Bulls Ride Wave of Unprecedented Success Into 2018
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, JULY 25, 2018 – After posting back-to-back bowl wins over Power Five foes, USF football is determined to continue its run of unprecedented success in 2018.
That success has resulted in USF being one of only three teams in the NCAA with at least 20 wins and two bowl victories over the last two season. Despite losing 13 starters and replacing the most productive quarterback in program history, the Bulls were picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference East Division and received five first-place votes in the preseason poll released on Tuesday. The Bulls also received three votes to claim the overall league title.
Individually heading into 2018, junior tackle
Marcus Norman has been named to the Outland Trophy Watch List, the award given annually to the nation's most outstanding interior lineman, and junior
Mitchell Wilcox was selected to the Mackey Award Watch List, which is presented to the most outstanding tight end in the NCAA.
"We are not short on talent," USF head coach
Charlie Strong said at American Conference Media Days. "It's a matter now of players playing up to their ability and it's about developing leadership. Someone within this senior class has to step up and become the leader we are looking for."
Strong, along with seniors
Ronnie Hoggins,
Tyre McCants and
Eric Mayes and junior
Kirk Livingstone convened in Newport, R.I., on Monday and Tuesday for the The American Summer Kickoff and Media Days at Gurney's Newport Resort and Marina. The event featured 43 student-athletes and The American's 12 head coaches, and began with an afternoon of photo shoots and television interviews on Monday.
The conference's signature New England-style clambake on the banks of the Narragansett Bay followed later that evening and included live interviews with the American Digital Network.
On Tuesday, Strong took part in the Coaches' Roundtable moderated by ESPN's Kevin Negandhi, while McCants and Hoggins appeared live on SiriusXM's ESPNU Radio hosted by Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated and Ralph Russo of the Associated Press. Other breakout sessions throughout the two days provided local, regional and national media with opportunities to speak with Strong and all four of the USF student-athletes.
"We're still building this program and we can see how successful we can be," McCants told the American Digital Network on Tuesday. "We've all bought in to the expectations that continue to rise. This team and program is in a really good place."
The Bulls will hit the practice fields once again on Aug. 3 when fall camp opens. USF's home opener against Elon on Sept. 1 will mark the beginning of the Bulls' second season under Strong, who guided the program to a 10-2 finish in 2017 and a thrilling Birmingham Bowl victory over Big 12 foe Texas Tech.
"You get a jumpstart for next year," said Strong after the bowl victory. "You get to move forward now and guys have something to really build on."
Entering its 22
nd season, USF football already has created lots of program-building momentum, especially in the past two years. USF has posted a 21-4 record since 2016 and is one of only three programs in the nation to have generated 20 or more wins and a pair of bowl victories during that time span.
Sustained success helped the Bulls finish 2017 ranked No. 21 in the final AP and Coaches Polls, which was the second straight year USF wrapped up the season in top 25. The final 2017 ranking helped USF continue a program-record run of 20 straight weeks appearing in the national top 25.
"We're on an uprise. This has become a great place," said Mayes.
Mayes is one of USF's 11 returning starters and 41 lettermen back for the 2018 season that's primed to be packed with more memorable moments.
After Elon, USF will face ACC opponent Georgia Tech for the first time at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 8, followed by a matchup against Big Ten foe Illinois at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 15. One week later, the Bulls begin conference play against East Carolina back at Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 22.
USF owns the best conference record of any league team in the past three seasons, going 19-5 in American Athletic Conference games during the stretch. USF has a 10-2 record in home conference games the past three years and more exciting AAC clashes are in store for fans visiting Ray Jay this year.
Following the homecoming game against UConn (Oct. 20) and a home test against Tulane (Nov. 3), USF will finish off the regular season with a highly anticipated War on I-4 clash with UCF on Friday, Nov. 23. USF racked up 653 yards of offense in last season's rivalry game at UCF that was deemed college football's game of the year by numerous national news outlets and drew an average total TV audience of 4.7 million viewers, including more than six million in the final half-hour.
"This year, we'll be out for revenge. I know I will," Wilcox said. "Last year was one of the most exciting college football games anyone had ever seen."
Reserve your seats for the continued rise of USF football by purchasing season tickets at
USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
More USF Notables Heading Into 2018
HOME, SWEET HOME: Bulls fans expect to be a part of winning games at Raymond James Stadium and USF has consistently delivered. Since a victory over Syracuse on Oct. 10, 2015, the Bulls have gone 15-2 overall at home, falling to only No. 13 Florida State (2016) and Houston (2017) in that time span.- SEASON TICKET OFFER: New for the 2018 is a $99 season ticket offer, which provides great value for USF's six home games. View all season ticket packages and make purchases at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
- OFFENSE IN OVERDRIVE: The 2017 season marked the second straight year USF ranked in the top 11 nationally in scoring and total offense. The Bulls' 2017 offense ranked No. 6 nationally in total offense (513.0 ypg) and No. 10 in scoring offense (38.3 ppg) on top of ranking eighth nationally in rushing offense (264.1 ypg). USF has ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense in each of the past three seasons. Air Force, Georgia Tech and Navy are the only three other programs to accomplish the top-10 rushing feat in each the last three years.
- DEFENSIVE REVIVAL: In his first year as USF's defensive coordinator, Brian Jean-Mary helped the Bulls rank in the top 25 nationally in six defensive categories, including second in interceptions (20), fifth in tackles for loss (8.4 tpg), 11th in sacks (3.0 spg) and 21st in rushing defense (126.9 ypg). The Bulls went from ranking 120th in total defense (482.0 ypg) and 92nd in scoring defense (31.6) in 2016 to ranking 37th in total defense (359.8 ypg) and 41st in scoring defense (23.5 ppg). Jean-Mary's group led The American in both in scoring and total defense.
STRONG TOPS THE AMERICAN: Head coach Charlie Strong was listed first among his coaching peers in the American Athletic Conference and was among the top three in the state of Florida in rankings of all 130 FBS coaches published by Sporting News. Learn more HERE.
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 is one of just 14 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and has spent 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. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has 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.
Follow @USFFootball on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
- #GoBulls –
