When USF takes the field on Christmas Eve in the Hawai`i Bowl, the Bulls will be competing in the 12th post-season game in the program’s 27-year history.
The Bulls are 7-4 in bowls.
At Green, Gold, and Bold, we (me) thought it would be fun to rank those performances in terms of importance and outcome from worst to first.
So without further delay …
11th place: 2018 Bad Boy Motors Gasparilla Bowl, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.
Marshall 38, USF 20
This was about as miserable a bowl experience as one could imagine. Heavy rain and thunderstorms made playing conditions sloppy, and the, ahem, “crowd” was probably generously announced at 14,135.
Fittingly, it was also the Bulls’ final bowl appearance until last year at the Boca Raton Bowl.
The real story, though, is that USF became the first team in NCAA history to start a season 7-0 and finish with six consecutive losses. A year later, head coach Charlie Strong was fired after three seasons, ushering in the Jeff Scott era.
Oops.
10th place: 2007 Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas
Oregon 56, USF 21
The Bulls had high hopes for this game, played on New Year’s Eve, and it was competitive for the first half. The Ducks took a slim 18-14 lead into the locker room.
However, Oregon turned it into a rout in the second half. The Ducks put up 28 points in the third quarter and returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns.
Oregon ran for 353 yards and threw four touchdown passes.
It was the final disappointment in a season that began with such high hopes as the Bulls were ranked No. 2 in the country before coming back to earth.
9th place: 2010 International Bowl, Toronto
USF 27, Northern Illinois 3
Scandal had already enveloped the Bulls as they headed to Canada to represent the Big East in this bowl on January 2.
There were allegations that Jim Leavitt, the founding coach of the program, had struck one of his players in the locker room at halftime of a game in November against Louisville.
Shortly after the bowl game, USF officials concluded that Leavitt had asked some players to change their stories to support him. He was fired on January 8.
8th place: 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl, Charlotte
N.C. State 14, USF 0
They say you’ll always remember your first, but the Bulls’ memories of their first bowl appearance in program history probably aren’t so pleasant.
It was an 11 a.m. kickoff on New Year’s Eve, but the Bulls may have overslept that morning. South Florida finished the game with 295 yards of total offense, although Andre Hall had himself a day rushing for 118 yards.
Two touchdowns in the second quarter was all the scoring the Wolfpack needed.
7th place: 2006 Papa John’s.com Bowl, Birmingham
USF 24, East Carolina 7
After the previous season's disappointment, the Bulls captured the first bowl win in program history.
Benjamin Williams ran for a pair of touchdowns for USF and Matt Grothe threw for one to Amarri Jackson. East Carolina outgained the Bulls 317-286 in total yards, but the Bulls came away with the trophy.
6th place: 2023 Roof Claim Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton
USF 45, SYRACUSE 0
The Bulls returned to the post-season for the first time since 2018 and had a jolly time in routing a depleted Syracuse team playing for an interim coach.
Quarterback Byrum Brown threw for three touchdowns and Aamaris Brown had a 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown. USF pitched its first shutout since 2009. It probably deserves an asterisk, however.
Because of injuries, the Orange had to start tight end Dan Villari at quarterback. It didn’t work out so well. However, that was Syracuse’s problem.
USF forced four turnovers and had a feel-good win.
“I told the defense after the second drive we were playing harder than them,” Golesh said. “And there’s a team that wants to be there — a team that’s just happy to be there — and a team that wants to win the game. We were there to win the game, and the defense set the tone.”
5th place: 2015 Miami Beach Bowl, Miami Beach
Western Kentucky 45, USF 35
It was a disappointing end to a season that started 1-3, with coach Willie Taggart’s job security becoming an issue.
However, when Taggart turned quarterback Quinton Flowers loose, the Bulls became a juggernaut. They won seven of their final eight games, including 44-3 over UCF, to earn their first bowl bid since 2010.
The Bulls led by 14 points in the second quarter but melted under three scoring passes from Hilltoppers quarter Brandon Doughty. A 42-yard TD run by Western’s Anthony Wales with 5:09 left put the game away after USF had pulled to within three points.
4th place: 2010 Magic Jack St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg
USF 41, Memphis 14
OK, so maybe a trip to St. Petersburg might not sound like much of a reward for a successful season, but the Bulls made history in the inaugural St. Pete Bowl.
Matt Grothe threw for three touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards as the Bulls pulled away in the second half. The 27-point margin of victory was USF’s largest in a bowl game until last year in Boca Raton.
3rd place: 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl, Charlotte
USF 31, Clemson 26
The Bulls nearly let a 31-13 lead in the fourth quarter slip away but held on to put the Tigers away.
Quarterback B.J. Daniels threw for a pair of touchdowns and one interception for the Bulls, who finished 8-5 in Skip Holtz’s first season after taking over for Jim Leavitt.
Alas, Holtz was fired after going 8-16 over the next two seasons.
2nd place: 2016 Birmingham Bowl
USF 46, South Carolina 39 (Overtime)
Quinton Flowers ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more as the Bulls won a wildly entertaining game.
South Carolina rallied from 15 points behind in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Flowers threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Elkanah Dillion on the first play of overtime, and the game ended when USF’s Khalid McGee recovered a fumble on the Gamecocks’ first drive of OT.
The Bulls forced five South Carolina turnovers. South Carolina receiver Deebo Samuel caught 14 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown.
Co-offensive coordinator T.J. Weist coached the Bulls after Willie Taggart left following the regular season to take the head job at Oregon.
1st place: 2017 Birmingham Bowl
USF 38, Texas Tech 34
Quinton Flowers' final game at USF was another back-and-forth affair as the Bulls and Red Raiders traded blow for blow in the final quarter.
USF trailed by seven entering the final 15 minutes but tied it when Flowers ran for a 5-yard TD. Following a Texas Tech field goal, Flowers struck again with a 64-yard scoring pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling with 4:36 left.
Things looked gloomy when the Red Raiders regained the lead at 34-31 with 1:31 remaining. Gloomy?
Naw. The Bulls had Flowers.
A pair of completed passes and runs of 13 and 21 yards by Flowers put the ball at Tech’s 26 with 16 seconds left.
No problem.
The last pass Flowers threw as a Bull was a 26-yard game-winning TD to Tyre McCants.
It also turned out to be the high point of head coach Charlie Strong’s stay at USF. After a 7-0 start without Flowers the following season, Strong lost 14 out of his next 18 games and was fired in 2019.