Loss Tie Pct. Standing
1997 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 5 6 0 .455 0 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt -
1998 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 8 3 0 .727 0 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt -
1999 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 7 4 0 .636 0 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt -
2000 I-AA Division I-AA Independent N/A 11 7 4 0 .636 0 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt -
2001 I-A Independent N/A 11 8 3 0 .727 0 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt -
2002 I-A Independent N/A 11 9 2 0 .818 0 0 0 0 .000 N/A Jim Leavitt -
2003 I-A C-USA N/A 11 7 4 0 .636 8 5 3 0 .625 T-3rd Jim Leavitt -
2004 I-A C-USA N/A 11 4 7 0 .364 8 3 5 0 .375 T-6th Jim Leavitt -
2005 I-A Big East N/A 12 6 6 0 .500 7 4 3 0 .571 T-3rd Jim Leavitt -
2006 FBS Big East N/A 13 9 4 0 .692 7 4 3 0 .571 T-4th Jim Leavitt -
2007 FBS Big East N/A 13 9 4 0 .692 7 4 3 0 .571 T-3rd Jim Leavitt #2 (Week 7)
2008 FBS Big East N/A 13 8 5 0 .615 7 2 5 0 .286 6th Jim Leavitt #10 (Week 5)
2009 FBS Big East N/A 13 8 5 0 .615 7 3 4 0 .429 T-4th Jim Leavitt #21 (Week 7)
2010 FBS Big East N/A 13 8 5 0 .615 7 3 4 0 .429 T-5th Skip Holtz -
2011 FBS Big East N/A 12 5 7 0 .417 7 1 6 0 .143 T-7th Skip Holtz #16 (Week 5)
2012 FBS Big East N/A 12 3 9 0 .250 7 1 6 0 .143 8th Skip Holtz -
2013 FBS The American N/A 12 2 10 0 .167 8 2 6 0 .250 8th Willie Taggart -
2014 FBS The American N/A 12 4 8 0 .363 8 3 5 0 .428 7th Willie Taggart -
2015 FBS The American East 13 8 5 0 .615 8 6 2 0 .750 2nd East Willie Taggart -
Total 226 125 101 0 .553 96 41 55 0 .427

Bowl games

Year Date Bowl Opponent Result PF PA Coach Notes
2005 December 31, 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl NC State L 0 14 Jim Leavitt notes
2006 December 23, 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl East Carolina W 24 7 Jim Leavitt notes
2007 December 31, 2007 Sun Bowl Oregon L 21 56 Jim Leavitt notes
2008 December 20, 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl Memphis W 41 14 Jim Leavitt notes
2009 January 2, 2010 International Bowl Northern Illinois W 27 3 Jim Leavitt notes
2010 December 31, 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl Clemson W 31 26 Skip Holtz notes
2015 December 21, 2015 Miami Beach Bowl Western Kentucky L 35 45 Willie Taggart notes
Total 4–3

Stadium

File:WVU vs USF 2007.JPG
#5 West Virgina 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 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.[3] 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,[4] 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. The largest crowd to see the Bulls play a home game came on September 28, 2007 against then #5 ranked West Virginia, when 67,012 saw the #18 Bulls win.[5]

The Bulls have enjoyed a winning edge in Raymond James, building a 80-41 (.661) record since 1998,[6] including one streak of 21 straight victories at home (11/6/1999 - 10/10/2003). The Bulls are 13-1 in Week 1 games played at Raymond James, with their only loss coming in 2013 at the hands of McNeese State.

Current professional players

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See also: List of USF Bulls in the NFL Draft
National Football League (13)
Arena Football League (3)
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 locally on ESPN3/WatchESPN, while some replays can be seen on Bright House Sports Network.

Rivals

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 Knights. 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.[7][8] However, the series resumed as an annual conference game when UCF joined the American in 2013.[9]

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.[10] 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.

Florida opponents

Opponent Wins Losses Win Pct. Year(s)
UCF 5 2 0.714 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 2 0.333 2009, 2012, 2015
Miami 1 5 0.167 2008 - 2013
Florida 0 1 0.000 2010
Total 14 11 0.560

Ranked opponents

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

Home Away
Year Opponent AP Rank Result Score Year Opponent AP Rank Result Score
2003 TCU 17 L 13 - 10 2000 Southern Miss 17 L 41 - 7
2004 Pittsburgh 21 L 43 - 14 2002 Oklahoma 2 L 31 - 14
2005 Louisville 9 W 45 - 14 2004 Louisville 18 L 41 - 9
2005 West Virginia 12 L 28 - 13 2005 Miami 9 L 27 - 7
2006 Rutgers 23 L 22 - 20 2006 Louisville 10 L 31 - 8
2007 West Virginia 5 W 21 - 13 2006 West Virginia 7 W 24 - 19
2008 Kansas 13 W 37 - 34 2007 Auburn 17 W 26 - 23 (OT)
2009 Cincinnati 8 L 34 - 17 2009 Florida State 18 W 17 - 7
2009 West Virginia 20 W 30 - 19 2009 Pittsburgh 19 L 41 - 14
2009 Miami 19 L 31 - 10 2010 Florida 8 L 38 - 14
2011 West Virginia 23 L 30 - 27 2010 West Virginia 25 L 20 - 6
2012 Florida State 4 L 30 - 17 2011 Notre Dame 16 W 23 - 20
2013 Miami 15 L 49 - 21 2012 Louisville 14 L 27 - 25
2013 Louisville 18 L 34 - 3 2013 UCF 17 L 23 - 20
2014 East Carolina 19 L 28 - 17 2014 Wisconsin 19 L 27 - 10
2015 Temple 21 W 44-23 2015 Florida State 10 L 34 - 14
2015 Western Kentucky 25 L 45-35
Total 5 - 11 4 - 13

Statistics & rankings

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See also: South Florida Bulls football statistical leaders
  • The Bulls received their first ever Preseason Top 25 ranking on August 1, 2007, as they were ranked #21 in the Coaches Poll.[11]
  • Bill Gramatica holds the record for the longest field goal in school history - 63 yards.[12]
  • USF was ranked for the first time exactly 10 years and 10 days after its inaugural game against Kentucky Wesleyan in 1997.[13]
  • USF earned an AP Poll ranking only 104 polls after becoming a full-time, bowl eligible FBS member in 2001. Boise State had the previous record, getting ranked after 115 AP Polls.[13]
  • USF became the fastest team in the modern era of college football to go from an upstart NCAA FBS school to a Top 10 ranking, which took 106 AP Polls and 112 Coaches Polls.[13]
  • USF became the fastest team in the modern era of college football to go from an upstart NCAA FBS school to a Top 5 ranking, which took them 107 weeks to achieve.[13]

Future out of conference opponents

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
vs Towson vs Stony Brook vs Elon vs Wisconsin at Texas at Georgia Tech vs Texas at Western Kentucky vs Western Kentucky
vs Northern Illinois vs Illinois at Illinois vs Nevada vs BYU vs Georgia Tech at Texas
at Syracuse vs UMass at UMass at Florida Atlantic vs Florida Atlantic
vs Florida State at Northern Illinois at BYU

[14]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 12
  4. ↑ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 10, sixth paragraph.
  5. ↑ 67,018
  6. ↑ http://www.GoUSFBulls.com
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Sports: USF adds statement series with Hurricanes
  11. ↑ http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/5471317/
  12. ↑ Bill Gramatica - ArenaFootball.com — The Official Web site of the Arena Football League AFL
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Game Preview: UCF at No. 5 USF - GoUSFBulls.com—Official Athletics Web Site of the University of South Florida
  14. ↑ http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=611637

External links

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