South Florida vs. San Jose State
December 24, 8 pm ET | ESPN/ESPN Radio/ESPN Deportes, Honolulu, Hawaii TV announcers: Tiffany Greene, Jay Walker, Marilyn Payne. Radio: Kevin Winter, Trevor Matich
USF takes off on Wednesday for the 4,682-mile flight from Tampa to Honolulu for the Hawai'i Bowl. The flight will take about 12 hours and cross five time zones, and for many of the players and coaches, it will be the trip of a lifetime.
There’s the football game on Christmas Eve with San Jose State, of course, but from a program-building standpoint, there’s a lot more to what’s happening than just the game.
“The challenge I gave to our football team, and really similar to a year ago, I want these guys to enjoy their time off and their time together. The challenge to them was, man, like, don't go out to eat by yourself. Grab a couple of your teammates, grab a couple guys in your position group, grab a couple guys on the other side of the ball,” head coach Alex Golesh said.
“Man, you're gonna go whatever. Play video games. Grab a couple guys with you. Play video games. You're gonna go, go do something fun, go to the movies. Grab a couple of guys with you. I think if you, if you do it right that time, relaxing and having fun. As long as you're continuing to build camaraderie, continue to build trust within your program, I think is super, super beneficial.”
It's a logistical challenge beyond anything USF football has ever known. Like most major college football programs, USF dispatches an equipment truck to carry the necessary gear and supplies for road games. As Golesh wryly noted, however, “Turns out you can’t drive a truck from here to Honolulu.”
Joey Johnston of GoUSFBulls.com had a fascinating story about how complicated and exacting that process was. Once the Bulls arrive in Honolulu, the plan is to keep things as normal as possible during the days leading up to the game.
The game kicks off at 8 p.m. on ESPN, and there won’t be any competition for viewers from the NFL and NBA. The Bulls will have a chance to capture viewers who don’t need to see “It’s A Wonderful Life” for the 20th time.
USF’s version of a wonderful life would be to see a healthy Byrum Brown at quarterback for the first time since September 28. Golesh has said for weeks that Brown has been practicing, but he hasn’t suited up for any games as backup Bryce Archie took over.
However, Golesh gave his strongest hint yet that Brown is ready. And with talented QB Izzy Carter hitting the transfer portal, a healthy Brown would clarify the Bulls’ quarterback situation heading into next year.
“Byrum has known there's going to come a time here where he is 100% healthy. So credit to him that as he's taken reps, as he's taken mental reps, as he's been in the film room, he's prepared like the guy every single week.
“To Bryce's credit, leading up until that point, he's prepared like the guy, as well, the last several weeks and months.”
Golesh added, “Byrum is crazy competitive, like, the second he says, ‘Man, I feel really good.’ And the doctors and the trainers say you're ready to roll. He wants to go. He's eager, like, he knows we're a really good football team when he's out there.”