TAMPA, Fla. — While the coaches of Alabama, Georgia, and other major schools get much of the limelight, arguably the greatest coaching job of the 2023 season has happened at the University of South Florida.
In his first season with the Bulls, head coach Alex Golesh has taken the team to bowl eligibility for the first time in five seasons. While bowl eligibility is commonplace for many teams, the Bulls have been in college football's Siberia for those five years.
The Bulls won a total of four games from 2020 through 2023, including two seasons where USF won just a single game, 2020 and 2022. USF also managed to win just one conference game during the same stretch.
But with Golesh at the helm, USF finished the season with a thumping of Charlotte and a 6-6 record to qualify for a bowl. The Bulls' conference record was also .500, with more conference wins this season than from 2019 through 2022 combined.
USF was led by quarterback Byrum Brown, who made history of his own Saturday. Brown became the first quarterback in USF history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season. He finished the 2023 regular season with 3078 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Brown was also the second-leading rusher on the team, running 189 times for 745 yards and 11 touchdowns. If Brown remains at USF, he would have two more seasons at the helm for the Bulls.
Part of Golesh's success can be credited to the transfer portal. The Bulls brought in 18 players from the portal, including players from Florida State, Texas, Utah, Tennessee, Florida, and Oklahoma.
But perhaps the most important job USF's 2023 season has accomplished is giving Bulls fans hope. Between Brown and hitting the transfer portal again in the offseason, USF fans head into the postseason with the hope that the team will improve even more next season.
USF will learn which bowl it will play in on December 3.
