2023 South Florida Bulls football team

2023 South Florida Bulls football
Boca Raton Bowl champion
Boca Raton Bowl, W 45–0 vs. Syracuse
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	7–6 (4–4 AAC)
Head coach	Alex Golesh (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Joel Gordon (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Todd Orlando (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple 3–3–5
Home stadium	Raymond James Stadium

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.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:30 p.m.	at Western Kentucky*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	L 24–41	15,438
September 9	7:00 p.m.	No. 23 (FCS) Florida A&M*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN+	W 38–24	36,495
September 16	3:30 p.m.	No. 10 Alabama*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ABC	L 3–17	65,138
September 23	4:00 p.m.	Rice	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPNU	W 42–29	29,141
September 30	3:30 p.m.	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	W 44–30	29,789
October 7	4:00 p.m.	at UAB	Protective Stadium Birmingham, AL	ESPN2	L 35–56	23,792
October 14	3:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN2	L 14–56	36,670
October 21	3:30 p.m.	at UConn*	Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT	CBSSN	W 24–21	21,704
November 4	3:00 p.m.	at Memphis	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN+	L 50–59	30,223
November 11	12:00 p.m.	Temple	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN+	W 27–23	30,938
November 17	9:00 p.m.	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN2	L 21–49	22,096
November 25	7:30 p.m.	Charlotte	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPNU	W 48–14	29,279
December 21	8:00 p.m.	vs. Syracuse*	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL (Boca Raton Bowl)	ESPN	W 45–0	20,711
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Rice

See also: 2023 Rice Owls football team

Rice Owls at South Florida Bulls – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rice	7	7	7	8	29
South Florida	3	10	14	15	42

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	3	4	Total
Bulls	7	16	7	14	44
Midshipmen	14	6	3	7	30

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