USF to open conference play on the road at SMU;
Six home dates – two each in September, October and November – include four conference games;
Homecoming set for Saturday, Nov. 6 vs. Houston
TAMPA, FEB. 18, 2021 – USF has its course charted for the Bulls’ second season under head coach Jeff Scott as the American Athletic Conference announced 2021 schedules for all conference members on Thursday.
The Bulls’ 2021 schedule will feature as many as five mid-week, primetime contests – with one still to be finalized – but just one at Raymond James Stadium. Three 2021 Bulls’ opponents finished in the top 15 of the final 2020 season AP Poll, five finished at least four games over .500 in the pandemic altered 2020 season, eight went .500 or better and nine played in a bowl game.
USF will play six home games – two each in September, October and November – and six road games – three vs. teams that went 7-3 or better on the 2020 campaign. Homecoming has been set for Sat., Nov. 6 vs. Houston.
Kick times and specific television designations will be announced at a later date.
The Bulls will open conference play on the road for the second straight season and just the third time in AAC play as they travel to SMU on Sat., Oct. 2. The Bulls are 1-1 in previous AAC openers on the road, falling at eventual conference champion Cincinnati last year, 28-7. USF leads the series with SMU, 3-2, and won, 35-27, in its last trip to Dallas in 2016. The teams last met in 2019 with the Mustangs taking a 48-21 victory in Raymond James Stadium. The Mustangs went 7-3 (4-3 AAC) last season.
The Bulls will open the season with a Thursday night, primetime matchup at NC State on Sept. 2. The Wolfpack went 8-4 (7-3 ACC) last year and faced Kentucky in the Gator Bowl, where they fell 23-21 in a close game. It will mark the fourth meeting between the programs, with NC State leading the series, 2-1. It will be the first meeting since a 49-17 Wolfpack victory in Raymond James Stadium in 2014.
USF’s 2021 home opener will be vs. Florida on Sat., Sept. 11. It will mark the Gators’ first-ever trip to Raymond James Stadium to play the Bulls and the second meeting in the series with Florida winning the first, 38-14, in Gainesville in 2010. The Gators posted an 8-4 (8-2 SEC) record last year, reaching the SEC Championship game where UF fell to eventual national champion Alabama, 52-46. Florida faced Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl and fell, 55-20, and finished No. 13 in the final AP Poll.
The Bulls return to Ray Jay on Sat., Sept. 18 to face Florida A&M before returning to the road to take on BYU in Provo, Utah on Sat., Sept. 25. The game was previously scheduled as a Friday night contest but has been moved to a Saturday.
The teams met for the first time in 2019 with USF posting a 27-23 homecoming victory in Raymond James Stadium. The teams will now face each other four times in five years with the addition of dates in 2022 (Tampa) and 2023 (Provo) earlier this week. BYU completed an 11-1 campaign in 2020 with a victory in the Boca Raton Bowl. BYU finished No. 11 in the final AP Poll and No. 16 in the final CFP Poll of 2020.
Following the conference opening road game at SMU and a bye week, the Bulls return to Ray Jay for a pair of conference games starting on Sat., Oct. 16 vs. Tulsa. It will mark the Golden Hurricanes’ second trip to Tampa in as many seasons. Tulsa downed the Bulls, 42-13, last year in Ray Jay for its first-ever victory in the series that USF leads, 3-1.
The Golden Hurricane went 6-3 (6-0 AAC) last season with two losses coming to top 15 ranked teams and one to an SEC opponent. Tulsa reached the AAC Championship game vs. Cincinnati where it lost, 27-24, before falling to Mississippi State, 28-26, in the Armed Forces Bowl.
USF faces Temple on Sat., Oct. 23 in Ray Jay. The Owls’ lone win last year came, 39-37, over USF in the second game of the season in Philadelphia. Temple leads the series 5-2.
The Bulls will travel to ECU for a game on either Thurs., Oct. 28 or Sat., Oct. 30, awaiting a final determination from the conference and television partners. The Pirates went 3-6 (3-5 AAC) last year and posted a 44-24 victory over USF in Tampa. The Bulls lead the series, 9-2, and are 5-0 in Greenville, N.C.
USF again returns to Ray Jay for back-to-back home games in November starting with the Bulls’ homecoming date on Sat., Nov. 6 vs. Houston. The Cougars went 3-5 (3-3 AAC) last year and posted a 56-21 victory over the Bulls in Houston. The Cougars lead the series 5-2 and have won the last five meetings, with the Bulls’ last win coming in 2002.
Defending conference champion Cincinnati comes to Ray Jay for a Friday night, primetime game on Nov. 12. The Bearcats went 9-1 (6-0 AAC) last year, winning the AAC Championship game over Tulsa, 27-24, before falling in a close game vs. Georgia, 24-21, in the Peach Bowl to finish No. 8 in the final AP Poll. The Bearcats lead the series with USF, 11-7, and have won the last three meetings.
The Bulls will finish up the 2021 regular season with a pair of road dates, first heading to Tulane on Sat., Nov. 20. It will mark the first meeting in the series (tied 1-1) since a 41-15 Green Wave victory in Ray Jay in 2018. Tulane went 6-6 (3-5 AAC) last year and fell to Nevada, 38-27, in Idaho Potato Bowl.
As usual, the Bulls will close out the regular season with a Black Friday, primetime contest vs. UCF on Fri., Nov. 26. The War on I-4 series with UCF is tied, 6-6, as the Knights have won the last four meetings, including a very close, 58-46, victory last year in Tampa. The Knights will be playing their first season under new head coach Guz Malzahn after going 6-4 (5-3 AAC) last year and falling to BYU in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Season tickets for the 2021 season may be renewed at USFBullsTix.com or by calling/texting 1-800-GoBulls. USF saw 92 percent of season ticket members renewed by the February deadline to ensure seat location, marking the highest renewal rate in program history.
New season tickets go on sale on March 1.
2021 USF FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT (2020 Record (Conf)/Bowl/Final AP)
Thur., Sept. 2 at North Carolina State 8-4 (7-3)/Gator, L,NR
Sat., Sept. 11 FLORIDA 8-4 (8-2)/Cotton, L /No. 13
Sat., Sept. 18 FLORIDA A&M 2020 schedule postponed/NR
Fri., Sept. 24 at BYU 11-1 (Ind.)/Boca, W, No. 11
Sat., Oct. 2 at SMU* 7-3 (4-3)/Frisco, Canceled/NR
Sat., Oct. 9 bye
Sat., Oct. 16 TULSA* 6-3 (6-0)/Armed Forces, L/NR
Sat., Oct. 23 TEMPLE* 1-6 (1-6)/NA/NR
Oct. 28 or Oct. 30 at ECU* 3-6 (3-5)/NA/NR
Sat., Nov. 6 HOUSTON* (Homecoming) 3-5 (3-3)/New Mexico, L/NR
Fri., Nov. 12 CINCINNATI* 9-1 (6-0)/Peach, L/No. 8
Sat., Nov. 20 at Tulane* 6-6 (3-5)/Potato, L/NR
Fri., Nov. 26 at UCF* 6-4 (5-3)/Boca, L/NR
* American Athletic Conference game
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections, and have seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl game appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program-record six-straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and 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.
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