# 2023 South Florida Bulls football team

The 2023 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulls played their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Bulls were led by first-year head coach Alex Golesh. This season was the tenth for the Bulls as members of the American Athletic Conference, and their 26th season overall. The South Florida Bulls football team drew an average home attendance of 37,944 in 2023.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 3:30 p.m. | at Western Kentucky* | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY | CBSSN | L 24–41 | 15,438 |
| September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 23 (FCS) Florida A&M* | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN+ | W 38–24 | 36,495 |
| September 16 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 10 Alabama* | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ABC | L 3–17 | 65,138 |
| September 23 | 4:00 p.m. | Rice | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPNU | W 42–29 | 29,141 |
| September 30 | 3:30 p.m. | at Navy | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | CBSSN | W 44–30 | 29,789 |
| October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | at UAB | Protective StadiumBirmingham, AL | ESPN2 | L 35–56 | 23,792 |
| October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN2 | L 14–56 | 36,670 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | at UConn* | Rentschler FieldEast Hartford, CT | CBSSN | W 24–21 | 21,704 |
| November 4 | 3:00 p.m. | at Memphis | Simmons Bank Liberty StadiumMemphis, TN | ESPN+ | L 50–59 | 30,223 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | Temple | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN+ | W 27–23 | 30,938 |
| November 17 | 9:00 p.m. | at UTSA | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPN2 | L 21–49 | 22,096 |
| November 25 | 7:30 p.m. | Charlotte | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPNU | W 48–14 | 29,279 |
| December 21 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. Syracuse* | FAU StadiumBoca Raton, FL (Boca Raton Bowl) | ESPN | W 45–0 | 20,711 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Rice

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rice | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| South Florida | 3 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 42 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT/4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 29,141
* Referee: Edwin Lee
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Jay Alter and Rene Ingoglia
| Statistics | RICE | USF |
| First downs | 19 | 25 |
| Total yards | 492 | 597 |
| Rushing yards | 1 | 162 |
| Passing yards | 491 | 435 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:27 | 27:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 27/40, 432 yards, 3 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Juma Otoviano | 4 rushes, 12 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 9 receptions, 199 yards |
| South Florida | Passing | Byrum Brown | 22/29, 435 yards, 2 TD |
| South Florida | Rushing | Byrum Brown | 14 rushes, 82 yards, TD |
| South Florida | Receiving | Naiem Simmons | 8 receptions, 272 yards, TD |

### at Navy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 7 | 16 | 7 | 14 | 44 |
| Midshipmen | 14 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland
* Date: September 30th
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: NE at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Clear
* Game attendance: 29,789
* Referee: Scott Hardin
* TV announcers (CBSSN): Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Randy Cross (analyst) & Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline)
| Statistics | South Florida | Navy |
| First downs | 11 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 59–330 | 78–435 |
| Rushes–yards | 48–240 | 44–98 |
| Passing yards | 90 | 338 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 5–11–0 | 26–34–0 |
| Time of possession | 31:08 | 28:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Florida | Passing | Byrum Brown | 26–34, 338 yards, 3 TD |
| South Florida | Rushing | K'wan Powell | 11 carries, 48 yards |
| South Florida | Receiving | Sean Atkins | 4 receptions, 16 yards, 2 TD |
| Navy | Passing | Blake Horvath | 4–6, 83 yards, 2 TD |
| Navy | Rushing | Alex Tezuka | 13 carries, 82 yards |
| Navy | Receiving | Eli Heidenreich | 1 reception, 68 yards |