The Florida Atlantic–South Florida football rivalry, also known as the FAU–USF football rivalry, is a college football rivalry between the Florida Atlantic Owls football team of Florida Atlantic University and the South Florida Bulls football team of the University of South Florida. The universities are both located in Florida, in Boca Raton and Tampa, respectively. Both programs compete in the American Athletic Conference. As of the 2025 season, the Bulls hold a 5–2 lead in the series.

History

First games (2002–2013) Prior to the 2002 season, in only the second season for Florida Atlantic's college football program, the two schools agreed to meet in a game at Raymond James Stadium on August 29, 2002, the first game of the season for both schools. South Florida would win this game in a 51–10 blowout. This would be the only meeting during Florida Atlantic's time in NCAA Division I-AA (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision, or FCS).

In 2006, the two schools agreed to a three-game football series in 2007, 2010, and 2013, with Florida Atlantic set to host the 2007 edition and South Florida set to host the other two.

Entering the 2007 edition, in the first edition hosted by Florida Atlantic (and ultimately the only edition played at Lockhart Stadium, South Florida was ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. The game was close throughout, being tied 14–14 at halftime and South Florida having a narrow 21–17 lead entering the fourth quarter. South Florida ultimately won the game 35–23.

In the 2010 edition, South Florida won in a 31–3 blowout, with a school record-tying seven sacks of Florida Atlantic, extending their record to 3–0 all-time.

The 2013 edition saw Florida Atlantic strike first to take an early 7–0 lead, with South Florida responding to take a 10–7 lead exiting the first quarter. However, the Owls held the Bulls scoreless in the remaining three quarters, scoring a touchdown in each, for a 28–10 win, giving them their first win in the rivalry all-time.

In 2015, the two schools agreed to a home-and-home series for 2020 and 2022, with Florida Atlantic set to host the 2020 edition and South Florida set to host the 2022 edition. However, neither of these scheduled games would end up being played. First, the 2022 edition was moved to 2026 to accommodate a series booked by South Florida against the Florida Gators.. Then, the 2020 edition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was ultimately never rescheduled. Finally, the 2026 game was cancelled when Florida Atlantic joined the American Athletic Conference (now known as the American Conference) beginning in 2023, as the matchup was protected by the conference.

American Conference era (2023–present) In 2021, Florida Atlantic announced that they had accepted an invitation to join the American Athletic Conference (now known as the American Conference), with it later being announced that they would join beginning in 2023.

In 2022, the American announced their intended scheduling formula for the 2023 through 2026 seasons, which included the game as one of its six protected rivalries.

2023 game: Florida Atlantic's onside kick On October 14, 2023, the two schools met for the first time as conference opponents during the homecoming game for South Florida. Florida Atlantic held a narrow 21–14 lead at halftime before scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half for a 56–14 blowout win, the largest margin of victory by either side to date. Despite a 56–14 lead, Florida Atlantic attempted (and recovered) an onside kick in the fourth quarter, though they would ultimately turn the ball over on downs on the drive. ESPN commentators would mention the matchup as a rivalry following this. The decision to onside kick would also be part of the narrative leading into the 2024 edition.

2024 game: South Florida's two-point conversion attempt and post-game coaching altercation The November 1, 2024 meeting in Boca Raton was the first matchup played at Flagler Credit Union Stadium. The game was the homecoming game for Florida Atlantic. Both Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman and South Florida wide receiver Sean Atkins would mention the matchup as being a rivalry in their pregame comments.

Once again, Florida Atlantic held a 7-point lead at halftime, leading 14–7. After the two sides traded touchdowns to open the third quarter, South Florida scored 23 unanswered points to win 44–21. Notably, after scoring a touchdown to take a 44–21 lead, South Florida opted to go for a two-point conversion in what was seen as revenge for the onside kick the year prior, with the ESPN commentators stating the decision to go for two was because they were unable to go for three, which was unsuccessful.

Following the game, the two head coaches got into an altercation. Tom Herman attempted to shake the hand of South Florida head coach Alex Golesh, only for Golesh to slap his hand away, angering Herman to follow Golesh and yell at him, attempting to provoke Golesh, saying "Grow the fuck up, man. If you've got something to say, come say it to me man. Don't be a bitch." as Golesh nonchalantly said "Good job, buddy." in response. Herman continued to follow him, as Golesh ignored him while shaking the hands and patting the heads and backs of other Florida Atlantic personnel. Herman later got bumped by a South Florida coach and attempted to confront him, only for his wife to grab him by the shirt and stop him. This exchange would gain significant media attention. Golesh would downplay the incident in his postgame comments and mention the prior season's blowout loss as being a motivator.

2025 game: South Florida's onside kick The teams met on October 18, 2025, at Raymond James Stadium. Following an impressive start to the season, South Florida entered the game ranked No. 19 in the AP poll.

The game notably featured a role reversal of one of the notable moments from the 2023 meeting. Following a second quarter touchdown to take a 14–3 lead, South Florida successfully executed an onside kick, then subsequently scored a touchdown. The game otherwise continued without incident, as South Florida would ultimately win in a 48–13 blowout, their second-largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry.

Game results

References