The announcement closes USF’s non-conference schedule for next season. The Bulls open against FIU on September 5, travel to Alabama on September 12, and host Bethune-Cookman on September 19.
The Bulls and Bowling Green have played only once before. That was in 2002, when the Falcons were 8-1 and ranked 25th in the nation under up-and-coming head coach Urban Meyer.
They left Tampa 8-2 after a 29-7 rout.
Later, then-coach Jim Leavitt shared that Meyer had called him the following week, asking how he had devised a way to stop Meyer’s explosive offense.
Leavitt chose not to share.
“I’m not gonna tell him how we did that,” Leavitt told me then.
Wright gets his shot
Former USF running back Nay`Quan Wright signed with the Indianapolis Colts after he wasn’t taken in the NFL Draft.
Wright adds needed depth for the Colts, who lost running back Salvon Ahmed for the season with a knee injury.
Wright was a productive back in two seasons for the Bulls after transferring in 2023 from Florida. Between USF and the Gators, Wright had a combined 478 carries for 2,060 yards and 21 touchdowns.
He also had one receiving TD.
Wright likely will have a difficult time making the final roster in Indy, but he could catch on to the practice squad.
Women’s soccer opens season with a “W”
USF didn’t score a lot in the season opener at Furman, but one goal was enough to claim a 1-0 victory.
Sadie Sider-Echenberg, who was the American Conference Midfielder of the Year last season, connected in the 25th minute following a pass from Hedda Ornberg.
Herraez Gallach and Gaby Rourke shared goalkeeping duties to preserve the shutout.
Next up for USF is a road game Sunday at 21st-ranked South Carolina. Game time is 6 p.m. on the SEC+ Network.
Football stadium starts to take shape
After weeks of site preparation for USF’s $348.5 million on-campus football stadium, support poles are coming out of the ground.
The first signs of the actual structure. #USF pic.twitter.com/Cvc83yNqI4
— Joey Knight (@TBTimes_Bulls) August 14, 2025
Until now, work seemed mostly concentrated on moving dirt around. The stadium is still on track to open for the 2027 season.
“I think it shows the commitment that's been made here. If you look around the country and everybody's finding ways to cut right now,” head football coach Alex Golesh said.
He credited Trustee Board Chairman Will Weatherford and Vice Chairman Mike Griffin for their roles in the stadium project.
“So much effort has been made to continue to invest, and continue to invest, and continue to invest,” he said.
“It's a sign of a commitment that we are we are just going to continue to build, and we're going to continue to pour into our student athletes, the fan experience, and for the guys that we're recruiting right now Where you used to show it to them on a on a picture or a PowerPoint, to be able to walk out there and say, man, like it's actually coming, it's really, really cool. It's cool to hear cranes. There are metal poles in the ground.”
Hey, where's Coach Malzahn? UCF left in the dark when he left for FSU
Because we should take every opportunity to make fun of UCF, we offer this tasty tidbit fromCBS Sports. Malzahn surprised a lot of people when he abruptly resigned one day after UCF's season-ending loss last year to Utah to become the defensive coordinator at Florida State.
Not only that, he left without saying goodbye after four seasons as UCF's coach.
Knights Village probably wasn't too upset that he left after successive seasons of 6-7 and 4-8 after a promising start. But still, there's a right way to do things, and this wasn't it.
Defensive back Jaylen Heyward told the "Charge On Podcast" that Malzahn did not hold an official team meeting before skipping town.
"If I'm being real, we had a meeting -- it wasn't even like we had a meeting," Heyward said. "It was just like, next week came and he was gone. He didn't even have no meeting telling us he was going to leave or anything. He just got up and left. It kind of shows you where his mindset and head was at when he left. He showed that he really didn't care for us how he said he was to the media."
UCF subsequently hired failed Nebraska coach Scott Frost, the man who Malzahn replaced after getting fired at Auburn. He got a lovely parting gift from the Tigers, however: a $21.7 buyout.