South Florida football fans thought they had it bad with Charlie Strong and Jeff Scott. Fans of Delaware State would have a bellylaugh at any complaints from Bulls backers about how bad that era was.
The Hornets, who play USF on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium, can tell you a thing or 20 about misery. Before last year, Delaware State had 12 consecutive losing seasons.
And these weren't just losing seasons, either. The Hornets refined terrible seasons to an art form. During those lost years, Delaware State was a combined 29-100. The Hornets had six seasons with double-digit losses, including three seasons with only one win.
Enter DeSean Jackson..
He took over this program in 2025 and the results were nothing short of miraculous. The Hornets finished 8-4 and were second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Jackson, who spent 15 years in the NFL as a wide receiver, including two with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, received a contract extension through the 2028 season.
The Hornets come to Tampa with a 2-1 record, but don't think for a minute Jackson is satisfied.
"We're not in a position where we're good enough just to walk on the field and just think our talent is going to win football games," he said after the Hornets defeated Bowie State. "I told my team this is a very different team than we had last year.
"Year in and year out, you're gonna lose guys. Guys will graduate and you understand that. But the brand of football is gonna always remain the same."
🗣️ HIT IT pic.twitter.com/xHTWpCpfeQ
— South Florida Football (@USFFootball) September 12, 2026
"(They've had) a heck of a growth over the last couple years, knowing where they were and what the Coach Jackson was able to do with them. Last year it gets eight and four. I think they had a combined one or two wins previous two years and so it's a heck of a turnaround," Bulls coach Brian Hartline said.
"I know they're excited probably for this year too, and they're going to have a lot of athletes that do a lot of good things ,that run around and work to make plays and lots of energy. It jumps off the screen how hard they play and how skillful they are. They'll be well-coached and they'll have a good plan, but (I'm) overly focused on what we do, not really overly focused on what everybody else does. We'll have a good plan as well based on what they do, but we're really trying to be experts in our process and be really good at our prep throughout the weeks."
The Bulls, of course, are flying high after last week's comeback win at Army to improve to 2-0. And according to DraftKings Sports Book, the Bulls are 36.5-point favorites.
The Bulls were originally scheduled to play Bethune-Cookman University this season, but replaced that game with Delaware State. The Hornets are reportedly receiving a $450,000 guarantee for coming to Tampa.
No official reason was given for the switch.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are focused on the task ahead.
“We’re trying to go 1-0 every week, and then we’re trying to earn the right to compete for a conference championship,” Hartline said. “And that doesn’t get done with just one game.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google