In January 2019, South Florida hired Kerwin Bell as their new offensive coordinator, replacing Sterlin Gilbert , who left to take the head coaching job at McNeese State . Bell had spent the previous three seasons as the head coach at Valdosta State , where he led the school to an NCAA Division II national title in 2018.[ 2]
The AAC media poll was released on July 16, 2019, with the Bulls predicted to finish third in the AAC East Division.[ 3]
Media poll (East)
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
UCF
169 (19)
2
Cincinnati
157 (11)
3
USF 107
4
Temple
101
5
East Carolina
66
6
UConn
30
Pre-season award watch lists
edit
Heading into the 2019 season, five Bulls were named to various award watch lists: Blake Barnett (Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award),[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] Mitchell Wilcox (John Mackey Award).[ 8]
South Florida's 2019 schedule will begin with three non-conference games: at home against Wisconsin of the Big Ten Conference , then on the road against Georgia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and then at home again against South Carolina State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Their fourth non-conference game will be played at home against BYU , a football independent , after the start of the conference schedule. In American Athletic Conference play, the Bulls will play the other members of the East Division and draw Memphis , Navy , and SMU from the West Division. They will not play Houston , Tulane , or Tulsa as part of the regular season.
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance 7:00 p.m. No. 19 Wisconsin * ESPN L 0–4946,704 September 7 2:00 p.m. at Georgia Tech * ACCN L 10–1446,599 September 14 6:00 p.m. South Carolina State * Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPN3 W 55–1631,368 September 28 4:00 p.m. SMU Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPNU L 21–4828,850 October 5 12:00 p.m. at UConn CBSSN W 48–2218,038 October 12 3:30 p.m. BYU * Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL CBSSN W 27–2335,375 October 19 3:30 p.m. at Navy CBSSN L 3–3529,774 October 26 3:45 p.m. at East Carolina ESPNU W 45–2033,088 8:00 p.m. Temple Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPN L 7–1726,214 November 16 7:00 p.m. No. 17 Cincinnati Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL CBSSN L 17–2029,112 November 23 4:00 p.m. No. 18 Memphis Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPNU L 10–4925,136 8:00 p.m. at UCF ESPN L 7–3445,216
Source:[ 9]
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 19 Badgers
7
21
14
7
49
Bulls
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
3
0
0
7
10
Yellow Jackets
0
14
0
0
14
South Carolina State
edit
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulldogs
3
0
6
7
16
Bulls
7
17
17
14
55
1
2
3
4
Total
Mustangs
14
20
7
7
48
Bulls
0
0
7
14
21
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
7
20
7
14
48
Huskies
0
14
0
8
22
1
2
3
4
Total
Cougars
3
13
7
0
23
Bulls
0
7
7
13
27
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
0
3
0
0
3
Midshipmen
7
14
0
14
35
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
14
21
3
7
45
Pirates
7
3
0
10
20
1
2
3
4
Total
Owls
0
7
7
3
17
Bulls
0
0
7
0
7
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 17 Bearcats
0
0
10
10
20
Bulls
7
3
7
0
17
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 18 Tigers
7
21
14
7
49
Bulls
10
0
0
0
10
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
0
0
7
0
7
Knights
7
17
7
3
34
^ "Charlie Strong fired at South Florida after 3 seasons" . December 2019.^ Knight, Joey (January 10, 2019). "Kerwin Bell hired as USF offensive coordinator" . Tampa Bay Times . ^ Page, Fletcher. "Media picks UCF to win AAC, ranks UC second in East Division" . Cincinnati.com . Retrieved July 16, 2019 . ^ "Barnett Named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List" . USF Athletics . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .^ "Weiss Named to Lou Groza Award Watch List" . USF Athletics . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .^ "Norman Named to Outland Trophy Watch List" . USF Athletics . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .^ "Hampton Named to Thorpe Award Watch List" . USF Athletics . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .^ "Wilcox Named to Mackey Award Watch List" . USF Athletics . Retrieved August 26, 2019 .^ "2019 USF Football Schedule" . FBSchedules.com . Retrieved February 28, 2019 .
