The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida (USF). The Bulls began playing in 1997, and compete in the American Conference (The American) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team currently plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, however the Bulls will host home games at a new $340 million on-campus stadium starting in the 2027 season.
History
Jim Leavitt era (1997–2010) In 1997, Jim Leavitt, previously the co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State, was hired as the team's first head coach. Their first team meeting was held under a shade tree, as the school had no proper football facilities on campus. The team started as a Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) independent for their first four seasons, finishing with a winning record three times and ranked in the AP Poll twice. During the 2000 season, their final year in Division I-AA, the Bulls beat three teams ranked in the top 15: No. 13 James Madison, No. 6 Western Kentucky, and No. 1 Troy State; as well as Division I-A Connecticut. That team finished with a 7–4 record, with all four losses coming to Division I-A opponents, however they were ineligible for the Division I-AA playoffs as they were to transition to I-A the following year.
In 2001, the Bulls moved to Division I-A (now Division I FBS), 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. On December 31, 2005, USF lost to NC State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the team's first bowl appearance. 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. Leavitt led the Bulls to 5 straight bowl games from 2005 to 2009, earning a 3–2 record.
South Florida upset 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 Poll and BCS standings for the Bulls. They reached No. 23 after defeating No. 17 Auburn 26–23 in OT, No. 18 after defeating North Carolina 37–10, No. 6 after defeating No. 5 West Virginia 21–13, No. 5 after defeating FAU 35–23, and the team finally peaked at No. 2 in the country after defeating UCF 64–12. The Bulls' high ranking was short lived, as South Florida lost its next 3 games after injuries plagued the team. The Bulls would rebound and win three straight games to close out the regular season ranked No. 21 in the BCS standings and No. 23 in the AP Poll. After a 9–3 season, the Bulls earned a bid to their third straight bowl game, the Brut Sun Bowl against Oregon.
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.
Skip Holtz era (2010–2012) On January 14, 2010, Skip Holtz, son of legendary coach Lou Holtz, was hired as the team's second head coach, leaving East Carolina after five seasons.
During his first season, Holtz led the Bulls to the program's first victory over the Miami Hurricanes. Following the regular season, he led the Bulls to 31–26 victory over the Clemson Tigers in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. USF finished with an overall record of 8–5 record, the fifth consecutive season of at least eight wins.
To start the 2011 season, Skip Holtz led the Bulls to a dramatic 23–20 victory against Notre Dame, his alma mater. Unfortunately, the Bulls finished the season with an overall record of 5–7, the team's first losing season since 2004.
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. 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.
Willie Taggart era (2013–2016) On December 8, 2012, USF announced the hire of Willie Taggart, who previously served as head football coach at Western Kentucky.
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, at the time, was the worst record in school history.
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.
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. After a 1–3 start, with losses to FSU, Maryland, and Memphis, USF won seven of their next eight games, including a 44–23 upset of No. 22 Temple, a 65–27 victory over Cincinnati, and a 44–3 victory over in-state rival UCF. 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. During the bowl game, multiple school records were 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.
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 did 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 UConn, 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 Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the best coach in college football. During their Week 9 game against No. 22 Navy, the Bulls set a school record for rushing yards in a game, racking up 412 yards in a 52–45 victory. The Bulls broke that record two weeks later in their Week 11 game against Memphis, rushing for 416 yards in a 49–42 victory. 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. 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 was 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. Led by interim coach T. J. Weist, the Bulls ended their season with a 46–39 OT victory over South Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl on December 29, 2016. On January 12, 2017, Quinton Flowers was named the 2017 College Football Performance Awards National Performer of the Year.
Charlie Strong era (2017–2019) 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. 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.
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. On August 3, the Bulls were ranked No. 21 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll. On August 19, Quinton Flowers was named to the Manning Award Watch List, making him the first Bull to be named to five preseason watch lists, as he had already been named to watch lists for the Maxwell, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards. On August 21, the Bulls were ranked No. 19 in the preseason AP Poll, which matched the highest preseason ranking in school history (2008). In their Week 1 game against San Jose State, the Bulls set school records for both rushing attempts (74) and total plays (101) in a single game. On September 15, the Bulls earned their first victory over a Big Ten opponent, beating Illinois 47–23. During this game, the Bulls totaled 680 yards of offense, the second-most in program history, and the most against an FBS opponent. During the Bulls' Week 4 game against Temple, Quinton Flowers became the program leader in both rushing touchdowns, passing Marlon Mack, and total touchdowns, passing Marquel Blackwell. Also during this game, the Bulls allowed only 85 yards of total offense, which is a program record against an FBS opponent. With a win in this game, the Bulls extended their winning streak to nine games, a program record. With a 33–3 win over Cincinnati in Week 7, the Bulls extended their streak of 30-plus point games to 23, matching the AP Poll era record (since 1936) set by Oregon from 2011 to 2012. The Bulls also extended their winning streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the country. USF also equaled the best start in program history (6–0), which was previously accomplished in 2007. On October 18, Coach Strong was named on the watch list for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award. With a 34–28 win over Tulane in Week 8, the Bulls extended their streak of 30-plus point games to 24, setting the AP Poll era record. This win also gave USF their best start in program history (7–0). On November 2, Quinton Flowers was named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. During the Bulls' Week 13 game against rival UCF, Quinton Flowers passed Matt Grothe to become the program's all-time leader in total yards. He also set single-game records for both passing yards (503) and total yards (605). After losing to No. 13 UCF, the Bulls finished the regular season in 2nd place in the East division of the American, and they ended their season with a 38–34 victory over Texas Tech in the Birmingham Bowl, finishing with a record of 10–2.