The Bulls will face four of the six new American Athletic Conference teams;
Open conference schedule vs. Rice in Tampa; Homecoming set for Oct. 14 vs. FAU
TAMPA, FEB. 21, 2023 – The University of South Florida learned its path for the 2023 USF Football Season presented by Tampa General Hospital, the first under head coach Alex Golesh, as the American Athletic Conference announced schedules for all 14 teams in the league on Tuesday.
The 2023 campaign will mark The American’s first with 14 teams, as the league welcomes UAB, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and UTSA to its ranks. They will join continuing members East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa and USF to comprise a conference that will continue to compete for perennial New Year’s Six bowls and College Football Playoff appearances.
Golesh is among seven new head coaches leading programs in the league this year. The Bulls will face four of the others in contests with UAB, Charlotte, FAU and Navy.
A minimum of 40 conference-controlled regular-season games will be broadcast on ESPN’s linear platforms, including at least 20 games on either ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. Kickoff times and television designations for the first three weeks of the season, as well as those for the scheduled weeknight games during the year, will be finalized by June 1. The rest of the schedule will fall under the customary 12-day and six-day selection processes for kickoff times and broadcast designation.
All of USF’s six home games will be played on a Saturday for the second straight year. The Bulls will have one midweek game scheduled, a mid-November, Friday night contest at UTSA (Fri., Nov. 17), and will add one new destination to its all-time list with the Bulls’ first trip to San Antonio. USF will face three first-time opponents on the year in Charlotte, Rice and UTSA.
USF will face seven teams that reached a bowl game in 2022, including a season-opening contest at Western Kentucky (Sat., Sept. 2). The Hilltoppers went 9-5 last year and downed South Alabama, 44-23, in the New Orleans Bowl.
Following previously announced non-conference games to open the season at Western Kentucky, vs. Florida A&M (Sat., Sept. 9) and vs. Alabama (Sat., Sept. 16), which went 11-2 and won the Sugar Bowl in 2022,the Bulls will begin conference play taking on conference newcomer Rice on Sat., Sept. 23 at Raymond James Stadium. The teams have never met. The Owls went 5-8 (3-5 C-USA) last year and fell, 38-24, to Southern Miss in the Lending Tree Bowl.
Rice will be the first of four home conference opponents in 2023. USF will also welcome FAU (Sat., Oct. 14) for a Homecoming clash as well as Temple (Sat., Nov. 11) and Charlotte (Sat., Nov. 25).
The Bulls will open conference road play with back-to-back road games at programs welcoming new head coaches in 2023. USF’s first conference road contest will be at Navy on Sat., Sept. 30. The Midshipmen went 4-8 (3-4 AAC) last year, falling by three to Notre Dame (35-32), downing UCF (17-14) and falling in double-overtime to Army (20-17, 2OT) to close the year. Navy welcomed new head coach Brian Newberry in December. The Bulls are 1-2 vs. Navy and 0-2 all-time in Annapolis, last traveling there in the 2019 season and falling 35-3.
USF will stay on the road the following week at UAB on Sat., Oct. 7. The Blazers went 7-6 (4-4 C-USA) last year and downed Miami (OH), 24-20, in the Bahamas Bowl. UAB welcomed new head coach Trent Dilfer in November. The Bulls are 1-1 all-time vs. the Blazers and won, 45-20, in their only previous game vs. UAB in Birmingham, Ala. and the last meeting between the teams in 2004. The Bulls have previously won three bowl games – two Birmingham Bowls (South Carolina in 2016 and Texas Tech in 2017) and one Papa John’s Bowl (ECU in 2006) – and played Alabama (2003, L) in the city.
USF returns home for a Homecoming clash vs. FAU on Sat., Oct. 14. The Bulls own a 3-1 lead in the series and the game will mark the first between the two programs since a 28-10 FAU victory in Tampa in 2013. FAU welcomed new head coach Tom Herman in December. The Owls went 5-7 (4-4 C-USA) last year and lost in their last game of the season, 32-31 in overtime, to Western Kentucky, the Bulls’ 2023 season-opening foe.
The Bulls will finish their non-conference schedule the following week when they travel to UConn on Sat., Oct. 21. USF owns a 12-5 lead in the series, winning the last eight meetings, including a 48-22 victory in East Hartford, Conn. in 2019 in the last meeting between the former AAC and Big East conference foes. UConn went 6-7 last year, falling in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, 28-14, to Marshall.
USF will enjoy its lone bye week in Week 9 before hitting the road again for a Sat., Nov. 4 date at Memphis. Memphis leads the series 7-4, winning the last two meetings, including a 34-33 victory in Memphis in 2020 in the last meeting. The Tigers went 7-6 (3-5 AAC) last year and downed Utah State, 38-10, in the First Responder Bowl.
USF returns to Raymond James Stadium on Sat., Nov. 11 vs. Temple. The Owls own a 6-3 lead in the series, winning 54-28 in Philadelphia last year. Temple finished the 2022 season going 3-9 (1-7 AAC).
USF’s final road trip of the season is to a new destination as the Bulls will play in San Antonio for the first time when they take on UTSA on Fri., Nov. 17. The Bulls and Roadrunners have never met. UTSA went 11-3 (8-0 C-USA) last year, defeating North Texas in the C-USA Championship Game, 48-27, and falling to No. 23 Troy, 18-12, in the Cure Bowl. ESPN ranked UTSA No. 22 in its early college football rankings for 2023.
The Bulls close out the 2023 regular season in Raymond James Stadium when they take on Charlotte on Sat., Nov. 25. It will be the first meeting between the programs. The 49ers went 3-9 (2-6 C-USA) last year and welcomed new head coach Biff Poggi in November.
The American Athletic Conference Football Championship, which has been broadcast on ABC in each of the last eight years, is scheduled for Sat., Dec. 2 and will be televised either on ABC or ESPN.
The American continued to make history in 2022 as Tulane completed the best one-year turnaround in major college football history, capping a 12-2 season with a Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic victory against USC and a final national ranking of No. 9. It marked the seventh time in nine seasons of the College Football Playoff era that The American was represented in the New Year’s Six, the fourth win by an American team in the league’s 10-year history and the sixth top-10 finish by an American Athletic Conference team.
Seven teams from The American were selected for bowl games, while league teams went 4-3 in postseason play.
2023 USF FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (*AAC Games)
Sept. 2 at Western Kentucky
Sept. 9 vs. FLORIDA A&M
Sept. 16 vs. ALABAMA
Sept. 23 vs. RICE*
Sept. 30 at Navy*
Oct. 7 at UAB*
Oct. 14 vs. FAU*
Oct. 21 at UConn
Oct. 28 BYE WEEK
Nov. 4 at Memphis*
Nov. 11 vs. TEMPLE*
Fri., Nov. 17 at UTSA*
Nov. 25 vs. CHARLOTTE*
Dec. 2 AAC Championship Game
2023 Season Deposit Sales: https://gobulls.co/GetBullsTix
Future schedules can be viewed HERE.
USF will take the field for the first of 15 spring practices on March 6 and will practice for five weeks leading up to the spring game on Fri., April 14 at Corbett Stadium on the USF campus. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. Fans planning to attend the Spring Game are asked to register in advance to receive a free mobile ticket HERE.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard on 102.5-HD2 and Bulls Unlimited on TuneIn.
USF returns three primary starters from the 2022 season on offense, four including senior offensive tackle Donovan Jennings (Tampa) who started four games in 2023 before a season-ending injury and brings a team-high 35 career starts into his final campaign. The Bulls return nine primary starters from 2022 on defense, led by safety Matthew Hill (Lawrenceville, Ga.) who brings 17 career starts into his senior campaign. USF returns 27 players with starting experience, including quarterbacks Gerry Bohanon Jr. (Earle, Ark./7 starts in 2022 before a season-ending injury) and Byrum Brown (Raleigh, N.C./started the last two games of 2022).
New season tickets for the 2023 USF football season at Raymond James Stadium are on sale now. Season tickets start at just $99. Secure your seats for the 2023 season by calling or texting 1-800-GoBulls or by visiting USFBULLSTIX.com. All tickets are once again dynamically priced for each game based on demand and are subject to change. Tickets can be purchased online at USFBullsTix.com, by calling/texting 1-800-GoBulls or using the direct links below.
Season tickets: https://bit.ly/3yXpIgD
Single-game tickets: https://bit.ly/3PJrTdN
Group tickets (10+): call 1-800-GoBulls.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 26th season in 2022 while completing construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections, including 2021 consensus All-American kick returner Brian Battie, and had 32 first-team all-conference selections. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and has made 10 bowl game appearances (going 6-4 in those games), posting a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010 and most recently making four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18. The Bulls posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
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