TAMPA, Fla. — South Florida is the only college football team in the country to beat two AP Top 25-ranked opponents this season. The Bulls are now gaining national attention — ranked No. 18 — ahead of Saturday’s match-up on the road at No. 5 Miami.
WATCH: No. 18 USF ignoring national spotlight ahead of match-up at No. 5 Miami
“Having all that spotlight, whether it’s College GameDay or having a lot of people talk about your name,” defensive back De’Shawn Rucker said. “It feels good, and that’s where it messes you up.”
Rucker said the Bulls aren’t paying attention to their newfound national spotlight.
“We haven’t arrived yet, we still have a lot to prove,” he added.
USF pulled off a stunning upset against then-No. 13 Florida last week. They need to prove once again that they can win a big game on the road.
“It will be another week for us to be able to handle the travel, being able to handle the crowd noise, being able to handle an away environment,” head coach Alex Golesh said. “It was good to get that under our belt on Saturday to be able to say we handled that well, here’s where we could’ve handled it better.”
The Bulls are led by a stout defense that held Florida to its lowest point total (16) since 2023 and Boise State to its lowest (7) since 2019. The defense has forced four turnovers this season, while the offense has not committed a turnover.
Quarterback Byrum Brown has entered the Heisman Trophy conversation with 109 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, while passing for 473 yards and a score.
“At the end of the day, its really cool, you go watch the film, obviously we have a lot of playmakers, there is nobody going outside of their play style trying to be a super hero,” center Cole Best said. “Guys are going out and doing their job. We trust the game plan these coaches bring. We trust our ability. When we go out and just do our job, and execute, we win.”
The Bulls are looking to become the first FBS team since Miami in 1987 to open the season with three straight AP Top 25 wins.
No. 18 USF and No. 5 Miami kick off at 4:30 p.m. in Miami Gardens on Saturday.
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