Captain Canada wrote: ↑20 Feb 2022, 13:33Going to be a huge matchup, sucks having some weapons out on offense but I think y'all get them back. #HornsDown
Strength in Unity.
Strength in Unity.
Strength in Unity.
Francois Sr. likely to be retained as head coach as university leadership at odds with financial backers
Anthony Washington -- The Tampa Bay Chronicles
University of South Florida head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. is expected to return in 2035 as the football program's head coach according to multiple sources close to the situation.
Francois Sr. met with university officials on Saturday before the upcoming College Football Playoff National Championship who informed the veteran head coach that despite previous buyout conversations, the university has opted to retain his services.
The university's leadership were prepared to move on from Francois Sr. due to several scandals surrounding the football program, including an NCAA investigation into the program regarding the administration of pain management, mistreatment of players and the handling of several accusations from female student athletes regarding illegal, hidden recordings of sexual acts by at least one member of the football team.
Buyout talks began as early as mid-November between Francois Sr.'s representation and university officials. When a possible number was reached, university officials were unable to get buy-in from its financial backers and top boosters as the rumored buyout was in the neighborhood of $55 million, which wouldn't include the additional millions needed in order to hire another head coach to replace Francois Sr. which would most likely include paying another buyouts to its respective schools.
Discussions halted following Francois Sr's interview with The Athletic as the expectations were that both sides would reconvene during the hiatus between the SEC Championship Game and the bowl season. During this time, university leadership were discussing internally whether they had enough to fire Francois Sr. with cause and not have to pay out his buyout but doing so would more than likely require a lengthy suit that would be sure to follow. In the end, there wasn't "much appetite" for such a situation according to a source with intimate knowledge of these conversations.
Francois Sr. and the USF Bulls will look to win their fifth national championship on Monday when they rematch against the Texas Longhorns.
Strength in Unity.
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#3 USF (14-1, 9-1) | 0 |7 | 14 | 7 || 28
#1 TEX (13-2, 9-1) | 3 | 17 | 7 | 0 || 27
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Bulls get the last laugh as they pull off comeback win over Longhorns to win 5th national championship
In two seasons at USF, sophomore quarterback Jeff Jones has thrown for 11,330 yards and 108 touchdowns. In the biggest game of his football career and in the biggest moments, it was his offensive line that carried them to the promise land.
USF's high-flying offense grounded itself and was able to complete the comeback and then bleed out the Texas Longhorns, slowing the game down and beating them in their rematch to take home the program's fifth national championship following their 28-27 victory on Monday night.
Texas led by two possessions for most of the game, including after Brandon Rogers found Randall Sullivan for a 47-yard score right before the end of the half to keep momentum on their side.
USF would open the second half with a touchdown but Texas responded once more with Rogers throwing his second touchdown of the day and his third total touchdown of the night. As USF shifted from a primarily three-down front that they played all night to a four-man front, it would be Texas' last score of the day.
With the four-man front, USF was able to get more pressure on Rogers who had dialed up the nation's top defense for six and a half quarters. With the defense finding its footing, USF's rushing attack got it going behind Terrance Small and William Jones, unlikely heroes as top running back Bobby Jackson left the game with a concussion.
Injuries also paved the way for a trio of walk on freshman in Michael Arrington, Ryan Sullivan and Charles Fisher to all get major playing time with Arrington leading the game in receptions and Sullivan scoring a touchdown.
Fisher got the start on the outside over two-way player Clayton Bradford who exclusively played safety in the game. USF head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. said the decision to not play Bradford on offense was to save his energy for defense which paid off as Texas' offense wasn't as effective as it was during their first encounter.
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Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[TEX] D. Davidson, 42 Yd FG (5:53)
Quarter 2
[TEX] B. Rogers, 42 Yd run (5:00)
[TEX] D. Davidson, 27 Yd FG (3:21)
[USF] C. Wallace, 23 Yd pass from J. Jones (1:12)
[TEX] R. Sullivan, 47 Yd pass from B. Rogers (0:25)
Quarter 3
[USF] T. Small, 3 Yd run (5:28)
[TEX] B. Stephens, 7 Yd pass from B. Rogers (3:28)
[USF] R. Sullivan, 12 Yd pass from J. Jones (2:03)
Quarter 4
[USF] W. Jones, 4 Yd run (5:29)
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#3 South Florida Bulls
QB Jeff Jones: 21 of 34, 213 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 6 carries, 44 yards.
HB Terrance Small: 10 carries, 82 yards, touchdown.
HB William Jones: 9 carries, 20 yards, touchdown.
HB Bobby Jackson: 6 carries, 57 yards (left game with injury).
WR Michael Arrington: 7 receptions, 65 yards.
TE Chris Wallace: 6 receptions, 89 yards, touchdown.
S Zach Mack: 9 tackles, tackle for loss.
LB Chris Williams: 7 tackles, tackle for loss.
DE John Allen: 2 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.
DE Adam Harvey: 2 tackles, tackle for loss, sack.
#1 Texas Longhorns
QB Brandon Rogers: 22 of 26, 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, sacked 2 times, 7 carries, 58 yards.
HB Tony Williams: 7 carries, 18 yards, 4 receptions, 10 yards.
HB Leo Fields: 3 carries, 24 yards (left game with injury).
WR Charles Mitchell: 9 receptions, 103 yards.
WR Randall Sullivan: 2 receptions, 56 yards, touchdown.
CB Lamar Fenner: 8 tackles, tackle for loss.
CB John Ward: 4 tackles, tackle for loss, interception.
LB Ben Barnett: 4 tackles, interception.
Strength in Unity.
2034 NCAA Records
Season Passing Yds -- QB Jeff Jones, 5988 (Previous Record: 5833, Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury, 2003)
2034 USF Bulls Records
Career Passing Yds -- QB Jeff Jones, 11130 (Previous Record: 9108, Marquel Blackwell, 1999-02)
Career Passing TDs -- QB Jeff Jones, 108 (Previous Record: 77, Jed White, 2025-27)
Season Passing TDs -- QB Jeff Jones, 57 (Previous Record: 51, Jed White, 2033)
2034 USF All-Americans
First Team
QB Jeff Jones
LT Kyle Parker
DE Rick Hunter
DT Ron Cox
DT Dallas Thomas
LB Chris Williams
CB Richie Cowan
S Clayton Bradford
S Zach Mack
Second Team
TE Chris Wallace
Freshman
HB Bobby Jackson
TE Chris Wallace
LB Josh Anderson
CB Jeremy Daniels
2034 USF All-SEC
First Team
QB Jeff Jones
HB Bobby Jackson
WR Marques Iosefo
TE Chris Wallace
LT Kyle Parker
RG Cedric George
DE Rick Hunter
DT Ron Cox
DT Dallas Thomas
LB Chris Williams
CB Richie Cowan
S Clayton Bradford
S Zach Mack
Second Team
WR Matthew Smith
RT Joe Williams
CB Jeremy Daniels
K Brian Henry
2034 South Florida Bulls Stats
Passing
QB Jeff Jones, Sophomore: 446 of 657, 5142 yards, 57 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, sacked 18 times, 157.7 QB rating.
QB Jared Barr, Rs Sophomore: 8 of 13, 60 yards, touchdown, interception, sacked 1 time, 110.3 QB rating.
Rushing
HB Bobby Jackson, Freshman: 148 carries, 1173 yards, 15 touchdowns.
HB Terrance Small, Rs Senior: 134 carries, 944 yards, 4 touchdowns.
QB Jeff Jones, Sophomore: 67 carries, 204 yards, touchdown.
HB William Jones, Junior: 41 carries, 161 yards, 2 touchdowns.
HB Jason Gibson, Rs Freshman: 16 carries, 79 yards.
Receiving
TE Chris Wallace, Freshman: 91 receptions, 1260 yards, 11 touchdowns.
WR Matthew Smith, Senior: 79 receptions, 942 yards, 9 touchdowns.
WR Marques Iosefo, Sophomore: 56 receptions, 862 yards, 14 touchdowns.
HB Bobby Jackson, Freshman: 51 receptions, 344 yards, 2 touchdowns.
WR Robert Givens, Junior: 40 receptions, 564 yards, 9 touchdowns.
HB Terrance Small, Rs Senior: 36 receptions, 180 yards.
DB Clayton Bradford, Junior: 26 receptions, 298 yards, 3 touchdowns.
WR Michael Arrington, Freshman: 25 receptions, 313 yards, 4 touchdowns.
TE Gemara Siegel, Junior: 15 receptions, 186 yards, 3 touchdowns.
FB Keith Oliver, Junior: 12 receptions, 121 yards, touchdown.
WR Charles Fisher, Freshman: 4 receptions, 33 yards.
WR Ryan Sullivan, Freshman: 3 receptions, 32 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Blocking
LT Kyle Parker, Rs Senior: 17 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed.
LG Tony Kelly, Rs Sophomore: 9 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed.
C Brandon Franklin, Sophomore: 8 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed.
RG Cedric George, Senior: 16 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed.
RT Joe Williams, Rs Junior: 4 pancakes, 8 sacks allowed.
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WR Matthew Smith, Senior: 40 pancakes.
TE Chris Wallace, Freshman: 22 pancakes.
FB Keith Oliver, Junior: 18 pancakes.
Defensive
LB Chris Williams, Sophomore: 91 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, sack, 5 interceptions, 3 touchdowns, 2 PBU, FF.
S Zach Mack, Junior: 68 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, sack, 6 PBU, FF.
LB Josh Anderson, Freshman: 49 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, PBU, FF.
S Clayton Bradford, Junior: 47 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, PBU.
CB Joe Jackson, Sophomore: 46 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, interception, touchdown, 2 PBU.
CB Kevin Cronin, Senior: 43 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 5 PBU.
CB Richie Cowan, Junior: 41 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 3 PBU.
LB Paul Williams, Senior: 38 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, sack, PBU.
LB Nick Robinson, Junior: 33 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 2 PBU.
DE Rick Hunter, Rs Senior: 33 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 4 FF.
CB Jeremy Daniels, Freshman: 20 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, touchdown.
DT Ron Cox, Sophomore: 20 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, FF.
DE Aaron Bean, Junior: 19 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 sacks.
LB Travis Thomas, Freshman: 18 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, sack.
LB Clint Parker, Freshman: 15 tackles, 5 tackles for loss.
DT Matt Bush, Sophomore: 11 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks.
DT Pete Ford, Junior: 11 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, sack.
DE John Allen, Sophomore: 11 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks.
S Randy Melton, Senior: 10 tackles, tackle for loss, PBU.
DT Dallas Thomas, Sophomore: 10 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 2 FF.
DE Adam Harvey, Rs Junior: 6 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 4 sacks.
Kicking
K Brian Henry, Senior: 13 of 16 FG, FG Lng of 50, 86/86 XP
Punting
K Brian Henry, Senior: 35 punts, 35.2 Avg Net, 9 inside the 20.
Returning
HB Bobby Jackson, Freshman: 14 kick returns, 595 yards, touchdown, 31 punt returns, 468 yards, touchdown.
Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 43.9 PPG (1st)
Scoring Defense: 17.3 PPG (3rd)
Strength in Unity.
Notable Bowl Results
Orange Bowl
#5 Ohio State (10-4, 9-1) -- 24
#6 Navy (11-2, 7-2) -- 34
Sugar Bowl
#7 Ohio (13-1, 9-1) -- 35
#8 UCF (11-3, 9-1) -- 21
Fiesta Bowl
#9 Stanford (10-4, 8-2) -- 27
#10 Penn State (11-2, 7-2) -- 32
Cotton Bowl
#13 Kentucky (10-3, 6-3) -- 28
#19 Kansas State (11-3, 9-1) -- 24
Citrus Bowl
#15 Notre Dame (11-3, 8-2) -- 36
West Virginia (6-6, 4-5) -- 7
Outback Bowl
#11 Tennessee (10-3, 7-2) -- 32
#14 Michigan State (10-3, 6-3) -- 38
Gator Bowl
Miami (7-6, 5-4) -- 20
Nebraska (10-4, 6-4) -- 45
Liberty Bowl
Georgia (7-6, 4-5) -- 24
#16 Middle Tennessee State (12-2, 9-0) -- 30
Music City Bowl
#22 LSU (9-4, 5-4) -- 31
Wake Forest (6-7, 4-5) -- 14
guaranteedRate Bowl
Oklahoma State (9-4, 6-3) -- 49
#20 Florida State (8-5, 6-3) -- 42
Gasparilla Bowl
Louisiana Tech (7-6, 5-3) -- 38
Auburn (7-6, 6-3) -- 21
Independence Bowl
Alabama (7-6, 4-5) -- 52
Clemson (6-7, 4-5) -- 31
Strength in Unity.
USF defensive coordinator Bob Shoop to retire after 43 years in coaching
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
USF defensive coordinator Bob Shoop is calling it a career after being a coach for 43 years and a defensive coordinator for the past 21 seasons, spending the last four with the Bulls.
Shoop took over an elite unit from Pat Fitzgerald after he took the head coaching job at SMU but had to retool a defense that was losing a ton of talent. It took him a few recruiting cycles but Shoop was able to field a dominant defense this past season as his recruiting efforts, especially in the secondary, paid off as well as loaded the cupboard for the next defensive coordinator up front with plenty of elite talent there as well.
USF has reportedly already interviewed two candidates in BYU defensive coordinator Dennis Harrell and Purdue defensive coordinator Jay Ransom for the job.
USF will also likely be on the market for a new offensive coordinator as Mario Greer is expected to be named the head coach for Air Force in the coming days although Florida recently firing Alex Little could keep the former USF quarterback in-state and in the conference.
Strength in Unity.
Greer headed to Gainesville as Gators steal their man from Air Force
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
For the second year in a row, an SEC foe has tabbed USF's offensive coordinator to be their next head coach as Mario Greer has been named as the Florida Gators' next head coach.
Greer interviewed for the Air Force job and according to reports accepted the job offer just hours before Florida fired Alex Little. With the new opening, Greer backed off his commitment to the Falcons, interviewed for the Florida job and was hired to replace Little who lasted just one season in Gainesville.
Greer, who played for the Bulls from 2015 until 2020, joined the Bulls coaching staff in 2022 as a graduate assistant and was soon promoted to analyst and eventually QB coach following Grant Oliver's departure to be the offensive coordinator at Michigan in 2027. Greer called plays last season for the nation's top offense.
As usual, Oliver is a potential replacement and names that have been rumored to have interviews scheduled include former Arizona State head coach Doug Nussmeier, former Cincinnati head coach Clarence McKinney and current Tennessee offensive coordinator James Coley.
McKinney runs a similar offense as Greer as he comes from the Kevin Sumlin's coaching tree which has a heavy air-raid influence while Coley has recruiting ties to the South Florida region. The wild card is Nussmeier who runs a more pro style offense
Strength in Unity.
Nussmeier and Butler named new OCs, DCs at USF
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
The University of South Florida has formally announced their new staff with Doug Nussmeier, most recently the head coach at Arizona State, set to run the offense and veteran defensive coordinator John Butler set to run the defense following the departure of Mario Greer and the retirement of defensive coordinator Bob Shoop.
Nussmeier previously served as an assistant coach at Florida, Michigan, Alabama, Washington, Fresno State and Michigan State. Nussmeier has also previously served as quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis Rams, Ottawa Renegades and BC Lions. His last two stops have been at South Carolina and Arizona State, where he was both fired.
Unlike the last few coordinators at USF, Nussmeier runs a pro style offense which has brought his hiring into questioning by many fans, especially with former Cincinnati head coach Clarence McKinney available, who ended up at Arizona State as their OC. McKinney runs a similar offense as Greer with a lot of Air Raid principles as does Neal Brown, who McKinney replaced at Arizona State. Brown is now the OC at San Diego State.
Since being fired as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats, Butler has worked as a defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Volunteers and most recently the Florida State Seminoles. Ironically, Butler was replaced by Shoop in 2014 as Penn State's defensive coordinator.
Similar to Shoop, Butler runs a four-man front and kept USF's offense in relative check the last time they played the Seminoles, forcing three turnovers and surrendering 28 points. He ran a 4-3 defense at Florida State but in the past has ran a 4-2-5 defense, most recently at Arizona and with the Volunteers.
Notable Head Coaching Changes
N.C. State :: Tim Brown replaces Tony Levine (fired)
Virginia Tech :: Chris Tyson replaces Scott Loeffler (fired)
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Maryland :: Derrick Marshall replaces Andy Buh (fired)
Northwestern :: Dwayne Smith replaces Mike Norvell (fired)
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Cincinnati :: John Papuchis replaces Clarence McKinney (fired)
Memphis :: Brian Doucette replaces Brent Venables (fired)
SMU :: Charlton Warren replaces James Franklin (fired)
TCU :: Jeremy Butler replaces Major Applewhite (fired)
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Arizona :: Braylon Allen replaces Chase Murphy (left for new job)
Arizona State :: Nick Rolovich replaces Doug Nussmeier (fired)
Oregon State :: Earvin Singletary replaces Steve Addazio (retired)
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Florida :: Mario Greer replaces Alex Little (fired)
Missississippi State :: Jim Stewart replaces Matt Wallerstedt (retired)
Oklahoma :: Chase Murphy replaces John Papuchis (fired)
SEC Coaching Staff Changes
Florida OC :: Tony Levine replaces Michael Jones (fired)
Florida DC :: Reggie Johnson replaces Brian Sims (fired)
LSU DC :: Jay Ransom replaces Mark Stoops (contract expired)
Mississippi State OC :: John Burns replaces Jeremy Pratt (fired)
Mississippi State DC :: Jarrod Parks replaces Daniel Harris (fired)
Oklahoma DC :: Dennis Harrell replaces Mike Pitts (fired)
Tennessee DC :: Robert McGee replaces John Butler (contract expired)
Texas OC :: Major Applewhite replaces Earvin Singletary (left for new job)
Texas DC :: Eric Henley replaces Derek Smith (left for new job)
USF OC :: Doug Nussmeier replaces Mario Greer (left for new job)
USF DC :: John Butler replaces Bob Shoop (retired)
Strength in Unity.
USF loses key defensive backs, WR Givens to draft as early enrollees declare
Cooper Byrd -- Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
As expected, juniors WR Robert Givens, CB Richie Cowan and safeties Zach Mack and Clayton Bradford are declaring for the NFL Draft.
Givens missed most of his junior season with a knee injury and will not be able to participate in pre-draft activities as he continues to recover from his knee surgery. Prior to the injury, Givens was averaging 70.5 yards per game and a career high 14.1 yards per reception and nine touchdowns.
Cowan, Mack and Bradford were perennial All-SECs since coming onto the stage as true freshmen with all three earning All-American honors last season and Cowan taking home the Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back.
Two former USF players in Thomas Jackson and Buck Duckett, both at Kentucky, also declared for the draft.
2034 Players Leaving » Career Stats
#1 Robert Givens (WR, Junior): Declared Early » 176 receptions, 2323 yards, 20 touchdowns.
#9 Zach Mack (S, Junior): Declared Early » 183 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 10 PBU, FF.
#2 Clayton Bradford (S, Junior): Declared Early » 149 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 9 interceptions, touchdown, 6 PBU, 3 FR, 26 receptions, 298 yards, 3 touchdowns.
#21 Richie Cowan (CB, Junior): Declared Early » 125 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 8 interceptions, touchdown, 8 PBU, 2 FF, 2 FR.
#65 Kyle Parker (LT, Rs Senior): Pro Draft » 30 pancakes, 18 sacks allowed.
#82 Brian Henry (K, Senior): Graduation » 50 of 53 FG, FG Lng of 53, 100% XP.
#53 Cedric George (G, Senior): Graduation » 55 pancakes, 14 sacks allowed.
#7 Matthew Smith (WR/TE/FB, Senior): Graduation » 165 receptions, 1819 yards, 18 touchdowns, 23 carries, 98 yards, touchdown, 55 pancakes.
#28 Kevin Cronin (CB, Senior): Graduation » 47 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 5 PBU.
#15 Paul Williams (LB, Senior): Graduation » 40 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, sack, PBU.
#12 Brandon Wilson (QB, Rs Senior): Graduation » 14 of 22, 167 yards, touchdown, sacked once.
#6 Terrance Small (HB, Rs Senior): Graduation » 145 carries, 998 yards, 5 touchdowns.
#97 Rick Hunter (DE, Rs Senior): Graduation » 48 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, 4 FF, FR.
#26 Randy Melton (S, Senior): Graduation » 21 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 PBU.
#98 George Vogel (DE, Senior): Graduation » 13 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.