As the Bulls near the 2025 South Florida Football Season presented by Tampa General Hospital, USF Athletics has announced the themes for the six-game home schedule at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bulls will open their third season under head coach Alex Golesh in a nationally televised game on ESPN on Thursday, Aug. 28 vs. Boise State in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.
MUST READS:
Thursday, Aug. 28 vs. Boise State • 5:30 p.m. kickoff
Theme: Back In Black
Fans are encouraged to get a rousing early start to the Labor Day weekend when the Bulls take on 2024 College Football Playoff participant Boise State in a marquee national TV game. The team will don their black uniforms for the season debut and a rock music theme will welcome the return of college football to Raymond James Stadium. A USSOCOM Para-Commando jump into the stadium will take place before kickoff.
Saturday, Sept. 20 vs. South Carolina State • Noon kickoff
Theme: Bay Day
USF football will celebrate the greater Tampa Bay region by highlighting impactful members of the community, including teachers, through the annual Extra Yard for Teachers initiative. It will also be USF Family Weekend and the annual HOT Band Day, in which marching bands from around the area are welcomed to Raymond James Stadium to perform at halftime.
Friday, Oct. 3 vs. Charlotte • 7:00 p.m. kickoff
Theme: Flashback Friday
With the Bulls playing a nationally televised ESPN2 game, South Florida will pay homage to the program’s history, which began in 1997 with retro branding, music, and activations. It will also be Hall of Fame weekend with five new members of the USF Athletic Hall of Fame being honored, including standout linebacker Kawika Mitchell and the program’s first head coach, Jim Leavitt.
Saturday, Oct. 18 vs. FAU • kickoff TBA
Theme: Homecoming
South Florida will celebrate Homecoming during this mid-October conference clash. Homecoming activities will take place on campus throughout the week, including the Friday night campus parade, and the Homecoming court will be introduced at halftime.
Thursday, Nov. 6 vs. UTSA • 7:30/8:00 p.m. kickoff
Theme: Salute to Service
An annual fan favorite, South Florida will honor and recognize military service members and first responders throughout the game while the team dons the much-loved patriotic “U” logo. The USF Office of Veterans Success annually hosts a pregame tailgate for military members. The Bulls will take on the Roadrunners in a late-season, nationally televised game with a U.S. Coast Guard flyover taking place before kickoff.
Saturday, Nov. 29 vs. Rice • kickoff TBA
Theme: Fan Appreciation Day/Senior Day
The Bulls will wrap up the regular season home slate by thanking fans for their support and honoring senior Bulls players and their families. Fans in the stands will have the opportunity to receive prizes throughout the game.
USF, which is one of 15 programs to have won a bowl or playoff game in each of the last two seasons, returns 12 starters in 2025 (six on offense and six on defense). Quarterback Byrum Brown, who passed for a program-record 3,292 yards and ran for 836 in 2023, returns alongside quarterback Bryce Archie, who started the last eight games in 2024 following an injury to Brown and led the Bulls to the Hawai’i Bowl victory. The Bulls also return four starters on the offensive line and wide receiver Keshaun Singleton, who broke out mid-season in 2024 posting two 100-yard games and 408 receiving yards in the final seven games.
On defense, USF returns its top tacklers from both the 2023 and 2024 seasons in linebackers Mac Harris and Jhalyn Shuler. Harris led the team with 82 tackles and 12 tackles for loss in 2024, while Shuler logged a team-best 97 stops to go with 8.5 tackles for loss in 2023. Three starters also return in the secondary led by safety Tavin Ward who led the team with three interceptions and finished second with 62 tackles in 2024.
