USF had just completed a 44-21 thrashing of FAU on their home field in Boca Raton, and the tension was only beginning to escalate. Bulls’ head coach Alex Golesh showed no signs of slowing down, opting for a two-point conversion after their last touchdown. This move echoed the previous year’s encounter in Tampa, where the Owls, victorious at 56-14, executed an onside kick to emphasize their desire for a rivalry with USF.
After the game, Golesh swiftly shook FAU coach Tom Herman’s hand but then hurried past him. Herman pursued Golesh, shouting, just as Herman’s wife grabbed him by the arm and stopped him from chasing the USF head coach,
“I wish there was a conversation,” Herman said of the exchange. “But no.
Golesh addressed the incident during his postgame press conference.
“I said a year ago we would be back to get it and we came back to get it,” Golesh said in the post-game news conference. “Whatever said is said, I’m good. I think it was said that we recruit against each other, He (Herman) earlier in the week said we don’t like each other. I got a lot of respect for their staff. I don’t specifically think we recruit against each other. We certainly run into them.
“I said we were coming back to get it. Last year at the end of the game, we got embarrassed at home and we came and go it. We’ll continue to do so.”
Regrettably, the post-game altercation overshadowed an evening dedicated to commemorating USF basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who passed away at 43 during a medical procedure last month. The USF athletes and staff paid tribute by donning helmets and hats adorned with AAR decals.
