South Florida (0-0; 0-0 American) vs Boise State (0-0; 0-0 MWC)
Thursday, August 28 • 5:30 P.M. • Raymond James Stadium (65,000) • Tampa, Fla.
SURFACE: Natural, Bermuda Turf Grass
TV: ESPN: Matt Barrie (P-by-P), Tom Luginbill (Analyst) & Harry Lyles Jr. (Reporter)
RADIO: Q105 FM & BullsUnlimited (TuneIn Radio)
SERIES: First Meeting
IN TAMPA: First Meeting
IN BOISE: N/A
LAST TIME: First Meeting
SEASON OPENERS: 20-8, won 2 of last 5, Last: W, 48-3 vs. BCU
HOME OPENERS: 24-4, won 4 of last 5
VS RANKED: 11-40, lost last 18
LAST VS. RANKED: L, 50-15 to #8 Miami, 9/21/24
USF GAME NOTES
The USF Bulls will charge into the 2025 season by playing the nation's most ambitious non-conference schedule and it begins Thursday night with a clash against the No. 25-ranked Boise State Broncos at Raymond James Stadium. As the first game of the evening on a much-anticipated Thursday (5:30 p.m. kickoff) and the lead game of the first full weekend of college football, plenty of eyeballs will be tuned into ESPN's broadcast.
What will the fans see?
According to USF players, a very focused and prepared team will be on display. The Bulls believe they are ready for the challenge as they begin Year Three under head coach Alex Golesh.
"We're feeling great, we're looking great and we're preparing the right way,'' linebacker Mac Harris said. "I want to see us swarm and I want to see us fly around. We're going to be really focused and really dialed-in.''
"I'm really excited,'' said quarterback Byrum Brown, who is making his first start since suffering a season-ending leg injury last Sept. 29 at Tulane. "This group of guys has put in a lot of hard work and we're ready go out on the field and play against some other people.''
In this case, the "other people'' comprise a Boise State program that has stood among the nation's elite for two decades. Last season, the Broncos finished 12-2 and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff.
"It's an awesome way to start the season off,'' Golesh said following Monday morning's rain-soaked practice. "I have so much respect for that Boise State program. You watch that culture on film and you see guys who play extremely hard and guys who play extremely tough.
"They have an offensive line where every guy is a senior or a fifth-year guy and a tight-end group that's probably as good as there is in the entire country. A wideout group that's super experienced. Their running back room is ready to go and they had the best running back in the country (Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty) a year ago. The quarterback (Maddux Madsen) controls the game and is so poised. It's a D-line group that sets the tone, a linebacker core that played a ton of ball last year and they return virtually the entire secondary.
"Man, it's high-end talent. When you combine high-end talent in an elite culture, it's a huge challenge.''
USF is coming off back-to-back 7-6 seasons (including two bowl victories) under Golesh. The Bulls are hoping to take the next step and contend for an American Conference championship, but they must first deal with a season-opening gauntlet that also includes road trips at Florida (Sept. 6) and Miami (Sept. 13), ranked No. 15 and No. 10, respectively, in the Preseason AP Poll.
On a weekend that includes the likes of Texas-Ohio State, Notre Dame-Miami and LSU-Clemson, among others, the national pundits already have described Boise State-USF as a sneaky good game. The winner will receive significant early season attention as a potential College Football Playoff team representing the Group of Five.
"The truth is, I'd be excited no matter who we're playing,'' Golesh said "I get to coach football for a living and I get to coach football at South Florida with an incredible group of guys and a team that has bought into building something really special.
"But to play on Thursday night with a national TV time slot, what I've told our team is this is the first chapter of writing the story of what this season is going to be. Our preparation is the same, no matter who we're playing, but the fact that you get to do it on a national stage is certainly awesome. As we continue to build our brand, it's the next opportunity for us to put it on display. We talked so much this offseason about our identity. It's time that we put this identity that we have preached and worked and lived on display.
"It's time to put it on display for the entire country to see. That means we're physically and mentally the toughest football team on the field, a team that does things the right way, a team that doesn't beat itself.''
Golesh said Boise State is a good example of what can be accomplished with an elite culture.
"That's the standard of what culture and identity should look like,'' Golesh said. "It's a level of consistency and true culture where guys come in, learn from the guys before them, then carry the torch and teach the guys after them.''
The challenge is clear.
And the Bulls say they are ready for all of it — the ESPN stage, the season-opening opportunity and the chance to start 2025 with a bang.
"Can't wait,'' Harris said. "Absolutely can't wait.''
–#GoBulls–
