American college football season
The 2019 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Bulls were led by third-year head coach Charlie Strong and played their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida . They competed as members of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference . They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in AAC play to finish in fourth place in the East Division.
On December 2, head coach Charlie Strong was fired.[1] He finished at South Florida with a three-year record of 21–16.
Previous season
In 2018 , South Florida began the year with seven consecutive victories, but lost their remaining six games, becoming the first team in FBS history to do so.[2] This was achieved after a loss to Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl .
Preseason
Coaching changes
In January 2019, South Florida hired Kerwin Bell as their new offensive coordinator, replacing Sterlin Gilbert , who left to take the head coaching job at McNeese State . Bell had spent the previous three seasons as the head coach at Valdosta State , where he led the school to an NCAA Division II national title in 2018.[3]
AAC media poll
The AAC media poll was released on July 16, 2019, with the Bulls predicted to finish third in the AAC East Division.[4]
Media poll (East)
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
UCF
169 (19)
2
Cincinnati
157 (11)
3
USF
107
4
Temple
101
5
East Carolina
66
6
UConn
30
Pre-season award watch lists
Heading into the 2019 season, five Bulls were named to various award watch lists: Blake Barnett (Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award),[5] Coby Weiss (Lou Groza Award),[6] Marcus Norman (Outland Trophy),[7] Mike Hampton (Jim Thorpe Award),[8] and Mitchell Wilcox (John Mackey Award).[9]
Schedule
South Florida's 2019 schedule will begin with three non-conference games: at home against Wisconsin of the Big Ten Conference , then on the road against Georgia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and then at home again against South Carolina State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Their fourth non-conference game will be played at home against BYU , a football independent , after the start of the conference schedule. In American Athletic Conference play, the Bulls will play the other members of the East Division and draw Memphis , Navy , and SMU from the West Division. They will not play Houston , Tulane , or Tulsa as part of the regular season.
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance 7:00 p.m. No. 19 Wisconsin * ESPN L 0–4946,704
September 7 2:00 p.m. at Georgia Tech * ACCN L 10–1446,599
September 14 6:00 p.m. South Carolina State * Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPN3 W 55–1631,368
September 28 4:00 p.m. SMU Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPNU L 21–4828,850
October 5 12:00 p.m. at UConn CBSSN W 48–2218,038
October 12 3:30 p.m. BYU * Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL CBSSN W 27–2335,375
October 19 3:30 p.m. at Navy CBSSN L 3–3529,774
October 26 3:45 p.m. at East Carolina ESPNU W 45–2033,088
8:00 p.m. Temple Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPN L 7–1726,214
November 16 7:00 p.m. No. 17 Cincinnati Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL CBSSN L 17–2029,112
November 23 4:00 p.m. No. 18 Memphis Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPNU L 10–4925,136
8:00 p.m. at UCF ESPN L 7–3445,216
Source:[10]
Game summaries
Wisconsin
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 19 Badgers
7
21
14
7
49
Bulls
0
0
0
0
0
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
0–1
Sept. 27, 2014
L , 10–27
at Georgia Tech
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
3
0
0
7
10
Yellow Jackets
0
14
0
0
14
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
1–0
Sept. 8, 2018
W , 49–38
South Carolina State
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulldogs
3
0
6
7
16
Bulls
7
17
17
14
55
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
First meeting
SMU
1
2
3
4
Total
Mustangs
14
20
7
7
48
Bulls
0
0
7
14
21
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
3–1
Nov. 19, 2016
W , 35–27
at UConn
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
7
20
7
14
48
Huskies
0
14
0
8
22
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
11–5
Oct. 20, 2018
W , 38–30
BYU
1
2
3
4
Total
Cougars
3
13
7
0
23
Bulls
0
7
7
13
27
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
First meeting
at Navy
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
0
3
0
0
3
Midshipmen
7
14
0
14
35
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
1–1
Oct. 28, 2016
W , 52–45
at East Carolina
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
14
21
3
7
45
Pirates
7
3
0
10
20
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
8–1
Sept. 22, 2018
W , 20–13
Temple
1
2
3
4
Total
Owls
0
7
7
3
17
Bulls
0
0
7
0
7
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
2–3
Nov. 17, 2018
L , 17–27
Cincinnati
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 17 Bearcats
0
0
10
10
20
Bulls
7
3
7
0
17
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
7–9
Nov. 10, 2018
L , 23–35
Memphis
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 18 Tigers
7
21
14
7
49
Bulls
10
0
0
0
10
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
4–5
Nov. 12, 2016
W , 49–42
at UCF
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
0
0
7
0
7
Knights
7
17
7
3
34
Overall record
Last meeting
Result
6–4
Nov. 23, 2018
L , 10–38
References
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