Most of the college football preview sites are keeping USF at an arm's length, not wanting to appear too bullish on the first year of the Brian Hartline era.
Noted college football analyst Phil Steele even had the Bulls ranked seventh among American Conference teams. That seemed a bit harsh, but I get it. While nearly everyone agrees that Hartline and his staff had an impressive haul on paper from the Transfer Portal, it is a fact that the Bulls have just one returning defensive starter and two returnees on offense.
College Football News gave USF an 8-4 record, but also called the early season game at Bowling Green a 50-50 tossup. Seriously?
Athlon magazine slotted the Bulls in sixth place.
You get the idea. The pundits see basically an entirely new roster and coaching staff and they want to see if the Bulls can prove their doubts are wrong.
Fair enough.
But there is one national guy who zigs while the others zag.
College football analyst CF Budge foresees an 11-2 season for USF. He didn't do a game-by-game breakdown, but I'll guess he sees the Bulls with a two-loss regular season followed by a bowl victory.
He also put USF in his list of 10 teams that had the best off-seasons.
Here are the 10 College Football teams that had the best off-seasons.
— CFBudge (@CF_Budge) July 1, 2026
Which of these teams did the best job preparing for 2026? pic.twitter.com/uz8kB5IVfi
He noted, "Brian Hartline showed this off-season why he was such a hot commodity as a head coach, building a top-notch staff and landing big-time talent to Tampa. This will be one of the top rosters in the American and is perfectly capable of winning the league."
He seems to really like the defense.
"East Carolina defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge left his post with the Pirates to lead the Bulls’ defense this year. Aldridge turned in a very impressive 2025 campaign and is a huge addition to the staff," he wrote.
"Things start up front for this D-line with power conference transfers Ohio State DE C.J. Hicks, West Virginia DT Asani Redwood, and Duke’s Terry Simmons Jr. These additions put South Florida’s defensive front ahead of schedule.
"For what the Bulls lack in experience at LB, they make up for with upside. Players like Florida transfer Grayson Howard and Oregon State’s Shamar Meikle will be counted on this year.
South Florida’s secondary looks loaded with standouts Za’Quan Bryan and Amarion Fortenberry from Minnesota and Kansas State, respectively. The Bulls also added transfers with starting experience, including Georgia Southern's Ayden Jackson."
He also picks UTSA to finish 11-2, and it's worth noting that he ranked the Roadrunners as the American's top team following spring practice.
Well, it's something to talk about, which is the purpose of prediction content this close to the start of training camp. The American Conference football media days are July 24-25 in St. Petersburg. That's just three weeks away from more prediction content -- specifically the coach's poll.
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