South Florida Bulls
American Athletic
0-0 (0-0 conf)
SP+ #29
Ratings
2025 final
- SP+
- 11.6 (#29)
- SP+ Offense
- 37.7
- SP+ Defense
- 25.3
- SRS
- 12.6
- FPI
- 11.1
- Elo
- 1774
- Talent
- 667
- Recruiting
- 180 (#90)
2026 Outlook
Projected wins
9.1p10 7.0 — p90 11.0
| Round | Prob | |
|---|---|---|
| Win conference | 23.3% | |
| Make CFP | 30.9% | |
| Quarterfinal | 11.7% | |
| Semifinal | 2.5% | |
| Natl. final | 0.5% | |
| Natl. champ | 0.1% |
Schedule
proj record 9.2–2.8
Schedule
91st
toughest of 136
Offenses faced
76th
toughest of 136
Defenses faced
116th
toughest of 136
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 136 (easiest) · by 2025 SP+ · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Proj | Win% | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsFlorida International | -10.5 | 36-14 | +21.9 | 91% | — |
| 2 | @Army | +0.8 | 26-21 | +4.9 | 62% | — |
| 3 | vsDelaware State | FCS | 47-3* | +43.9 | 100% | — |
| 4 | @Bowling Green | -12.6 | 34-16 | +18.7 | 87% | — |
| 5 | vsTemple | -5.1 | 35-16 | +18.9 | 87% | — |
| 6 | @UTSA | +3.7 | 26-26 | -0.9 | 48% | — |
| 7 | vsKent State | -19.3 | 41-13 | +28.2 | 96% | — |
| 9 | vsUAB | -15.8 | 40-19 | +21.4 | 90% | — |
| 10 | @East Carolina | +8 | 26-25 | +0.5 | 51% | — |
| 11 | vsMemphis | +7.6 | 29-21 | +8.1 | 68% | — |
| 12 | @Florida Atlantic | -8.7 | 32-22 | +10.5 | 74% | — |
| 13 | vsTulane | +6.3 | 32-22 | +9.4 | 71% | — |
* FBS-vs-FCS estimate from the SP+ gap — no per-game model for FCS opponents.
Quarterbacks · 5
2026 · 93
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Michael Van Buren Jr.← LSU | SO | 6'0" | 190 | ★★★ |
| QB | 2nd | Gaston Moore | SR | 6'2" | 212 | — |
| QB | 3rd | Luke Kromenhoek← Mississippi State | SO | 6'4" | 220 | ★★★ |
| QB | 4th | Jayden Bradford← Liberty | FR | 6'0" | 185 | ★★★ |
| QB | — | KJ Cooper← Texas Southern | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Running Backs · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB | 1st | Rico Watson III | SR | 6'0" | 238 | — |
| FB | 2nd | D.J. Harris | SR | 6'2" | 248 | ★★★★ |
| FB | 3rd | Ashton Mosley | SO | 6'3" | 238 | ★★★ |
| RB | 1st | Alvon Isaac | SO | 5'9" | 185 | ★★★ |
| RB | 2nd | Sam Franklin | SR | 5'10" | 204 | — |
| RB | 3rd | Cartevious Norton | SR | 5'11" | 222 | — |
| RB | 4th | Chase Garnett | FR | 5'9" | 215 | ★★★ |
| RB | 5th | Tray Kinkle | FR | 5'11" | 196 | ★★★ |
| RB | — | D.J. Crowther← Dartmouth | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | — | Jason Collins Jr.← Morgan State | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Wide Receivers · 12
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Kenny Odom← UTEP | JR | 5'10" | 170 | ★★★ |
| WR | 2nd | Mudia Reuben | SR | 6'2" | 210 | ★★★ |
| WR | 3rd | Armani Winfield← Colorado State | JR | 6'2" | 205 | ★★★★ |
| WR | 4th | Cameron Seldon← Virginia Tech | JR | 6'1" | 211 | ★★★ |
| WR | 5th | Arhmad Branch← Purdue | SO | 6'0" | 185 | ★★★ |
| WR | 6th | JeyQuan Smith | JR | 5'10" | 185 | — |
| WR | 7th | Joshua Porter | SO | 6'0" | 184 | ★★★ |
| WR | 8th | Bryson Rodgers← Ohio State | JR | 6'2" | 192 | ★★★ |
| WR | 9th | Jayden Davis | SR | 5'10" | 182 | — |
| WR | 10th | Christian Helms | SR | 6'2" | 205 | — |
| WR | — | Jaron Glover← Mississippi State | JR | 6'1" | 205 | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Arkese Parks | SO | 6'2" | 175 | — |
Tight Ends · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Wyatt Sullivan | JR | 6'4" | 242 | ★★★ |
| TE | 2nd | Evan Dangler | SR | 6'3" | 250 | — |
| TE | 3rd | Weston Wolff | SR | 6'4" | 239 | — |
| TE | — | Kade Caton← Oregon | FR | 6'5" | 250 | ★★★ |
| TE | — | Luke Clyburn← Furman | — | — | — | — |
Offensive Line · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | — | Zane Herring | SR | 6'5" | 315 | — |
| OL | — | Derek Bowman | SR | 6'5" | 292 | — |
| OT | — | Jaylin Acevedo← Navy | SO | 6'4" | 310 | ★★★ |
| OT | — | Ethan Green← Cincinnati | JR | 6'6" | 313 | ★★★ |
| OT | — | Kahari Finley← Morgan State | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Defensive Line · 19
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 1st | Dennard Flowers | SR | 6'2" | 260 | — |
| DE | 2nd | Michael Williams II | SR | 6'3" | 260 | ★★★ |
| DE | 3rd | Levi Smiley | SO | 6'4" | 268 | ★★★ |
| DE | 4th | Richard Scott III | FR | 6'4" | 260 | ★★★ |
| DE | 5th | Eli Jones | FR | 6'3" | 253 | ★★★ |
| DL | 1st | Josh Celiscar | SR | 6'3" | 292 | ★★★ |
| DL | 2nd | Asani Redwood← West Virginia | JR | 6'3" | 296 | ★★★ |
| DL | 3rd | Terrell Jones← Virginia | SR | 6'5" | 273 | ★★★ |
| DL | — | Terry Simmons← Duke | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DL | — | Major Dillard← Norfolk State | — | — | — | — |
| DT | 1st | Traevon Mitchell | SR | 6'0" | 282 | — |
| DT | 2nd | Devin Lee | SR | 6'2" | 290 | — |
| DT | 3rd | Jacob Merrifield | SR | 6'2" | 290 | ★★★ |
| DT | 4th | Ryan Jenkins | SO | 6'4" | 265 | ★★★ |
| DT | 5th | Jahari Grant | SO | 6'2" | 321 | ★★★ |
| EDGE | 1st | Shamar Meikle← Oregon State | SO | 6'3" | 228 | ★★★ |
| EDGE | 2nd | Marshon Oxley← West Virginia | JR | 6'2" | 227 | — |
| EDGE | 3rd | C.J. Hicks← Ohio State | SR | 6'3" | 243 | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Harrysson Ngassa← Illinois | FR | 6'4" | 210 | ★★ |
Linebackers · 11
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Mac Harris | SR | 6'0" | 230 | ★★★ |
| LB | 2nd | Jhalyn Shuler | SR | 6'3" | 225 | — |
| LB | 3rd | Zavier Hamilton | SO | 6'2" | 230 | ★★★ |
| LB | 4th | Rodney Hill | SO | 5'10" | 220 | ★★★ |
| LB | 5th | Sam Robinson← Rutgers | SO | 6'3" | 222 | ★★★ |
| LB | 6th | Michael Harris← Maryland | JR | 6'1" | 218 | ★★★ |
| LB | 7th | Chavez Brown | SR | 6'1" | 230 | — |
| LB | 8th | Gavin Leach | FR | 6'2" | 216 | ★★★ |
| LB | 9th | Grayson Howard← Florida | JR | 6'4" | 236 | ★★★ |
| LB | 10th | Amer Amer | SR | 6'1" | 225 | — |
| LB | 11th | Christian Smith | FR | 6'3" | 225 | — |
Defensive Backs · 21
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | De'Shawn Rucker | SR | 6'0" | 195 | ★★★ |
| CB | 2nd | Za'Quan Bryan← Minnesota | SO | 5'10" | 190 | ★★★ |
| CB | 3rd | Amarion Fortenberry← Kansas State | SO | 5'10" | 178 | ★★★ |
| CB | 4th | Ben Knox | SR | 6'2" | 205 | ★★★ |
| CB | 5th | Tayvion Beasley← BYU | JR | 5'10" | 180 | ★★★ |
| CB | 6th | Teddy Foster← Florida | FR | 6'1" | 188 | ★★★ |
| CB | 7th | Jair Murphy | JR | 6'0" | 200 | — |
| CB | 8th | Herlin Perry Jr. | FR | 5'11" | 170 | — |
| CB | 9th | Dorian Mallary Jr. | FR | 5'11" | 175 | — |
| CB | — | A'mon Lane-Ganus← Auburn | FR | 5'10" | 180 | ★★★ |
| S | 1st | Ayden Jackson← Georgia Southern | JR | 5'11" | 185 | — |
| S | 2nd | Tavin Ward | SR | 6'1" | 197 | — |
| S | 3rd | Israel Boyce← West Virginia | SO | 5'11" | 190 | ★★★ |
| S | 4th | Jaelen Stokes | SR | 6'1" | 204 | — |
| S | 5th | Cedrick Hawkins Jr. | JR | 6'0" | 189 | ★★★★ |
| S | 6th | George Brown IV | SO | 5'10" | 180 | — |
| S | 7th | Jabari Smith | FR | 5'11" | 180 | ★★★ |
| S | 8th | Jermaine Dalias | SO | 6'2" | 195 | ★★★ |
| S | 9th | Malcolm Ziglar← North Carolina | SO | 6'3" | 195 | ★★★ |
| S | 10th | Victor Zidor | SR | 6'2" | 195 | — |
| S | — | JR Rosenberg← Texas A&M | JR | 5'9" | 182 | ★★★ |
Special Teams · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | — | Lawson Thorn← Wingate | — | — | — | — |
| LS | — | Don Volante III← West Florida | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| P | 1st | Chase Leon | SR | 6'5" | 222 | — |
| P | 2nd | Luke Goater | FR | 6'2" | 210 | ★★★ |
| PK | 1st | Nico Gramatica | SO | 5'8" | 165 | ★★★ |
Projected Season
2026 · win prob / game
Exp. Wins
9.2
Exp. Losses
2.8
Toss-ups
2
bars: model win probabilityfav / toss-up / dog
2025 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
37.792
Off PPA
+0.3092
Pass PPA
+0.4493
Rush PPA
+0.2082
Success
47%85
Explosive
1.3073
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
SP+ Trend
points vs avg team
— Overall— Offense— Defense
SP+ = opponent-adjusted points vs an average team. Overall & Offense higher = better; Defense lower = better.
Advanced
2025 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.30 | +0.08 |
| Passing | +0.44 | +0.17 |
| Rushing | +0.20 | +0.03 |
| 1st Down | +0.17 | -0.13 |
| 2nd Down | +0.23 | +0.06 |
| 3rd Down | +0.67 | +0.57 |
Scoring Trend
2025 · pts/game
PPG For
43.0
PPG Against
23.3
Differential
+19.7
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / L2025
- Overall
- 9-3
- Home
- 6-0
- Away
- 3-3
- Conference
- 6-2
- Non-Conference
- 3-1
- One-Score (≤8)
- 1-2
- Avg Margin
- +19.7
Situational Splits
2025 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 6-0 | 51.0 | 14.3 |
| Away | 3-3 | 35.0 | 32.3 |
| Neutral | 0-1 | 10.0 | 24.0 |
| Competition | |||
| vs Ranked (SP+ 25) | 1-1 | 37.5 | 42.5 |
| Conference | 6-2 | 48.6 | 24.3 |
| Non-conference | 3-2 | 27.4 | 22.0 |
Season History · last 12
0 AP top-10 · 7 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9-3 | 6-2 | #29 | #18 | 0-1 |
| 2024 | 6-6 | 4-4 | #79 | — | 1-0 |
| 2023 | 6-6 | 4-4 | #85 | — | 1-0 |
| 2022 | 1-11 | 0-8 | #119 | — | — |
| 2021 | 2-10 | 1-7 | #110 | — | — |
| 2020 | 1-8 | 0-7 | #112 | — | — |
| 2019 | 4-8 | 2-6 | #103 | — | — |
| 2018 | 7-5 | 3-5 | #83 | — | 0-1 |
| 2017 | 9-2 | 6-2 | #32 | — | 1-0 |
| 2016 | 10-2 | 7-1 | #40 | — | 1-0 |
| 2015 | 8-4 | 6-2 | #63 | — | 0-1 |
| 2014 | 4-8 | 3-5 | #107 | — | — |
Recent Form · last 5
3-2 SU · 3-1 ATS · O2/U2
Betting Profile
2025 · 12 w/ line
| Straight up | 9-4 |
| ATS | 9-375% |
| Over / Under | 7-5 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 6-2 |
| As underdog | 3-1 |
| Home | 6-0 |
| Away | 3-3 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #74 · 2 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★156 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | #90 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2025 | #65 | 189 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 2024 | #50 | 198 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| 2023 | #76 | 165 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2022 | #91 | 136 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2021 | #63 | 168 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2020 | #101 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2019 | #77 | 158 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2018 | #65 | 176 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2017 | #76 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
2026
Portal in 44net +10Out 34
Portal avg stars (in / out)3.0 / 3.1
Notable Portal Moves
| ▲ | Armani Winfield | WR | 4★ | ← Colorado State |
| ▲ | Arhmad Branch | WR | 3★ | ← Purdue |
| ▲ | Luke Kromenhoek | QB | 3★ | ← Mississippi State |
| ▲ | Za'Quan Bryan | CB | 3★ | ← Minnesota |
| ▼ | Byrum Brown | QB | 4★ | → Auburn |
| ▼ | Tyler Williams | WR | 4★ | → — |
| ▼ | Cole Best | IOL | 3★ | → Auburn |
| ▼ | Jeremiah Koger | WR | 3★ | → Auburn |
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2026
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
11 items
- Auburn's Byrum Brown Ranks No. 1 Among SEC Quarterbacks in This PFF StatThe Auburn Tigers enter 2026 with one of the best returning quarterbacks of last season.
- Auburn's Byrum Brown is the SEC's top QB in this categoryAuburn transfer Byrum Brown earned the highest grade of any returning SEC quarterback from PFF College.
- Auburn's Byrum Brown among top five most impactful SEC transfersOn3's Chris Low believes that Auburn has found a solid quarterback in the transfer portal in Byrum Brown.
- Auburn QB will be difficult for Arkansas to ambushByrum Brown is not only good, but experienced and comfortable
- How high does Byrum Brown sit in the latest SEC QB Rankings from On3?Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown will enter a tough challenge in 2026, but has potential to end the year as one of the SEC's best signal callers.
- Brian Hartline might want to be careful after his latest comment could end up being a written check he can't cashBrian Hartline is heading into his first season as a head coach at South Florida. The former Ohio State assistant coach might want to be careful with his latest comment.USF14d
- New-Look Auburn Tigers Sparked By Alex Golesh, Byrum BrownThe Auburn Tigers enter the 2026 college football season with plenty of hope and excitement. Auburn hired USF Bulls head coach Alex Golesh in November and agreed to a six-year deal. Golesh was one of the top coaching candidates available; he was linked to Arkansas but ultimately chose Auburn. ...
- Brian Hartline drops bold statement on how South Florida will operate like the Ohio State BuckeyesFormer Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline isn't shying away from how he's trying to run the football program at South Florida.USF14d
- 2026 American Preseason Previews: South Florida BullsBrian Hartline takes over, hoping to be the coach that takes USF to its first American title game.USF14d
- The blueprint for Byrum Brown to become the best QB in Auburn historyByrum Brown has one season to prove himself in Auburn. Here's what he needs to do to leave a lifelong legacy on the Plains.
- 3 Weeks After Commitment, Gophers 2027 Edge Flips to South FloridaKelsey Rose Jr. has changed his mind about his college football future.USF29d