The late, great John McKay had a standard comment every time the NFL released the schedule for his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“The schedule is the schedule. We will play it,” McKay deadpanned in his typically dry wit.
USF’s Alex Golesh might be tempted to say the same thing now that we know the dates and most of the starting times for the Bulls’ 2025 season. However, I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to retreat to a closed room and let out a primal scream.
Out of USF’s 12-game regular season schedule, one-third of the games are either on a Thursday or Friday. It’s crappy for the fans and taxing on USF’s players and coaches, but unfortunately that’s life in the Group of 5.
It starts with the first game: a 5:30 p.m. kickoff against Boise State on Thursday, August 28.
This one will force fans to make some hard choices. Will they leave work early and fight rush-hour traffic to make it to Raymond James Stadium, only to sit in 90+ degree heat and soaking humidity?
Or, do they bag it and watch the game on ESPN?
USF’s first American Athletic Conference game is on Friday, October 3, against Charlotte.
At least the Bulls will have time to prepare for that one, coming off an open date after playing South Carolina State on September 20. The 49ers, on the other hand, will not have played since September 18 (also a Thursday) when they had a short week to prepare for Rice and their first conference game.
At least USF is not the only AAC team caught in this scheduling mess.
Oh, what the heck. Friday night games are so much fun (if you’re in high school), so why not do it again the following week?
That’s when the Bulls travel to North Texas for their first AAC road game.
The Mean Green will be coming off an open date for that one.
The final scheduled Thursday game (we think) is November 6 at home against UTSA at 7:30 or 8 p.m. or basically whenever ESPN decides to get around to it.
It will be opposite the NFL game on Amazon Prime between the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos.
It’s not easy being a fan in green (and gold). A schedule like this allows for no rhythm for fans or players, what with games on different days of the week and starting times all over the board.
However, we know that TV pulls the strings. USF, like all AAC teams, had no say in this.
Like John McKay said, the schedule is the schedule.
That doesn’t mean we have to like it.