Thursday will mark the 247th day since USF last played a football game. That was the iconic five-overtime win over San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl.
Well, we’ve all waited long enough. The long-awaited USF battle with 25th-ranked Boise State is at hand. Let’s take a dive into what’s about to happen.
How to watch: It’s on ESPN with a scheduled 5:30 p.m. kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.
Who are the announcers? Matt Barrie, Tom Luginbill, and Harry Lyles Jr.
Series history: There is none. This is the first time these two programs have met. However, the Bulls will travel to Boise State on September 11, 2027.
What’s the weather? High temperature around 92 degrees with 69 percent humidity. The good news is that rain chances are relatively low. While it’s late August in Tampa and we know what that means, the chance of rain is around 25 percent.
What are the odds: Boise State is favored by 5.5 points on FanDuel.
Everything ya need to know ahead of @USFFootball Week ☝️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/mkQdTmSEs8
— USF Athletics (@USFAthletics) August 27, 2025
Boise State in brief: The Broncos were 12-2 a year ago and received a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They fell to Penn State 31-14. Although record-setting running back Ashton Jeanty is off to the NFL as a No. 1 draft choice, Boise returns 14 starters and five players who were All-Mountain West Conference selections a year ago.
Boise State has the nation’s highest FBS winning percentage at .768 (284-86) since moving up in 1996. Ohio State (.754) is second, and Alabama (.740) is third. The Broncos have won 36 conference championships in program history, including 16 since 1996. They have the nation’s current streak of consecutive winning seasons (27). Put another way, the Broncos have had a winning season every year since the USF football program began in 1997.
USF in brief: This is Year 3 of the Alex Golesh rebuild of a shattered USF program. It has gone well, with consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the Bulls had four straight winning seasons from 2015-18. It should be noted that in 2018, the Charley Strong-coached Bulls started 7-0 and finished 7-6.
The Bulls have won consecutive bowl games for the first time since they won the Birmingham Bowl games in 2016-17.
The 14 wins in two seasons under Golesh is just one win short of the Bulls’ previous five seasons combined before he arrived. Eight wins this season would move him past Strong and into third place among USF coaches’ all-time win totals.
USF has 54 new players since last season, which is half the roster total. The Bulls brought in several players from the Transfer Portal who are expected to add depth and experience to their offensive and defensive lines.
Quarterback Byrum Brown will start his first game since suffering a broken leg last September 28 against Tulane.
Do you think he can make a difference? Boise head coach Spencer Danielson sure does.
“He will be one of the best football players we see all year on either side of the ball,” Danielson told reporters. “Not even just talking one of the best quarterbacks we see, he’s one of the best football players we will see in the 2025 season. I have a ton of respect for him, have done a lot of research on him over the summertime, getting to know more about him. Man, I just have a lot of respect for the young man. His character, how he leads.
“He gets a lot of credit in regards to how he runs the ball, which he should. He can make every throw now, too. I mean, he is big, strong. He’s an NFL quarterback. We will see him play on Sundays here soon, and he’s earned that.”