Who is South Florida? What to expect as Boise State faces ‘one of the best’
Boise State football will meet South Florida for the first time in program history Thursday as the Broncos travel to Tampa for their 2025 season opener.
The Broncos begin their goal of back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances against a Bulls team that might be better than its 2024 record suggests. South Florida, which plays in the American Athletic Conference, finished with a 7-6 record despite playing much of the season without starting quarterback Byrum Brown.
With Brown back healthy, Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson expects South Florida to be “one of the most talented” teams the Broncos will see this season. Danielson also said that Brown, a 6-foot-3 senior, will be “one of the best football players” the defense faces.
With less than a week to go until the start of a new football season, here’s what to know about the Bulls.
High-tempo offense led by a top quarterback
A lot of South Florida’s success in 2024 will hinge on Brown, who missed over half of last season after breaking his leg in late September.
Brown enters the 2025 season owning 12 South Florida records, including single-season passing yards (3,292), passing touchdowns (26) and passing completion percentage (64.6%). Most of his success came in 2023, when the Bulls went 7-6 but managed a 45-0 rout over Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl.
“Brown’s gonna get his plays. He’s an elite football player. There’s not one schematic answer that can take him away,” Danielson said during a Saturday news conference. “He’s a three-year starter and has put up yards on everybody he’s played because he’s elite in what he does. So we’ve just got to stay in the fight.”
The Broncos will likely see the Brown who led the Bulls in both passing and rushing yards (809) in 2023. The Broncos fared well against mobile quarterbacks last season, but Brown’s ability means the defense will have to prepared for the triple option.
“I think the guys have to understand ... everybody’s got a number, everybody’s got somebody to account for,” defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said Saturday. “And you have to be very, very assignment sound, whether you know you’re the dive, whether you’re the alley, whether you’re the pitch.”
If Brown isn’t keeping the ball himself, the Bulls have two transfer running backs who’ll be looking to cause damage. Senior Cartevious Norton arrives having played for both Iowa State and Charlotte, while redshirt senior Sam Franklin played in 12 games for Oklahoma last season.
South Florida also had the second-fastest offensive tempo in college football last year, and Chinander expects a continuation of that this week.
Considering it’s the first game of the season, and the temperature at kickoff is forecast to be around 90, with the typical Florida humidity, the team’s defense will be tested. Boise State released its first depth chart of the season Saturday, with both interior lineman positions being three-deep on there.
“We’re going to have to have multiple packages to use our personnel the right way,” Chinander said. “And then you’re gonna have to have some guys, some depth players, who are gonna have to step up and play some bigger roles in the game, where you’re potentially playing a high number of plays, and the game’s moving really fast.”
A veteran defense that loves turnovers
College football coaching veteran Todd Orlando leads the South Florida defense. Orlando has served as the Bulls’ defensive coordinator since 2023, having recently been in the same position at major programs such as Texas (2017-19) and USC (2020-21).
Orlando’s defenses are capable of producing a lot of chaos through confusing packages featuring both odd and even fronts. The Bulls also excel at taking the ball away, forcing 25 turnovers in 2024, which tied for 13th most in the nation.
“They’ve got answers for everything you kind of give them in regard to how they align, coverages they play, and they’re going to be on the attack and they’re going to take the ball away,” Danielson said.
Boise State offensive coordinator Nate Potter will be making his debut in the position on Thursday.
Potter is impressed with the Bulls’ experienced linebackers. Graduate students Jhalyn Shuler and Mac Harris lead the group; they were responsible for a combined two interceptions and five forced fumbles in 2024.
“They do a really good job of creating confusion and creating some big plays on the defensive side,” Potter said.
Boise State at South Florida
- When: 3:30 p.m. Mountain time Thursday
- Where: Raymond James Stadium (75,000, grass), Tampa, Florida
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender).
- Records: Boise State 12-2 last year; South Florida 7-6.
- Series: First meeting
- Vegas line: Boise State by 6.5
- Weather: 91 degrees, partly cloudy, 24% chance of rain.
This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 3:27 PM.
