USF football schedule breakdown: No Boise State, no Florida, but lots of opportunity

This time last year, USF football fans could look forward to their Bulls being in the national spotlight on opening night when ESPN carried their game against Boise State. They got national exposure the next week on the SEC Network when USF shocked the Florida Gators.

They were prominently mentioned on shows like College Game Day.

It felt like the Bulls truly had regained an upper level of relevancy in the sport.

But with 100 days to go before the start of this coming season, it's not the same vibe. I blame that on the non-conference schedule, which last year also included Miami.

This year, Bowling Green, Kent State, and Delaware State are out-of-conference games for the Bulls. It's the first time since 2001 that the Bulls won't face a team from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, or Big 12 -- unless they match up in a bowl game or (dare we dream it) a College Football Playoff contest. Kent State was a late replacement when Alabama pushed this year's scheduled game back to 2032.

Sure, the opening game against FIU is the head coaching debut for Brian Hartline and the start of a big sendoff the Bulls plan to give their soon-to-be-former home at Raymond James Stadium. But the opponent, FIU, doesn't make the ground shake in the way Boise State did, which explains why it will be carried on ESPN+ instead of the Mother Ship.

The second game of the season -- at Army -- is a noon start on the CBS Sports Network.

And later in the year American Conference games against UTSA, East Carolina, and Memphis will air on either ESPN or ESPN2.

However, there is another possibility.

Assuming USF holds serve against the aforementioned teams the Bulls should beat -- and if they get past Army on the road -- we could see them start moving into the national rankings.

The game at UTSA on October 8 stands as potential launch point for the Bulls. If they are 5-0 going into that game -- a definite possibility -- it should generate considerable hype for a Thursday night national TV appearance.

Of course, it might get drowned out even locally, too, because the NFL's Thursday night game that week is Tampa Bay at Dallas.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow