Golesh Rumors Swirl Ahead of Bulls’ Season Finale

The South Florida Bulls conclude the 2025 regular season at Raymond James Stadium against the Rice Owls at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.

USF will finish the season where it started it. The Bulls opened the season with a 34-7 stomping of Boise State, a tone-setter for the dominance they’ve shown at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bulls are 5-0 at home, and a win Saturday would secure their first undefeated home season since 2002. They are winning by an average margin of 34.2 points per game and scoring 50.8 points per game at Raymond James this year.

“That’s the expectation,” head coach Alex Golesh said of USF’s success at home.

A win would also give USF its first nine-win regular season and six-win conference season since 2017.

The Bulls head into Saturday’s matchup with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over them. On Wednesday, rumors began swirling about Golesh heading to Fayetteville to become the next head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Wednesday night, Kevin O’Donnell reported that Golesh had not yet agreed to take the Arkansas job. That same night, Golesh addressed his team, saying he has been approached by other schools and will make his decision over the weekend, likely after the game.

It’s an unfortunate distraction on a night meant to celebrate the seniors who helped Golesh become a coach other schools are flocking toward.

USF will honor 33 players on senior night. Not all of them will be playing their final college football game.

“There will be some guys that walk that have another year, some guys that walk that are going to wait on a waiver to go through, so I wouldn’t make a whole lot of who’s walking and when,” Golesh said.

Graduate linebacker duo Mac Harris and Jhalyn Shuler will be among those honored. This is Harris’ fifth year with the Bulls and Shuler’s fourth. The tandem has combined for 183 tackles this season and anchored USF’s defense.

The defense will see many players celebrated Saturday. Five of USF’s seven leading tacklers will be playing their final game at Raymond James.

“It is a bunch of dudes that care about this place and care about setting a standard and leaving a legacy here,” Golesh said.

USF will face a Rice team that needs a win to attain bowl eligibility under first-year head coach Scott Abell. He is in his first season coaching at the FBS level after becoming the winningest head coach in Davidson history in just five seasons.

Abell’s Owls run a variation of the triple-option offense. Rice is averaging 218.8 rushing yards per game, 13th most in the country, and has the third-most rushing attempts in the FBS with 563.

The last time USF faced a triple-option attack, it allowed Navy to run for 338 yards. But the Bulls have been stout against the run overall, allowing 132.7 yards per game and an American Conference–best 3.6 yards per rush.

USF’s defense has combined for 75 tackles for loss and leads the American with 28 sacks. Sophomore cornerback Jarvis Lee leads the Bulls with 10.5 tackles for loss. Harris leads the team with six sacks and has also posted 7.5 tackles for loss. Senior defensive lineman Traevon Mitchell has six tackles for loss and two sacks.

The Bulls have 23 takeaways this season, sixth most in the country. They’ve forced a turnover in ten of their 11 games. Their 53 takeaways over their last 25 games are the most in the country during that span.

Rice’s defense has struggled in 2025. The Owls are allowing 30.5 points per game, ranking 110th in the FBS. Opponents are averaging 6.2 yards per play and 240.5 passing yards per game.

They will be running into a buzzsaw of a USF offense. The Bulls rank fifth in the country at 42.2 points per game.

Senior quarterback Byrum Brown is looking to cap off a historic regular season. Brown needs 117 passing yards and 96 rushing yards to become just the 12th quarterback in FBS history to record 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season.

Brown leads the country with 37 total touchdowns and 344 total yards per game. If he throws three touchdown passes, he will break his own USF record and set the school mark for passing touchdowns in a season with 27.

USF has been dynamic on the ground, averaging 221.2 rushing yards per game on 5.8 yards per carry.

Sophomore running back Nykai Davenport is coming off a career-high 121 yards against UAB. He is averaging 60.7 rushing yards per game and a team-best 6.8 yards per rush.

Sophomore receiver Keshaun Singleton leads USF with 44 catches for 752 yards. He needs just 48 yards to become the fourth player in program history to surpass 800 receiving yards in a season.

Graduate receiver Mudia Reuben has been the Bulls hottest player totaling 235 receiving yards and three touchdowns over the USF’s last two games.

USF will also have a chance for retribution Saturday night. A year ago, the Bulls lost a stunner in their season finale to Rice 35-28.

“It’s a year ago, but man, that game has stuck with me,” Golesh said.

The Bulls will be playing for pride Saturday night. They have been mathematically eliminated from American Conference championship contention with Navy and North Texas’ wins on Thursday and Friday.

After hundreds of home games within the confines of Raymond James Stadium, the Bulls begin their final seven-game stretch there before moving to their on-campus stadium.

On Saturday, USF will close the book on 2025, begin the swan song for Raymond James Stadium hosting the Bulls — and maybe even play the final game of the Alex Golesh era. And they will look to do all of it with a win.