Joey Johnston
Athletics Senior Writer –GOUSFBULLS.COM – Go to this website for all things Bulls sports.
Story Links
. LISTEN – PREGAME SHOW PODCAST
WATCH
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)
& ESPN Deportes: Rigo Plascencia (P-by-P) & Alex Pombo (Analyst)
ESPN+ ESPN Spanish Language
AUDIO: USF Broadcast: 102.5 FM/102.5 HD2 The Strike & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn) – Jim Louk, B.J. Daniels & Caylee Cottrell
ESPN National Radio: Kevin Winter & Trevor Matich
SERIES: USF leads, 1-0
IN TAMPA: NA
IN SAN JOSE: USF won, 42-22, in 2017
LAST TIME: USF won first-ever meeting, 42-22 in 2017 at San Jose State
BOWL RECORD: 7-4
LAST BOWL: Won 2023 Boca Raton Bowl over Syracuse, 45-0
USF GAME NOTES
For the USF Bulls, the Hawai’i Bowl always was a classic mix of business and pleasure.
The pleasures have been obvious. After a 12-hour, 4,700-mile journey to one of the world’s most famous destinations, the Bulls have toured Pearl Harbor, been to an authentic Hawaiian luau and witnessed world-class waves in the Pacific Ocean. With Diamond Head serving as a backdrop, it was fun just staring out the balcony windows and taking in the gorgeous setting.
Bulls head coach Alex Golesh described it as “the trip of a lifetime.”
But it’s also been the very real business of preparing to compete Tuesday night when the Bulls (6-6) challenge the Mountain West Conference’s San Jose State Spartans (7-5) in a Christmas Eve ESPN telecast that offers compelling opportunities. It’s another chance to build USF’s emerging brand. With a victory — and an entertaining show — the Bulls can storm into the offseason with great momentum.
If USF defeats San Jose State, it finishes 7-6 with a bowl victory, the same scenario as last season’s debut with Golesh.
Progress?
“On paper, you’d say, ‘Man, we’re exactly where we were a year ago,’ ” Golesh said. “Obviously, we’ve got to win more football games. But if you look at the culture in our locker room — as you look at how we have built culture, built a team, built trust and built a brotherhood — I think we are so much further ahead than we were a year ago.
“Does it show on the record? It obviously doesn’t. And I’m as disappointed as anybody with how it ended (35-28 defeat at Rice in the regular-season finale). But we’re getting better. We’re getting bigger and stronger. The young guys are getting older. I am truly encouraged. But whatever that distance is from where we are to playing for a championship, that last step is incredibly hard. As hard as the last two years have been, the last step is huge. It’s not even personnel. It’s a complete belief that when you walk into that arena every Saturday, that you know you’re going to win that game. We’re not far away from that.”
Winning the Hawai’i Bowl is the next step.
Here are the keys to USF defeating San Jose State: CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
