2023 South Florida
7–6 (4–4 American Athletic Conference), coached by Alex Golesh. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Syracuse 45–0Dec 21
By 45 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat UConn 24–21Oct 21
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | at Western Kentucky | L 24–41 | 17% |
| Sep 9 | vs Florida A&M | W 38–24 | 43% |
| Sep 16 | vs 10Alabama | L 3–17 | 17% |
| Sep 23 | vs Rice | W 42–29 | 49% |
| Sep 30 | at Navy | W 44–30 | 35% |
| Oct 7 | at UAB | L 35–56 | 36% |
| Oct 14 | vs Florida Atlantic | L 14–56 | 52% |
| Oct 21 | at UConn | W 24–21 | 41% |
| Nov 4 | at Memphis | L 50–59 | 19% |
| Nov 11 | vs Temple | W 27–23 | 64% |
| Nov 17 | at UTSA | L 21–49 | 14% |
| Nov 25 | vs Charlotte | W 48–14 | 67% |
| Dec 21Bowls & playoff | vs SyracuseBoca Raton Bowl | W 45–0 | 38% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Syracuse 45–0 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 28 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 5th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 415–419
- Coach
- Alex Golesh
- Elo
- 1443 +101 this season
- SP+ rating
- -6.6 No. 85 of 133; offense No. 55, defense No. 116, special teams No. 81
- SRS
- −7.5 No. 99 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 46% of last season’s EPA, No. 76 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 76 roster talent No. 65 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Joel Gordon
- Defensive coordinator
- Todd Orlando
- Offense
- Veer and shoot
- Defense
- Multiple 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.07 | 41% | 1.24 | 75th of 133 |
| Defense | 0.13 | 39% | 1.45 | 81st of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.06 off 0.15 def | 40% off 41% def | — | 93rd off 94th def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.6 | own 30 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.7 | own 30 | 19% caused |
CORE rating -11.0, 103rd of 133 (offense -4.8, defense 6.2).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Byrum Brown QB | 3,292 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Byrum Brown QB | 26 TD |
| Rushing yards | Byrum Brown QB | 809 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Byrum Brown QB | 11 TD |
| Receiving yards | Sean Atkins WR | 1,054 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Sean Atkins WR | 7 TD |
| Tackles | Jhalyn Shuler LB | 97 tkl |
| Sacks | Daquan Evans DB | 4 sacks |
| Interceptions | Logan Berryhill S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| JeyQuan Smith ATH | ★★★ | No. 628 |
| Israel Carter QB | ★★★ | No. 634 |
| Jarvis Lee CB | ★★★ | No. 958 |
| James Jenkins OL | ★★★ | No. 990 |
| Nikola Milovac OT | ★★★ | No. 1113 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.879 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.849 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 2.5 | 0.832 |
| Whole class | 14 | 2.9 | 0.849 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 114
The 2023 roster114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 18
The 2023 portal Jaden Alexis WR | ★★★ | from  Texas |
| D.J. Harris Jr. DE | ★★★★ | from Texas |
 Kendall Dennis CB | ★★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Lloyd Summerall III DE | ★★★★ | from  Florida |
| Nay’Quan Wright RB | ★★★★ | from Florida |
 Andrew Mata’afa LB | ★★★ | from  Utah |
 Bryce Archie QB | ★★★ | from  Coastal Carolina |
 Derek Bowman OT | ★★★ | from  Houston |
 Immanuel Hickman DE | ★★★ | from  East Carolina |
 Mike Brown-Stephens WR | ★★★ | from  Minnesota |
 R.J. Perry OT | ★★★ | from  Tennessee |
 Seth Jones WR | ★★★ | from  Baylor |
And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 25
 Brian Battie RB | ★★★★ | to  Auburn |
| Jimmy Horn Jr. WR | ★★★★ | to  Colorado |
| Tony Grier Jr. LB | ★★★ | to  Arkansas |
| Xavier Weaver WR | ★★★ | to Colorado |
| Jaren Mangham RB | ★★★ | to  Michigan State |
| Jackson Long TE | ★★★ | to  Georgia Tech |
| Timmy McClain QB | ★★★ | to  UCF |
| Gunnar Smith QB | ★★★ | to UCF |
| Spencer Shrader K | ★★ | to  Notre Dame |
| Clyde Pinder Jr. DL | ★★★★ | no new school on file |
| A.J. Hamilton CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Ajou Ajou WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2023 American Athletic Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 SMU | 8–0 | 11–3 | 22 |
 Tulane | 8–0 | 11–3 | |
| UTSA | 7–1 | 9–4 | |
| Memphis | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| South Florida | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Rice | 4–4 | 6–7 | |
| Navy | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 North Texas | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| UAB | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Florida Atlantic | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
 Tulsa | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Charlotte | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Temple | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| East Carolina | 1–7 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.