BULLS FOOTBALL TAMPA, FLORIDA 22Nd SEASON • 14 WINNING SEASONS • 9 BOWL APPEARANCES • 6 BOWL VICTORIES • 30 NFL DRAFT PICKS • 14 ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS • REACHED NO
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@USFFOOTBALL Aug. 27, 2018 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS FOOTBALL TAMPA, FLORIDA 22nd SEASON • 14 WINNING SEASONS • 9 BOWL APPEARANCES • 6 BOWL VICTORIES • 30 NFL DRAFT PICKS • 14 ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS • REACHED NO. 2 RANKING IN 2007 2018 USF GAME NOTES GAME 1 • ELON USF DRIVE STARTERS USF (0-0; 0-0 American) vs. Elon (0-0; 0-0 Colonial) Sat., Sept. 1 • 6:00 P.M. • Tampa, Fla. • Raymond James Stadium 4 USF opens 22nd season of football/19th at FBS level (65,857) with an opponent from inaugural 1997 season. SURFACE: Natural (Tifway Bermuda) USF TV: ESPN3: Drew Fellios (p-by-p) & Forrest 4 16-5 in season openers, looking to win 5th straight. RANKINGS (AP/COACHES): .......................... NR/NR Conoly (analyst) 4 Bulls’ program record streak of 20 straight weeks HEAD COACH: .......Charlie Strong (C. Arkansas, ‘82) AUDIO: USF Radio Network (820 AM) RECORD AT USF: ......................................10-2 (2nd) ranked ends with 2018 preseason AP & Coaches Polls. AUDIO STREAM: iHeartRadio Bulls Unlimited CAREER RECORD: .................................63-39 (10th) 4 Bulls to debut just 15th starting QB at USF. SERIES: USF leads, 2-1 4 Charlie Strong and entire coaching staff return for IN TAMPA: USF leads, 2-0, last W, 28-13 in ‘07 ELON Elon leads, 1-0, last W, 41-13 in ‘97 second season, OC & DC return for first time in six and IN ELON: RANKINGS (FCS Coaches): ............13 (Preseason) LAST: USF won, 28-13, in Tampa in 2007 four seasons, respectively. HEAD COACH: ............Curt Cignetti (W. Virginia, ‘82) RECORD AT ELON: ......................................8-4 (2nd) 4 USF to replace 13 starters, including record-setting CAREER RECORD: ...................................61-21 (8th) QB Flowers & all-time leading tackler Sanchez. @USFFOOTBALL @COACHSTRONG_USF @USFATHLETICS #HORNSUP #GOBULLS #BULLSTRONG 4 USF rushing offense ranked in the Top 10 nationally each of the last 3 seasons. 2018 SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT KICK/RESULT TV NOTABLE Sat., Sept. 1 ELON 6:00 p.m. ESPN3 USF leads 2-1, last meeting in 2007 USF STATISTICAL LEADERS (returners) RUN: Cronkrite, 145 yds, 1 TD (2016 at Florida) Elon 8-4 in 2017, ranked as high as #7 in FCS in 2017 Sat., Sept. 8 GEORGIA TECH 12:00 p.m. ABC First-ever meeting PASS: Kean, 64 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT, 63.6% USF 7-10 vs. ACC; Georgia Tech 5-6 (4-4 ACC) in 2017 REC: McCants, 36 rec., 686 yds, 7 TD, 19.1 ypc Sat., Sept. 15 at Illinois (Soldier Field, Chicago) 3:30 p.m. BTN USF won 47-23 last year in Tampa SCORING: McCants, 42 pts, 7 TD Illinois went 2-10 (0-9 Big Ten) in 2017 TACKLES: Sawtelle, 54 Sat., Sept. 22 ECU TBD TBD USF won, 61-31, at ECU last year TFL: Reaves, 14.0 ECU went 3-9 (2-6 AAC) in 2017 SACKS: Reaves, 4.0 Sat., Oct. 6 at UMass 3:30 p.m. TBD UMass 4-8 in 2017 INT: Wilkins, 3.0 1st meeting, last year’s game cancelled due to hurricane USF CAPTAINS: Game-by-game Fri., Oct. 12 at Tulsa 7:00 p.m. ESPN USF won, 27-20, in Tampa in 2017 Tulsa went 2-10 (1-7 AAC) in 2017 USF RADIO NETWORK Sat., Oct. 20 UCONN (Homecoming) TBD TBD UConn went 3-9 (2-6 AAC) in 2017 FLAGSHIP: 820 AM WWBA (TAMPA) USF has won 6 straight, W, 37-20, in 2017 Sat., Oct. 27 at Houston TBD TBD UH won, 28-24, in Tampa in 2017 IHEART RADIO (DIGITAL) - BULLS UNLIMITED Houston went 7-5 (5-2 AAC) in 2017 Jim Louk, play-by-play Sam Barrington, analyst Sat., Nov. 3 TULANE (Salute to Service) TBD TBD USF won, 34-28, at Tulane last year Joey Johnston, sideline Tulane went 5-7 (3-5 AAC) in 2017 PREGAME SHOW (2 HRS PRIOR TO KICK) Sat., Nov. 10 at Cincinnati TBD TBD UC went 4-8 (2-6 AAC) in 2017 Jim Lighthall, Rock Riley & Darek Sharp USF won last three, W, 33-3, in 2017 USF RADIO AFFILIATES Sat., Nov. 17 at Temple TBD TBD Temple went 7-6 (4-4 AAC) in 2017 820 AM WWBA – Tampa Bay ** ** Carry Coaches Show USF won, 43-7, in Tampa in 2017 98.3 FM WWRZ - Central Florida 96.7 FM WMTB - Tampa Bay Fri., Nov. 23 UCF (War on I-4) TBD TBD UCF went 13-0, finished No. 6 in 2017 1070 AM WKII – Ft. Myers/Port Charlotte** USF leads War on I-4, 6-3, UCF won, 49-42, last year Sat., Dec. 1 AAC Championship TBD ABC/ESPN played at home site * American Athletic Conference game All games can be heard on the USF Radio Network and GoUSFBulls.com FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @USFFOOTBALL, @CoachStrong_USF GAME DAY VS ELON Instagram: USFFOOTBALL USF opens its 22nd season of football against an opponent the Bulls faced in their very first season. USF and Elon Facebook: facebook.com/SouthFloridaFootball met in the sixth game of the Bulls’ inaugural season of 1997 with USF falling, 41-13, at Elon. USF was playing as an FCS independent and went on to a 5-6 record under head coach Jim Leavitt. The Bulls would go 8-3 the following #GoBulls; #HornsUp; #BullStrong year and transition to the FBS level in 2000. Elon has played the Bulls in Raymond James Stadium twice, falling 35-7 in 1998 and 28-13 in 2007. USF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS n ON A ROLL: USF has gone 21-4 over the last two seasons, including 8-1 in out-of-conference games (two bowls) 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ATH 100, Tampa, FL 33620 with the only loss coming to No. 13 Florida State in 2016. USF was ranked in the Top 25 for a program record 20 OFFICE: 813-974-2125 WEB: GoUSFBulls.com straight weeks. The Bulls have posted a 16-3 record in Raymond James Stadium over the past three years. USF will Brian Siegrist, Associate AD for Communications replace 13 starters from 2017 and look to continue the most successful run in program history, 29-9 (76.3) since 2015. O: (813) 974-4086 | C: (813)-293-3897 | [email protected] n SEASON OPENERS: USF has won four straight season openers, with the last loss coming in 2013 to McNeese Jay D’Abramo Asst. Director of Communications State in then head coach Willie Taggart’s inaugural campaign. The Bulls are 16-5 all-time in season openers and are O: (813) 974-7099 | C: 813-210-7333 | [email protected] 14-1 in season openers played at home, with 2013 being the only loss. The Bulls went 7-0 to open the 2017 season, setting a program record for wins to begin a season. n THE AMERICAN’S TOP D RETURNS: USF led the American Conference in seven key defensive categories in 2017, including total, scoring, rushing, pass efficiency, sacks, tackles for loss and interceptions. 2018 USF GAME NOTES GAME 1 • ELON USF QUICK FACTS LAST TIME OUT HEAD COACH CHARLIE STRONG BULLS DOWN TEXAS TECH FOR SECOND STRAIGHT BOWL VICTORY Years Coached: ________ 10th season (2nd at USF) The last pass of record-breaking quarterback Quinton Flowers career found Tyre McCants for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 Alma Mater: ______________ Central Arkansas, ‘82 seconds to play to bring the Bulls from behind for a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech in the 2017 Birmingham Bowl. Flowers __________ three-time all-conference defensive back was named the game’s MVP for the second straight season and the Bulls went on to finish the season ranked No. 21 in Career Record: ____________________63-39 (10th) the final polls. Flowers finished his career with 42 USF records and as The American’s career total offense leader (11,802). n Flowers delivered a pair of TD passes in the final 4:26 to lead the USF comeback victory as the Bulls scored 21 fourth Record at USF: _____________________ 10-2 (2nd) quarter points after trailing 24-17 going into the final period and 34-31 with 1:31 to play. American Conf. Record: _________6-2; 2nd season n Flowers threw of 311 yards and four TD and ran for 106 yards and one TD to post 417 total yards on the day to outduel Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek, who threw for 416 yards and three TD. Career Bowl Record:______________________ 4-3 n Ronnie Hoggins led the Bulls with nine tackles while future NFL third-round draft pick Deadrin Senat logged three sacks. n Jaymon Thomas grabbed one of the Bulls’ two interceptions, with senior Devin Abraham getting the other. USF COACHING STAFF (game location) n USF posted 561 yards of total offense, including 250 on the ground led by Flowers 106 yards. Texas Tech posted 549 Brian Jean-Mary (Field) Def. Coord. /Asst. HC/LBs total yards, 416 coming through the air on 59 pass attempts. Sterlin Gilbert (Field) Off. Coord./QBs n Both teams logged 10 penalties in the game for 100 yards or more. Blue Adams (Press Box) Defensive Backs Justin Burke (Press Box) Tight Ends/Special Teams QUICKLY SPEAKING Damon Cogdell (FIeld) Defensive Ends ranked second in yards and receptions in 2017, posting Sean Cronin (Press Box) Defensive Tackles USF TEAM n USF is 21-4 over the last two seasons and has won 36 catches for 686 yards and 7 TD. He brings 68 recep- Shaun King (Field) Running Backs 28 of it last 33 games (84.8%), the winningest era of tions for 1,234 yards and 13 TD into his senior year. He Matt Mattox (Field) Offensive Line/Run Game USF football that includes a program-record run of of 20 set the USF game record with 227 yards on nine catches Tommy Restivo (Field) Safeties straight weeks ranked in the Top 25, three straight bowl at UCF in 2017.