South Florida isn’t treading lightly into the 2025 season. The Bulls open the year with three consecutive games against AP Top 25 teams.
Besides the opener against No. 25 Boise State, the Bulls then travel to No. 15 Florida and follow that with a trip to No. 10 Miami.
As for the opener, USF meets a Boise State team that earned the Group of Five’s lone college playoff bid last season. Boise State must replace All-American running back Ashton Jeanty, who was second in 2024’s Heisman voting and the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Still, there will be plenty of firepower for the Broncos.
In addition, Boise State will have its own ranked team to meet when the Broncos visit No. 6 Notre Dame in its fifth game of the season on Oct. 4.
The Boise State-USF matchup is expected to be an offensive showdown, although we’ll see if the offenses will be at full efficiency coming out of the gate.
How to Watch Boise State-USF
The Boise State at South Florida game will be Thursday, Aug. 28, at 5:30 p.m. ET and televised on ESPN.
Boise State-USF Betting Odds
Boise State is a six-point college football betting favorite via BetMGM. The Over/Under is 63.5.
Boise State-USF Last Year
Boise State (12-2): The Broncos beat UNLV 21-7 in the Mountain West Championship and then lost to Penn State 31-14 in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
South Florida (7-6): The Bulls earned a berth in the Hawaii Bowl, beating San Jose State 41-39 in five overtimes.
Boise State-USF Coaches
Boise State: Spencer Danielson (15-3)
South Florida: Alex Golesh (14-12)
Last meeting: This is the first ever meeting between the two teams.
Boise State-USF Preview
For Boise State
No Jeanty shouldn’t mean no offense. This is a Boise State team with plenty of weapons, starting with quarterback Maddux Madsen, who completed 62.4% of his passes for 3,018 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. For all the publicity that Jeanty’s running brought, the Broncos threw the ball very effectively last year. The same should happen this season.
Matt Lauter is among the best returning tight ends in the country after catching 47 passes for 619 yards and seven scores last year.
Sixth-year receiver Latrell Caples caught 38 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns.
As for running the ball, that shouldn’t be a problem. There are a half dozen running backs on the roster, and the two drawing the most attention are Malik Sherrod and redshirt freshman Sire Gaines.
Sherrod is a transfer from Fresno State who only played four games last season due to injury. He’s a sixth-year player and could be a big factor in the backfield.
Last year, Gaines rushed for 156 yards and one touchdown but suffered a season-ending injury after appearing in just three games.
Leading the offensive line is left tackle Kage Casey, a HERO Sports first-team Group of Five All-American last season.
While the offense was explosive last year, averaging 37.3 points per game to rank fifth nationally, the defense was also highly proficient, allowing 22.6 points to rank tied for 37th.
Leading the way is EDGE Jayden Virgin-Morgan, a HERO Sports first-team Group of Five All-American last season. Virgin-Morgan had 15.5 tackles for loss, including 10 sacks.
Another key defensive player is safety Ty Benefield, who led the Broncos with 82 tackles. Benefield also had two interceptions and three passes defended.
He is part of a strong secondary that includes safety Zion Washington, who was third on the team with 67 tackles.
This should again be another strong defense.
For USF
South Florida has one of the most dynamic players in the American Conference – senior quarterback Byrum Brown. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Brown was among the top dual threat quarterbacks during his breakthrough season in 2023. He rushed for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns while completing 64.6% of his passes for 3,242 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
To show how dynamic he was, Brown and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU were the only players in the country to have 3,000-plus passing yards and 800-plus rushing yards during the 2023 regular season.
Last year, Brown suffered a season-ending leg injury in the fifth game of the year. In five games, he rushed for 268 yards and three touchdowns while completing 59.1% of his passes for 836 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
If Brown reverts to his 2023 form, then USF should be competitive with anybody on its difficult schedule.
Brown will also benefit from playing behind one of the American Conference’s most experienced offensive lines. USF has four returning starters with 114 career starts and a rotation of 10 players.
Among the key returning starters is guard Zane Herring while Stanford transfer Connor McLaughlin is able to play either tackle position.
Wide receiver Keshaun Singleton should be a top target for Brown after finishing third on the team in receptions with 27, good for 408 yards and three touchdowns.
Cartevious Norton, who rushed for 525 yards and seven touchdowns last season for Charlotte, looks to head up the ground game. He has been named to the Doak Walker Watch List. The Doak Walker Award is presented to the nation’s top running back.
If USF is to improve, then the defense has to take a step up. Last year, the Bulls allowed 29.8 points per game, which was 100th among FBS teams.
The defensive leader is linebacker Mac Harris, who led the Bulls in tackles (82), tackles for loss (12), and sacks (four). The defensive line will consist of several newcomers, including Texas A&M transfer Josh Celiscar.
Among the key players in the secondary is cornerback De’Shawn Rucker, who was named to the Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List for the nation’s best defensive back.
Last season was his first at USF after transferring from Tennessee. Rucker contributed 42 tackles and seven pass breakups in 11 games, missing two contests with injury.
Boise State-USF Prediction
I predict USF will cover the spread.
This all comes down to Brown. If he has regained his 2023 form, then this is the type of game that should go down to the wire. A key will be whether USF can run on Boise State. With Norton, Brown, and a veteran offensive line, USF should be able to move the ball on the ground. Can Brown be consistent as a passer?
In addition, can the USF defense show the type of improvement needed in order to contain what still should be a highly effective Boise State offense?
USF’s best defense should be a ball-control offense. There is no doubt that Boise State can win this game, but I like USF getting the points and wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulls won the game outright if we see the Brown of two years ago.
