Alex Golesh

The Bulls will soon find out if the blowout loss drops them out of the rankings after the bigger and more talented Hurricanes overwhelmed them from the start.

Abdur-Rahim's words, "This ain't the same ol' South Florida, my brother," have become a rallying cry for the Bulls, who are ranked No. 18 going into Saturday's matchup against No. 5 Miami.

With the 2-0 start against ranked teams, the Bulls are emerging as the class of the Group of Five conferences, with spots in the AP and coaches polls. Coach Alex Golesh will point out the season is very young.

Nico Gramatica hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired Saturday to lift the Bulls to an 18-16 upset over the No, 13 Gators, USF's second straight win over a ranked opponent.

USF students, staff and alumni attended alongside elected officials to hear about the new facility and witness the symbolic “turning of soil” signaling the start of construction.

The Bulls' 7-6 record put them over .500 in Alex Golesh's first year as coach − one of the best turnarounds in the nation. The shutout against the undermanned Orange was USF's first since 2009.

The Bulls could finish with a winning record with a win against Syracuse.

Alex Golesh led a Tennessee offense that ranked first in the nation in scoring and yards per game this season, with wins over LSU, Pittsburgh, and — most notably — Alabama.

Golesh came to Tennessee with head coach Josh Heupel in 2021 after the two were coaches at the University of Central Florida in 2019.