Bulls No. 21 in Final AP Top 25 Poll
TAMPA, JAN. 9, 2018 – The USF football team (10-2; 6-2 American) was ranked in the final AP Top 25 Poll of the season for the second straight year, extending its school-record run of poll appearances to 20 straights weeks, which stands as the longest active streak in the state of Florida.
USF checked in at No. 21 in the final AP Top 25 after closing out its second straight 10-win season with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23. The Bulls, making their third straight bowl appearance, posted back-to-back bowl victories for the first time since a run of three straight bowl wins from 2008 to 2010. It marked the first time in program history the Bulls won 10 or more games in consecutive seasons. USF finished No. 19 in the final 2016 AP Top 25 after posting an 11-2 mark. USF is 21-4 over the last two seasons and is one of just 14 programs nationally to have won 20 or more games over that span and the only one in the state of Florida.
USF was one of three American Athletic Conference teams to be ranked in the final 2017 AP Top 25 and was joined by No. 6 UCF (13-0) and No. 25 Memphis (10-3). USF, UCF and Miami (No. 13) were the three teams from the state of Florida in the final 2017 AP Top 25. USF's run of 20 straight appearances in either the AP or Amway Coaches Poll is the longest active streak in the state of Florida. The entire AP Top 25 Polls can be seen here:
https://collegefootball.ap.org/poll .
The Bulls' 2018 signing class is currently ranked No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference and 45th nationally by Rivals, while 247Sports ranks 21of the Bulls' 24 signees as three-star recruits.
USF will return six starters on offense for 2018, including three of its top four receivers and three offensive line starters, led by second team all-conference pick
Marcus Norman (Sebastian) at right tackle. On defense, USF will return five starters, including defensive end
Greg Reaves (Bradenton), who led the Bulls with 14.0 tackles for loss in 2017, and three starters in the secondary.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF, which was ranked No. 21 in the final 2017 AP Top 25 Poll, is one of just 13 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and is in the midst of a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. The Bulls won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and have posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 28 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 32 first-team all-conference selections.
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- #GoBulls –
