2019_South_Florida_Bulls_football_team
2019 South Florida Bulls football team
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.
| 2019 South Florida Bulls football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | American Athletic Conference |
| Record | 4–8 (2–6 AAC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Kerwin Bell (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Fun and gun |
| Defensive coordinator | Brian Jean-Mary (3rd season) |
| Base defense | 3–3–5 |
| Home stadium | Raymond James Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On December 2, head coach Charlie Strong was fired.[1] He finished at South Florida with a three-year record of 21–16.
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.[2]
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.[3]
| 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 |
Heading into the 2019 season, five Bulls were named to various award watch lists: Blake Barnett (Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award),[4] Coby Weiss (Lou Groza Award),[5] Marcus Norman (Outland Trophy),[6] Mike Hampton (Jim Thorpe Award),[7] and Mitchell Wilcox (John Mackey Award).[8]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 19 Wisconsin* | ESPN | L 0–49 | 46,704 | |
| September 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at Georgia Tech* | ACCN | L 10–14 | 46,599 | |
| September 14 | 6:00 p.m. | South Carolina State* |
| ESPN3 | W 55–16 | 31,368 |
| September 28 | 4:00 p.m. | SMU |
| ESPNU | L 21–48 | 28,850 |
| October 5 | 12:00 p.m. | at UConn | CBSSN | W 48–22 | 18,038 | |
| October 12 | 3:30 p.m. | BYU* |
| CBSSN | W 27–23 | 35,375 |
| October 19 | 3:30 p.m. | at Navy | CBSSN | L 3–35 | 29,774 | |
| October 26 | 3:45 p.m. | at East Carolina | ESPNU | W 45–20 | 33,088 | |
| November 7 | 8:00 p.m. | Temple |
| ESPN | L 7–17 | 26,214 |
| November 16 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 17 Cincinnati |
| CBSSN | L 17–20 | 29,112 |
| November 23 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 18 Memphis |
| ESPNU | L 10–49 | 25,136 |
| November 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at UCF | ESPN | L 7–34 | 45,216 | |
| ||||||
Source:[9]
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 |
- "Charlie Strong fired at South Florida after 3 seasons". December 2019.
- Knight, Joey (January 10, 2019). "Kerwin Bell hired as USF offensive coordinator". Tampa Bay Times.
- Page, Fletcher. "Media picks UCF to win AAC, ranks UC second in East Division". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
- "Barnett Named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- "Weiss Named to Lou Groza Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- "Norman Named to Outland Trophy Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- "Hampton Named to Thorpe Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- "Wilcox Named to Mackey Award Watch List". USF Athletics. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- "2019 USF Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.