USF (6-6; 4-4 American) vs San Jose State (7-5; 3-4 MWC)
Tuesday, Dec. 24 • 8:00 P.M. (ET) • Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (16,909) • Honolulu, HI
SURFACE: Artificial Turf
TV: ESPN: Tiffany Greene (P-by-P) & Jay Walker (Analyst) & Marilyn Payne (Reporter)
AUDIO: 102.5 FM/102.5 HD2 The Strike & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
SERIES: USF leads, 1-0
IN TAMPA: NA
IN SAN JOSE: USF won,
LAST TIME: USF won first-ever meeting
BOWL RECORD: 7-4
LAST BOWL: Won 2023 Boca Raton Bowl
over Syracuse, 45-0
USF GAME NOTES
Keys To the Game: https://gousfbulls.com/news/2024/12/23/football-keys-to-the-game-hawai-i-bowl.aspx
• Bulls seek 8th bowl win in 12th appearance, have scored at least 20 points in 10 straight bowl appearances.
• SR WR Atkins has 30 straight games with a catch (2nd at USF), one shy of tying USF record, 74 yards shy of breaking USF career receiving yards record (2,136).
• SR RB Kelley Joiner 6th on USF career rushing chart (2,178), 29 yards from ranking in Top 5 career rushers at USF.
• USF averaging 486 yards and 39.3 points over last six games, led FBS scoring 201 points in November.
• Alex Golesh posts 13th win, tied for 2nd-most in first two seasons for USF coach, 2nd to lead team to bowls in first two FBS seasons.
• Defense 5th nationally in tackles for loss (8.0), No. 4 in fumbles recovered (12) and No. 12 in turnovers - gaining 10 in last 3 games.
• Bulls winning by average margin of 28.5 ppg in six victories.
BULLS TO MAKE 12th BOWL APPEARANCE IN FIRST TRIP TO HAWAI‘I
South Florida will make its second-straight bowl appearance under second-year head coach Alex Golesh at the Hawai‘i Bowl in Honolulu, Hawai’i. It will mark the first back-to-back bowl appearance in six years, 10th different bowl destination for the Bulls and the sixth different state or province (the Bulls played one bowl in Canada) for USF to compete in a bowl game. The second meeting ever with San Jose State will mark USF’s first-ever game in Hawai‘i and, at nearly 4,700 miles from Tampa, the farthest destination the Bulls have ever played away from home. USF won at San Jose State 42-22 in the first game of the 2017 season in the first meeting between the programs.
BOWLING: The Bulls have won seven of their previous 11 bowl appearances, including three of the last four and a 45-0 victory over Syracuse in the 2023 Boca Raton Bowl. USF’s 12 bowl appearances in its first 24 FBS seasons mark the fourth-most for any program since 1980. San Jose State will mark the first Mountain West Conference opponent for the Bulls in a bowl game. USF is 2-2 all-time vs. the conference.
GOLESH HAS BULLS FINISHING STRONG: The Bulls won four of their last six games to gain bowl eligibility.
• USF saw its yards per game increase from 344.7 in the first six games to 486.5 over the last six while its scoring average increased from 24.6 ppg to 39.3 ppg. Meanwhile, the defense produced 56 tackles for loss compared to 38 in the first six games and 14 turnovers compared to 10.
• USF is 4-3 after Oct. 1 in 2024. The Bulls four wins after Oct. 1 in 2023 were the program’s most since 2017 (5). USF is 8-6 under Golesh after Oct. 1. In five seasons from 2018-22, USF went 7-33 after Oct. 1. Over the five seasons before Golesh’s arrival, USF had totaled 15 wins overall, including 1 the year before his arrival and 4 total from 2020-22.
• USF’s 201 points in November led all of FBS and marked the second-highest scoring month in program history behind October 2016 (207).
The Bulls 347 points in November the last two seasons are the most in FBS, and USF’s 39.9 ppg average in the month ranks 8th in FBS.
Tuesday, Dec. 24 • 8:00 P.M. (ET) • Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (16,909) • Honolulu, HI
SURFACE: Artificial Turf
TV: ESPN: Tiffany Greene (P-by-P) & Jay Walker (Analyst) & Marilyn Payne (Reporter)
AUDIO: 102.5 FM/102.5 HD2 The Strike & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
SERIES: USF leads, 1-0
IN TAMPA: NA
IN SAN JOSE: USF won,
LAST TIME: USF won first-ever meeting
BOWL RECORD: 7-4
LAST BOWL: Won 2023 Boca Raton Bowl
over Syracuse, 45-0
USF GAME NOTES
Keys To the Game: https://gousfbulls.com/news/2024/12/23/football-keys-to-the-game-hawai-i-bowl.aspx
• Bulls seek 8th bowl win in 12th appearance, have scored at least 20 points in 10 straight bowl appearances.
• SR WR Atkins has 30 straight games with a catch (2nd at USF), one shy of tying USF record, 74 yards shy of breaking USF career receiving yards record (2,136).
• SR RB Kelley Joiner 6th on USF career rushing chart (2,178), 29 yards from ranking in Top 5 career rushers at USF.
• USF averaging 486 yards and 39.3 points over last six games, led FBS scoring 201 points in November.
• Alex Golesh posts 13th win, tied for 2nd-most in first two seasons for USF coach, 2nd to lead team to bowls in first two FBS seasons.
• Defense 5th nationally in tackles for loss (8.0), No. 4 in fumbles recovered (12) and No. 12 in turnovers - gaining 10 in last 3 games.
• Bulls winning by average margin of 28.5 ppg in six victories.
BULLS TO MAKE 12th BOWL APPEARANCE IN FIRST TRIP TO HAWAI‘I
South Florida will make its second-straight bowl appearance under second-year head coach Alex Golesh at the Hawai‘i Bowl in Honolulu, Hawai’i. It will mark the first back-to-back bowl appearance in six years, 10th different bowl destination for the Bulls and the sixth different state or province (the Bulls played one bowl in Canada) for USF to compete in a bowl game. The second meeting ever with San Jose State will mark USF’s first-ever game in Hawai‘i and, at nearly 4,700 miles from Tampa, the farthest destination the Bulls have ever played away from home. USF won at San Jose State 42-22 in the first game of the 2017 season in the first meeting between the programs.
BOWLING: The Bulls have won seven of their previous 11 bowl appearances, including three of the last four and a 45-0 victory over Syracuse in the 2023 Boca Raton Bowl. USF’s 12 bowl appearances in its first 24 FBS seasons mark the fourth-most for any program since 1980. San Jose State will mark the first Mountain West Conference opponent for the Bulls in a bowl game. USF is 2-2 all-time vs. the conference.
GOLESH HAS BULLS FINISHING STRONG: The Bulls won four of their last six games to gain bowl eligibility.
• USF saw its yards per game increase from 344.7 in the first six games to 486.5 over the last six while its scoring average increased from 24.6 ppg to 39.3 ppg. Meanwhile, the defense produced 56 tackles for loss compared to 38 in the first six games and 14 turnovers compared to 10.
• USF is 4-3 after Oct. 1 in 2024. The Bulls four wins after Oct. 1 in 2023 were the program’s most since 2017 (5). USF is 8-6 under Golesh after Oct. 1. In five seasons from 2018-22, USF went 7-33 after Oct. 1. Over the five seasons before Golesh’s arrival, USF had totaled 15 wins overall, including 1 the year before his arrival and 4 total from 2020-22.
• USF’s 201 points in November led all of FBS and marked the second-highest scoring month in program history behind October 2016 (207).
The Bulls 347 points in November the last two seasons are the most in FBS, and USF’s 39.9 ppg average in the month ranks 8th in FBS.
