#18 South Florida (6-1; 3-0 American) at Memphis (6-1; 2-1 American)
Saturday, October 25 • 12 PM ET • Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (58,325) • Memphis, Tenn.
SURFACE: AstroTurf
TV: ESPN2: Matt Schumacker(P-by-P), Sam Acho (Analyst) & Taylor Davis (Sideline)
RADIO: Q105 FM & Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Memphis leads, 9-4
IN TAMPA: Memphis leads, 4-1
IN MEMPHIS: Memphis leads, 4-2
LAST TIME: Memphis 21, USF 3 in 2024 in Orlando
VS AMERICAN: 41-58, won 7 of last 9
AMERICAN ROAD GAMES:18-29, won last at UNT
GAMES ON ESPNU: 30-19, lost last at Tulane (45-10)
VS RANKED: 13-40
LAST VS. RANKED: W, 18-16 at #13 Florida, 9/6/25
SOUTH FLORIDA GAME NOTES
USF at Memphis. It's an awfully big game.
But to head coach Alex Golesh, it's a big game because it's the next game.
While the outside world deals in speculation, projections and what it all might mean way down the road, Golesh has his No. 18-ranked Bulls (6-1, 3-0 American Conference) focused solely on Saturday afternoon's road meeting against the Memphis Tigers (6-1, 2-1) at the Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl stadium.
Time for USF to make the ultimate statement in the American Conference race.
"I don't think you make statements in in one-game sets,'' Golesh said during his Tuesday news conference. "I think you make statements by just being really, really consistent and playing to the best of your ability every week. But I do know it's our next one. It's the only one. Like I told our guys, there are no 'do-over's' and there are no 'my bad's.' We've got to continue playing high-level football and showing we can do it, week-in and week-out, week-in and week-out, again and again.
"Everybody is beat up. Everybody is hurt. Everybody is tired. But it's the end of October and you're playing meaningful football games. It's also really meaningful for Memphis, for our conference and nationally. Man, is this not everything that you hoped you would build up to at this point? It's the only opportunity we have in front of us. I try not to build up one game over another. As we've seen continually this season, it doesn't matter who you are, if you don't play well, you can get beat.''
The Memphis Tigers should know that well.
With an unbeaten record and a national ranking, the Tigers were ambushed 31-24 last Saturday at UAB, which played with an interim head coach after the firing of Trent Dilfer.
Against UAB, the Tigers lost their starting quarterback, former Colorado and Nevada player Brendon Lewis (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), to injury. They finished with highly touted freshman AJ Hill (6-4, 215), who made his college debut by going 13-for-25 with 175 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Bulls aren't sure which QB they will see.
"The quarterback situation for them, I imagine, is fluid,'' Golesh said. "The starter, I think, has done a really good job as a veteran presence who seems to have control of the offense. He's a grown man. He doesn't get sacked. He can get out of trouble. He looks savvy back there and scrambles with his eyes downfield.''
Lewis has completed 69.5-percent of his passes (114-for-164) for 1,337 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Lewis is also the team's second-leading rusher (440 yards, seven touchdowns, 5.1-yard average).
Hill, meanwhile, was a four-star prospect from Warner Robins, Ga., and a familiar face for USF coaches on the recruiting trail.
"An uber-talented freshman,'' Golesh said. "Big and athletic with a cannon (arm). They each present a unique challenge. It's going to start with stopping the running game and being able to affect the quarterback, as it does every single week.''
Memphis, which gives an option look, has a powerful running game with Sutton Smith (480 yards, six touchdowns, 6.4) and Greg Desrosiers Jr. (389, five touchdowns, 6.8). The Tigers average 221.6 yards on the ground, which ranks 15th nationally.
The Tigers also have the nation's 40th-ranked defense, allowing just 335.1 yards per game.
The Bulls enter with their first four-game winning streak in seven years and the chance to begin conference play at 4-0 for only the second time in program history (2017).
Quarterback Byrum Brown continues to set a torrid pace. He has four straight games with at least three touchdown passes — the longest such streak in USF history and he ranks sixth nationally by accounting for 18.9 points per game.
Playing without injured running back Cartevious Norton and wide receiver Chas Nimrod, the Bulls still rolled up 522 total yards in last Saturday night's 48-13 Homecoming victory against the Florida Atlantic Owls. USF's defense got its 17th turnover — an interception by B-backer Rico Watson — and that figure leads the nation. The defense also had five sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.
Now the Bulls face an even bigger test at Memphis, which they haven't defeated since 2016 (four straight losses).
It's the next game, which makes it a big game.
"It feels like each one this season has been big in its own way and this one (against Memphis) is certainly in the same breath,'' Golesh said. "They're all critically important. I just want our team and our entire operation to work as hard as possible to make sure we never beat ourselves and we play at the highest clip we possibly can.
"It's the same message since the day we got here. We truly only worry about our process and our day-to-day. There is no looking forward to anything. Because if you don't take care of business right now, then there's nothing to look forward to.
"The really good football teams I've been a part of operate on a day-to-day basis, regardless of the opponent, regardless of any sort of situation. What better proof do you need than what the team we're playing (Memphis) went through last week (losing at UAB). Is Memphis a worse team because they beat by UAB? I mean, they're still the same team. They're still the same players. But it's truly a mindset that you can go take care of your business today … and only today matters.''
–#GoBulls–
