USF football looks to build on turnaround season

Flashback: Hired after a one-win disaster, Coach Alex Golesh led the Bulls to a 7-6 record in 2023, USF's first winning season in five years.

• Golesh is the Bulls' eighth coach since 2003. He came to USF after a run as offensive coordinator for the University of Tennessee.

Zoom in: The Bulls are back with 18 of their 22 starters from December's Boca Raton Bowl, where the team crushed Syracuse, 45-0.

• Quarterback Byrum Brown and wide receiver Sean Atkins are among the Bulls' key returning players.
• Brown racked up 26 touchdowns, and set a USF season record with over 3,200 passing yards last season.

What we're watching: USF goes up against No. 5 Alabama on Sept. 7, the third time in program history. Last season, the Bulls held their own against the Crimson Tide, keeping the score to a respectable 17-3.

• ESPN has highlighted USF vs. Tulane on Sept. 28 and USF vs. Memphis on Oct. 11 as two of 2024's top five games in the AAC.

• The Tampa Bay Times picked Memphis as the favorite to clinch the AAC championship, predicting USF would be the conference's runner-up.
• The Bulls will also go head-to-head with two Sunshine State rivals this season: the Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 11 and Florida Atlantic on Nov. 1.