South Florida Football: 2017 Bulls season preview, predictions
By Zach Bigalke
2017 Schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Aug 26, 2017 | South Florida @ San Jose State | San Jose, CA |
| 1 | Sep 2, 2017 | FCS Stony Brook @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 2 | Sep 9, 2017 | South Florida @ Connecticut | East Hartford, CT |
| 3 | Sep 15, 2017 [FRI] | Illinois @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 4 | Sep 21, 2017 [THU] | Temple @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 5 | Sep 30, 2017 | South Florida @ East Carolina | Greenville, NC |
| 6 | BYE WEEK | ||
| 7 | Oct 14, 2017 | UMass @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 8 | Oct 21, 2017 | South Florida @ Tulane | New Orleans, LA |
| 9 | Oct 28, 2017 | Cincinnati @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 10 | Nov 4, 2017 | Houston @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 11 | BYE WEEK | ||
| 12 | Nov 16, 2017 [THU] | Tulsa @ South Florida | Tampa, FL |
| 13 | Nov 25, 2017 | South Florida @ UCF | Orlando, FL |
What’s in store for South Florida in 2017?
Honestly, South Florida has almost too easy a schedule in 2017. The Bulls open the season a week early on August 26 with a road game at San Jose State. They open at home the following week with FCS Stony Brook.
All of USF’s biggest games are at home, including their lone showdown against a Power Five team. That team is Illinois, which visits Tampa on September 21 for a Friday-night showcase. The Bulls have to play three games in 12 days in late September, with a game at UConn on September 15 and a Thursday-night showdown with Temple at home on September 27.
In conference play, the pressure is going to be on to win them all. They should have no trouble with the Huskies to open the American Athletic Conference season, but along with Temple they also get to play both Houston and Tulsa at home and avoid both Navy and Memphis. In addition to the trip to Connecticut, the Bulls also face East Carolina, Tulane, and UCF on the road.
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Prediction: 12-0 (8-0 American)
There is no logical reason why Strong and his staff can’t lead this veteran Bulls team to an undefeated regular season. South Florida will host the AAC championship game at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls will knock off the West champion for a 13th victory, but their weak overall schedule could backfire if another Group of Five champion also goes undefeated or even carries one loss.
If they fall out of a major bowl invitation, they could fall all the way to Birmingham Bowl where they would play one of the lower-tier SEC schools.