Bulls scheduled to play seven home games for the first time since 2019
TAMPA, FLA., JAN. 30, 2026 – South Florida football has added a home matchup vs. Kent State to complete the Bulls' 2026 non-conference schedule in head coach Brian Hartline's first season at the helm.
The Bulls will take on the
Golden Flashes on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Raymond James Stadium in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The addition of Kent State gives South Florida seven scheduled home games in 2026, the program's first such slate since the 2019 season. The Bulls went 6-0 at home last season and will be playing their final season in Raymond James Stadium in 2026 before opening a new 35,000-seat on-campus stadium in 2027.
Kent State posted a 5-7 record (4-4 MAC) last year in Mark Carney's first season as head coach.
South Florida will open its 30
th season on
Saturday, Sept. 5 vs. FIU in Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls will also take on
Delaware State on Saturday, Sept. 19 in Tampa and play one non-conference road contest at
Bowling Green on Saturday, Sept. 26.
In American Conference action, South Florida will play home dates vs. Memphis, Tulane, Temple and UAB, while playing road games at Army, FAU, ECU and UTSA. The full 2026 schedule will be announced by the conference in the coming weeks.
2026 South Florida Football Schedule
Sat., Sept. 5 vs. FIU
Sat., Sept. 19 vs. Delaware State
Sat., Sept. 26 at Bowling Green
Sat., Oct. 17 vs. Kent State
Tickets:
Tickets for the Bulls seven home games at Raymond James Stadium during the 2026 season can be reserved by
online or by calling 1-800-GoBulls.
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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The South Florida football program first took the field in 1997 and will play its 30th season in 2026. In 2025, the Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. South Florida completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023, and construction is in progress on $349-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), and 35 first-team all-conference honorees. South Florida has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), tied for the third-most nationally in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. South Florida posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. The Bulls spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the AP rankings during the 2007 season.
