TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida football season has been a wild roller-coaster ride.
The team has upset several college football heavyweights, including Boise State and the Florida Gators. However, most recently, the Bulls were feeling anything but up.
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What they’re saying:
“Obviously, we are coming off of a big time down,” USF head coach Alex Golesh said.
USF came back to Tampa with a bad taste in their mouths after the 34-31 loss on the road to Memphis.
“It took me personally a solid 48 hours to snap out of it,” Golesh said.
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Golesh said the team, like himself, has flushed the loss and is moving full steam ahead.
“Really the best thing you can do is go back on the field and get back to work,” Golesh said.
Getting back to work is certainly easier for the Bulls under the culture established in the program.
“That’s what we have been working towards for three years here — having real actual expectations,” Golesh said.
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Big picture view:
The good thing for USF is those real expectations of a conference championship and the College Football Playoff are still intact, but they don’t have much wiggle room at all moving forward.
“We have everything in the back of our heads as far as conference and just winning games, but going forward we are like we need to beat UTSA, we need to put points up, and we need to keep going week to week,” USF grad student wide receiver Mudia Reuben said.
It’s that mentality that has Golesh confident of a bounce back.
“I think the best teams as you look through college football are able to respond,” Golesh said.
And, he hopes the response is positive, because USF is finally playing meaningful football this late in the season.
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“I think at the end of the day, [we’re in] November,” Golesh said. “It’s the detail. It’s the physicality. It’s the effort. Who can sustain a level of focus longer?”
You can bet Golesh believes it will be his team that gets the job done.
What’s next:
It all starts with UTSA on Thursday back at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Mark Skol, Jr. during Alex Golesh’s weekly press conference.