2023 South Florida Bulls football team

2023 South Florida Bulls football
Boca Raton Bowl champion
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record7–6 (4–4 AAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJoel Gordon (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorTodd Orlando (1st season)
Base defenseMultiple 3–3–5
Home stadiumRaymond James Stadium
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 22 SMU y$   8 – 0     11 – 3  
Tulane y   8 – 0     11 – 3  
UTSA   7 – 1     9 – 4  
Memphis   6 – 2     10 – 3  
South Florida   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Rice   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Navy   4 – 4     5 – 7  
North Texas   3 – 5     5 – 7  
UAB   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Florida Atlantic   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Charlotte   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Tulsa   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Temple   1 – 7     3 – 9  
East Carolina   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Championship: SMU 26, Tulane 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls played their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Bulls were led by first-year head coach Alex Golesh. This season was the tenth for the Bulls as members of the American Athletic Conference, and their 26th season overall. The South Florida Bulls football team drew an average home attendance of 37,944 in 2023.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 23:30 p.m.at Western Kentucky*
CBSSNL 24–4115,438
September 97:00 p.m.No. 23 (FCS) Florida A&M*
ESPN+W 38–2436,495
September 163:30 p.m. No. 10 Alabama*
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ABCL 3–1765,138
September 234:00 p.m.Rice
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNUW 42–2929,141
September 303:30 p.m.at Navy
CBSSNW 44–3029,789
October 74:00 p.m.at UAB
ESPN2L 35–5623,792
October 143:30 p.m.Florida Atlanticdagger
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPN2L 14–5636,670
October 213:30 p.m.at UConn*
CBSSNW 24–2121,704
November 43:00 p.m.at Memphis
ESPN+L 50–5930,223
November 1112:00 p.m.Temple
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPN+W 27–2330,938
November 179:00 p.m.at UTSA
ESPN2L 21–4922,096
November 257:30 p.m.Charlotte
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNUW 48–1429,279
December 218:00 p.m.vs. Syracuse*
ESPNW 45–020,711

[1][2]

Game summaries

Rice

See also: 2023 Rice Owls football team
Rice Owls at South Florida Bulls – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rice 7 7 7829
South Florida 3 10 141542

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: September 23
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT/4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)
  • Game attendance: 29,141
  • Referee: Edwin Lee
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Jay Alter and Rene Ingoglia
Game information
First quarter
  • USF – John Cannon 31-yard field goal, 7:22. Bulls 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 62 yards, 4:49.
  • RICE – Daelen Alexander 3-yard pass from JT Daniels (Tim Horn kick), 2:28. Owls 7–3. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:54.

Second quarter

  • USF – John Cannon 40-yard field goal, 14:07. Owls 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 3:21.
  • USF – K'Wan Powell 26-yard run (John Cannon kick), 1:35. Bulls 13–7. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 2:35.
  • RICE – Dean Connors 2-yard pass from JT Daniels (Tim Horn kick), 0:15. Owls 14–13. Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 1:14.

Third quarter

  • USF – Byrum Brown 1-yard run (John Cannon kick), 13:54. Bulls 20–14. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:06.
  • RICE – Dean Connors 80-yard pass from JT Daniels (Tim Horn kick), 7:53. Owls 21–20. Drive: 1 play, 80 yards, 0:11.
  • USF – Naiem Simmons 49-yard pass from Byrum Brown (John Cannon kick), 2:07. Bulls 27–21. Drive: 2 plays, 55 yards, 0:25.

Fourth quarter

  • USF – Sean Atkins 8-yard pass from Byrum Brown (John Cannon kick), 13:22. Bulls 34–21. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:38.
  • USF – Nay'Quan Wright 1-yard run (Sean Atkins pass to Byrum Brown), 8:52. Bulls 42–21. Drive: 9 plays, 57 yards, 2:57.
  • RICE – Rawson MacNeil 9-yard pass from AJ Padgett (AJ Padgett pass to Luke McCaffrey), 3:46. Bulls 42–29. Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards, 4:59.
Statistics RICE USF
First downs 19 25
Total yards 492 597
Rushing yards 1 162
Passing yards 491 435
Turnovers 0 1
Time of possession 32:27 27:33
Team Category Player Statistics
Rice Passing JT Daniels 27/40, 432 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Juma Otoviano 4 rushes, 12 yards
Receiving Luke McCaffrey 9 receptions, 199 yards
South Florida Passing Byrum Brown 22/29, 435 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Byrum Brown 14 rushes, 82 yards, TD
Receiving Naiem Simmons 8 receptions, 272 yards, TD

at Navy

See also: 2023 Navy Midshipmen football team
South Florida Bulls (2-2) vs Navy Midshipmen (1-2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bulls 7 16 71444
Midshipmen 14 6 3730

at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland

  • Date: September 30th
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: NE at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Clear
  • Game attendance: 29,789
  • Referee: Scott Hardin
  • TV announcers (CBSSN): Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst) & Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline)
Game information
First quarter
  • (11:52) NAVY – Tai Lavatai 1-yard run, Nathan Kirkwood kick (Drive: 4 plays, 18 yards, 1:20; Navy 7-0)
  • (8:55) NAVY – Tai Lavatai 4-yard run, Nathan Kirkwood kick (Drive: 4 plays, 30 yards, 1:50; Navy 14-0)
  • (5:40) USF – Sean Atkins 1-yard pass from Byrum Brown, John Cannon kick (Drive: 8 plays, 70 yards, 3:14; Navy 14-7)
Second quarter
  • (12:09) USF – Nay'Quan Wright 10-yard run, John Cannon kick (Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 3:10; Tied 14-14)
  • (8:20) USF – Sean Atkins 88-yard pass from Byrum Brown, John Cannon kick (Drive: 2 plays, 88 yards, 0:39; USF 21-14)
  • (1:57) NAVY – Anton Hall 2-yard pass from Blake Horvath, PAT blocked (Drive: 5 plays, 22 yards, 2:06; USF 21-20)
  • (1:57) USF – Jhalyn Suler 69-yard PAT return (USF 23-20)
Third quarter
  • (10:34) NAVY – Nathan Kirkwood 44-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 12 yards, 2:54; Tied 23-23)
  • (4:22) USF – Michael Stephens-Brown 15-yard pass from Byrum Brown, John Cannon kick (Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 2:52; USF 30-23)
Fourth quarter
  • (14:50) USF – Tramel Logan 70-yard fumble recovery, John Cannon kick (USF 37-23)
  • (7:45) USF – Michel Dukes 11-yard run, John Cannon kick (Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, 3:13; USF 44-23)
  • (7:28) NAVY – Eli Heidenreich 68-yard pass from Blake Horvath, Nathan Kirkwood kick (Drive: 1 play, 68 yards, 0:17; USF 44-30)
Statistics South Florida Navy
First downs 11 24
Plays–yards 59–330 78–435
Rushes–yards 48–240 44–98
Passing yards 90 338
Passing: comp–att–int 5–11–0 26–34–0
Time of possession 31:08 28:52
Team Category Player Statistics
South Florida Passing Byrum Brown 26–34, 338 yards, 3 TD
Rushing K'wan Powell 11 carries, 48 yards
Receiving Sean Atkins 4 receptions, 16 yards, 2 TD
Navy Passing Blake Horvath 4–6, 83 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Alex Tezuka 13 carries, 82 yards
Receiving Eli Heidenreich 1 reception, 68 yards

Notes

References

  1. ^ "2023 USF Bulls Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com.
  2. ^ "2023 South Florida Bulls football schedule". gousfbulls.com. University of South Florida Athletics.