USF (2-1; 0-0 American) vs. #8 Miami (3-0; 0-0 ACC)
Saturday, Sept. 21 • 7:00 P.M. • Raymond James Stadium (65,000) • Tampa, Fla.
SURFACE: Natural, Bermuda
TV: ESPN: Bob Wischusen (P-by-P), Louis Riddick (analyst)  & Kris Budden (sideline)
AUDIO: 102.5 FM, 102.5-HD2 The Strike; TuneIn (Bulls Unlimited); 
SERIES: Miami Leads, 5-1
IN TAMPA: Miami leads, 3-0
IN MIAMI: Miami Leads, 2-1
LAST TIME: Miami won, 49-21, in '13 in Tampa
VS RANKED: 11-39, lost last 17  Last: L, 42-16 at #4 Alabama, '24 Home: 7-21; 
LAST RANKED WIN: 2016, 52-45 vs. #22 Navy
USF GAME NOTES

No one can deny that the South Florida Bulls will be presented Saturday night with an electrifying occasion — and a potentially program-changing opportunity.

When the No. 8-ranked Miami Hurricanes (3-0) take on South Florida (2-1) before what's expected to be a crowd of over 15,000 USF students and in the 60,000-range overall at Raymond James Stadium, head coach Alex Golesh said the Bulls' path to success will be paved by the program's usual standards — preparation, composure and execution.

"I'm not naive,'' Golesh said during his Tuesday news conference. "I know Miami is a top-10 team and it's the second time we're playing a top-10 team (along with No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 7) in four weeks. They're coming to our place. It's going to be an incredible environment. The students are incredibly fired up. I think our alums are incredibly fired up. I think this university is incredibly fired up.

"I try not to signify moments in our journey as one moment being bigger than the next moment. You attack the moments as they come. Yeah, it would be really big for us to go get a win, but it would be big for them (Miami) to get a win, too. I try not to think about the outcome or result, because we can only control what we do today and how we attack it. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a big game.''

It's big for so many reasons:

* USF can claim its fourth victory against a top-10 ranked Football Bowl Subdivision opponent (No. 5 West Virginia in 2007, No. 7 West Virginia in 2006 and No. 9 Louisville in 2005). It would also be USF's first win against a ranked opponent since 2016 (No. 22 Navy).

* It would be one of the biggest non-conference wins in school history, giving the Bulls a nice bargaining chip should they be in contention for the American Athletic Conference championship and a potential spot in the College Football Playoff.

* It's huge for state bragging rights and recruiting (Golesh said nearly 200 prospects will attend Saturday night's game). The Bulls have claimed road victories at Florida State (2009) and Miami (2010), while falling just short at Florida (31-28) in 2022.

For Bulls players, motivation will not be a problem.

"This is what you live for,'' said B-backer Jason Vaughn, a native of Miami. "This is the stage that you like to be on and that you like to showcase your talent on. It's definitely a great opportunity.''

"Packing out Ray-Jay will be awesome and I love that the fans will be very excited,'' quarterback Byrum Brown said. "But we're really focusing on our inner circle, the people within that locker room. That's our main focus, along with our process and having the right preparation and execution to be successful in this game.''

As much as Golesh wants to maintain a normal week of preparation, even he admits that different challenges are presented when the Hurricanes come to town.

"The distractions are real,'' Golesh said. "There's more media attention. There's a lot more on social media. There are families (of the players) coming in. We've been two straight weeks on the road, where we've been kind of isolated. I love that, where you're in your own little bubble.

"Now there's all sorts of noise coming at you and that's what happens when your team becomes relevant enough to have a game like this. For us, the next step in our growth is to be able to block it all out. Stay the heck off social media. Trust your inner circle, which is your coaches and teammates. Go day-to-day. It's hard for us to do as adults. It's really hard for 18-to-23-year-olds.''

Golesh described USF-Miami as "a really fun matchup'' that features two high-powered offenses and two opportunistic defenses. The featured players — and the likely focus of ESPN's pregame buildup — are the quarterbacks, USF's Brown and Miami's Cam Ward.

Ward (6-foot-2, 223 pounds) has started 47 games in college football, spanning his career stops at Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami. Ward's efforts are aided by two supreme playmakers — running back Damien Martinez (who rushed for 1,185 yards last season at Oregon State) and wide receiver Xavier Restrepo (who set school records last season with 85 receptions and 1,092 yards).

"Cam Ward is a really, really confident young man and it looks like he has incredible command of the offense,'' Golesh said. "Byrum and Cam Ward are two different guys in a lot of ways, but the similar thing is they've both played a ton of football. They don't panic. They've been there, done that.

"I think they are both special players and future pros. It's the maturity and experience you see in those guys. They've been through the battle. Both will have great seasons and they will present big challenges to the defenses.''

Golesh praised Miami's defensive improvement, especially up front because "what that front looks like and what it plays like is a lot better and a big difference from a year ago.''

Meanwhile, USF's defense ranks eighth nationally in turnovers forced (8), a quality that is appreciated by Golesh.

"There are years when you have errant balls thrown and you get a pick here, a pick there, and it just happens that way,'' Golesh said. "We're having a year where through three games we are forcing turnovers, forcing bad balls and forcing fumbles by being physical and violent at the point of attack.

"That has been us this year. We've finished plays and created turnovers. We're ahead in the turnover margin by so much that it's giving us a chance in every game. I think both defenses are playing lights-out right now. Both offenses are playing lights-out. I think this is going to be a fun matchup.''

–#GoBulls–