2019 South Florida Bulls football team

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.

2019 South Florida Bulls football
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
DivisionEast Division
2019 record4–8 (2–6 The American)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKerwin Bell (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorBrian Jean-Mary (3rd season)
Home stadiumRaymond James Stadium (Capacity: 65,890, grass)
2019 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 21 Cincinnati xy  7 1     11 3  
No. 24 UCF  6 2     10 3  
Temple  5 3     8 5  
South Florida  2 6     4 8  
East Carolina  1 7     4 8  
UConn  0 8     2 10  
West Division
No. 17 Memphis xy$  7 1     12 2  
No. 20 Navy x  7 1     11 2  
SMU  6 2     10 3  
Tulane  3 5     7 6  
Houston  2 6     4 8  
Tulsa  2 6     4 8  
Championship: Memphis 29, Cincinnati 24
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

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)
1UCF169 (19)
2Cincinnati157 (11)
3USF107
4Temple101
5East Carolina66
6UConn30

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.

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.No. 19 Wisconsin*ESPNL 0–4946,704
September 72:00 p.m.at Georgia Tech*ACCNL 10–1446,599
September 146:00 p.m.South Carolina State*
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPN3W 55–1631,368
September 284:00 p.m.SMU
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNUL 21–4828,850
October 512:00 p.m.at UConnCBSSNW 48–2218,038
October 123:30 p.m.BYU*
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
CBSSNW 27–2335,375
October 193:30 p.m.at NavyCBSSNL 3–3529,774
October 263:45 p.m.at East CarolinaESPNUW 45–2033,088
November 78:00 p.m.Temple
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNL 7–1726,214
November 167:00 p.m.No. 17 Cincinnati
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
CBSSNL 17–2029,112
November 234:00 p.m.No. 18 Memphis
  • Raymond James Stadium
  • Tampa, FL
ESPNUL 10–4925,136
November 298:00 p.m.at UCFESPNL 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

at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 3 0 0 7 10
Yellow Jackets 0 14 0 0 14

South Carolina State

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 3 0 6 7 16
Bulls 7 17 17 14 55

SMU

1 2 3 4 Total
Mustangs 14 20 7 7 48
Bulls 0 0 7 14 21

at UConn

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 7 20 7 14 48
Huskies 0 14 0 8 22

BYU

1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 3 13 7 0 23
Bulls 0 7 7 13 27

at Navy

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 0 3 0 0 3
Midshipmen 7 14 0 14 35

at East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 14 21 3 7 45
Pirates 7 3 0 10 20

Temple

1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 0 7 7 3 17
Bulls 0 0 7 0 7

Cincinnati

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 17 Bearcats 0 0 10 10 20
Bulls 7 3 7 0 17

Memphis

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 18 Tigers 7 21 14 7 49
Bulls 10 0 0 0 10

at UCF

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 0 0 7 0 7
Knights 7 17 7 3 34

References

  1. https://www.al.com/sports/2019/12/charlie-strong-fired-at-south-florida-after-3-seasons.html
  2. "Gasparilla Bowl loss caps off USF's horrendous finish to 2018". Yahoo Sports. December 20, 2018.
  3. Knight, Joey (January 10, 2019). "Kerwin Bell hired as USF offensive coordinator". Tampa Bay Times.
  4. Page, Fletcher. "Media picks UCF to win AAC, ranks UC second in East Division". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. "Barnett Named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  6. "Weiss Named to Lou Groza Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  7. "Norman Named to Outland Trophy Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  8. "Hampton Named to Thorpe Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  9. "Wilcox Named to Mackey Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  10. "2019 USF Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
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