#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
HERD HERE FIRST PREGAME SHOW
BULLSEYE COACHES SHOW
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When the USF Bulls trotted out for practices this week, head coach Alex Golesh was waiting at the entrance. He had the same question for every player.
"Where are you at?''
And the players had the same answer:
"Right here, right now.''
The past is done. The future is unknown. For the No. 18-ranked Bulls (6-1, 3-0 American Conference), the only thing certain is Saturday afternoon's huge road test against the Memphis Tigers (6-1, 2-1) at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
The biggest goals are still ahead for the Bulls. Golesh said he believes his team is properly prepared for the stretch run, which includes a bye week following the trip to Memphis, then four league games in November.
"The locker room in general is so aware of its surroundings and so aware of what's going on in terms of their teammates,'' Golesh said. "There's great accountability. They're very alert and aware. I think the energy level and the attention to detail have been awesome.''
Now it's a matter of putting the best effort on the field and trying to extend USF's four-game winning streak.
Here are the keys to USF defeating Memphis for the first time since 2016:
Start Fast
Kickoff is high noon for East Coast viewers.
Local time? In Memphis, that's 11 a.m., Central Time. Fortunately, USF practices in the morning, so the body-clock adjustment shouldn't be too drastic. And maybe it takes an edge off the home crowd, which won't have the, ahem, lengthy and spirited tailgate preparations that are usually part of a late afternoon/evening game.
But it's going to be different than playing under the lights. It's imperative to create some early energy. That means a fast start.
It will be an early pregame meal and probably a stadium arrival at about 8:30 a.m., local time.
"A big part of it is who's going to come out (with the most energy),'' defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. "With these later starts, we've mostly had to hang out seven or eight hours in the hotels (and preparing with a methodical schedule before game time). You'd think they'd rather just get up and play, but you never know and that's going to be a big deal when we run out onto the field for pregame to see about the mindset. Believe me, this is being addressed big-time.''
Offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said the Bulls didn't perform well the last time a USF game began this early — last season's 45-10 defeat at Tulane — but he believes it will be different this time.
"We're going to need to be ready — and we will be,'' Gordon said. "I don't think there should be any problem having energy early in the football game. We're playing against a really good team in their stadium. That should (fire you up) right there. It's all about the mindset and the preparation leading up to the game.''
USF has begun quite well in two of its last three games, getting the ball first and opening with touchdown drives against Florida Atlantic (12 plays, 75 yards) and Charlotte (six plays, 75 yards).
The Bulls went through the season's first four games without scoring an offensive touchdown in the opening quarter. But in the last three games, USF has outscored its opponents 37-17 in the first frame. Much better.
Stop The Run
We're not certain who Memphis will start at quarterback.
Brendon Lewis, the former Colorado and Nevada player who has joined the Tigers, was injured last Saturday at UAB. That brought on AJ Hill, a four-star freshman from Warner Robins, Ga., who generally gave a good account of himself in his first college action. There's also the wild card of redshirt freshman QB Arrington Maiden, an excellent runner who has seen brief duty.
No matter who the Tigers deploy at QB, it doesn't change the No. 1 assignment for USF's defense.
The Bulls must stop the run — or else there could be problems.
Memphis averages 221.6 yards on the ground, good for 15th nationally. The Tigers rushed for 200-plus yards in each of their first five games, then were held to 119 at UAB. Memphis has 23 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for first nationally with Air Force, North Texas and Texas State.
The Tigers feature junior Sutton Smith (5-foot-9, 185 pounds), who has a team-high 480 yards (6.4-yard average) and six touchdowns, and Greg Desrosiers Jr. (5-11, 200), who has 389 yards (6.8-yard average) and five scores. Desrosiers also has a 90-yard run. Lewis also has been a dangerous factor on the ground with 440 yards (5.1-yard average) and seven touchdowns.
"It's their commitment to the run game, too, which means it doesn't matter what the down and distance is,'' Orlando said. "It's part of their program's DNA and it's why they've always been good. Their running sets up everything they do and it's a mindset. The encouraging thing is we've mostly done a pretty decent job this season against the run.''
USF, in fact, is ranked 29th nationally against the run (allowing just 112.9 yards per game) and that's a massive improvement over recent seasons.
Avoid Mistakes
USF's defense (and special teams) has gained 17 turnovers, which ties for the nation's top spot with North Texas. But Memphis isn't too far behind with 14 (including 10 interceptions).
The Bulls had some rough recent moments with ball security, suffering seven combined turnovers in the games against Charlotte and North Texas. But things were buttoned up nicely against FAU. For the third time this season, the Bulls played a turnover-free game.
"I don't think that's a coincidence at all,'' Gordon said. "You can see the video of us practice last week and it (avoiding turnovers) being a focus. And you can see the video of our game, where we did the same thing.
"It's a personal mindset to take care of the football — and that goes for anyone who touches it. It was still a focus this week. Avoiding turnovers gives you the best chance to win every single week and our guys did a really good job with it. The weird thing about football is you can be really careless with it, and you don't get burned. Or you can do everything right and you do get burned. But at the end of the day, if you stay true to your process and emphasize it, it's going to work out in your favor.''
Win The Special Teams Battle
Sterling special-teams play has been one of USF's brightest spots this season. In six of the seven games, USF's special teams have either scored or done something that directly led to points.
Now comes a new challenge.
USF must contain Memphis junior Sutton Smith, one of the nation's most productive return men. He's averaging 44.3 yards on three kickoff returns (including a 99-yard touchdown at UAB) and 11.1 yards on 10 punt returns. As a sophomore in 2023, Sutton averaged 24.2 yards on 21 kickoff returns, ranking 18th nationally and second in the American.
Last Saturday, FAU punt returner Easton Messer had two attempts for 53 yards and that didn't include a 67-yarder for a touchback that was negated by an illegal-block penalty.
"We're facing another really, really dynamic returner,'' Golesh said. "It's a huge factor of our ability to punt, kick off and the ability to cover. At some point, that will cost us if we don't get it fixed. We've certainly poured a ton into it.''
–#GoBulls–
