TicketsThe South Florida Bulls started playing football in 1997. In 2000 they jumped to the FBS, playing as an independent. Before the 2003 season, they joined Conference USA.
The first matchup between Cincinnati and USF was played in Tampa on Halloween night that year. Rick Minter's Bearcats struck first, scoring on a pass from junior quarterback Gino Guidugli. USF would tie the game on a 30-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The Bearcats got in range to attempt a game-winning try, but it was blocked. In the second overtime, with the Bulls leading by a touchdown, a Guidugli pass bounced off the shoulder pad of running back Richard Hall and into the awaiting arms of a South Florida defender, sealing a USF victory.
What was a heartbreaking loss for those who suited up at Raymond James Stadium ultimately became a footnote in Cincinnati history. The following day, director of athletics Bob Goin held a press conference in Clifton to answer questions about the university's move to the Big East Conference.
Making the leap with UC? Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, and South Florida.
The Bearcats and the Bulls have played each other every autumn since that Halloween night, all 19 of 'em, across three different conferences—Conference USA, the Big East, and The American. The games haven't always been blockbusters, but they've usually been fascinating.
There was the 2007 game, Brian Kelly's first in the series. The Bearcats traveled to Tampa to take on 20th-ranked South Florida in a game of back-and-forth haymakers. The first half featured a pair of pick-sixes, a 100-yard kick return touchdown, and a 76-yard WR pass from Marcus Barnett to Mardy Gilyard. Cincinnati's big halftime lead was too much for USF to overcome, and the Bearcats cruised to a 38-33 win.
The 2009 game, back in Tampa, was a classic. Both teams were ranked in the AP Top 25. Cincinnati held a one-score halftime lead when tragedy struck in the form of an injury to quarterback Tony Pike. No sooner did panic set in than backup Zach Collaros entered the game and streaked 75 yards through the heart of the Bulls' defense to seize the momentum and, eventually, the victory.
Nobody talks about the 2011 game anymore, but it was just as good. Those Bearcats lost at Tennessee in September but, behind Collaros, strung together four decisive victories to build a 5-1 record, already surpassing the win total from a disappointing 2010 campaign. The Bulls were determined to spoil the vibes, scoring a go-ahead touchdown on a BJ Daniels pass in the final two minutes. Collaros—steady as always—piloted a 70-yard two-minute drill, capped by a QB dive for the winning score.
In 2019 the Bearcats needed 134 yards from Michael Warren II and a Sam Crosa buzzer-beater, their second of the season, to lock up the win.
And South Florida made things uncomfortable Saturday in a 28-24 Cincinnati victory, taking a fourth-quarter lead at Nippert Stadium—something that hasn't happened much for opponents in this 30-game win streak.
It hasn't been all Bearcats, though, and it hasn't always been unforgettable for the right reasons. South Florida fans will remind you of the 2015 game, which saw the Bulls build an unfathomable 51-3 halftime lead. In 2016, a UC loss to USF dropped the Bearcats to 3-2, the first signs of cracks in the foundation that saw a 1-7 finish to the Tommy Tuberville era. And the 18th-ranked Bulls, of course, got the best of Luke Fickell's Bearcats in 2017.
In 2023, the Bearcats are off to the Big 12, and USF won't be joining for once. Next season's schedule will be absent of the Bulls for the first time since 2002. Back then, Demarco McCleskey was grinding out touchdowns, Lenny Stokes was slicing up C-USA backcourts, and Aaron Boone was hitting homers in a Reds uniform downtown. We've been rubbing elbows for a long time.
We talk a lot about the shifting ground that college football rests upon, and the Bearcats are a perfect case study. Establishing long-term conference rivals is hard when Cincinnati and its peers are leaping between leagues this often. Yet USF has been a pretty good roommate––or at least an entertaining one.
Saturday was the perfect closing chapter, for now––occasionally raucous, surprisingly discomforting, but ultimately something we'll remember: A beautiful afternoon and, for the 13th time in 20 years, a Cincinnati victory over South Florida. Up Next It's a bye week! The Bearcats are off Saturday before a pair of pivotal road games later this month at SMU and UCF. The team returns home Saturday November 5 against Navy. Tickets are sold out but can be purchased through StubHub, our official secondary ticket provider, HERE.
Tickets remain for the final two home games: East Carolina on Friday, November 11 and Tulane on Friday, November 25. Read More
The first matchup between Cincinnati and USF was played in Tampa on Halloween night that year. Rick Minter's Bearcats struck first, scoring on a pass from junior quarterback Gino Guidugli. USF would tie the game on a 30-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The Bearcats got in range to attempt a game-winning try, but it was blocked. In the second overtime, with the Bulls leading by a touchdown, a Guidugli pass bounced off the shoulder pad of running back Richard Hall and into the awaiting arms of a South Florida defender, sealing a USF victory.
What was a heartbreaking loss for those who suited up at Raymond James Stadium ultimately became a footnote in Cincinnati history. The following day, director of athletics Bob Goin held a press conference in Clifton to answer questions about the university's move to the Big East Conference.
Making the leap with UC? Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, and South Florida.
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The Bearcats and the Bulls have played each other every autumn since that Halloween night, all 19 of 'em, across three different conferences—Conference USA, the Big East, and The American. The games haven't always been blockbusters, but they've usually been fascinating.
There was the 2007 game, Brian Kelly's first in the series. The Bearcats traveled to Tampa to take on 20th-ranked South Florida in a game of back-and-forth haymakers. The first half featured a pair of pick-sixes, a 100-yard kick return touchdown, and a 76-yard WR pass from Marcus Barnett to Mardy Gilyard. Cincinnati's big halftime lead was too much for USF to overcome, and the Bearcats cruised to a 38-33 win.
The 2009 game, back in Tampa, was a classic. Both teams were ranked in the AP Top 25. Cincinnati held a one-score halftime lead when tragedy struck in the form of an injury to quarterback Tony Pike. No sooner did panic set in than backup Zach Collaros entered the game and streaked 75 yards through the heart of the Bulls' defense to seize the momentum and, eventually, the victory.
Nobody talks about the 2011 game anymore, but it was just as good. Those Bearcats lost at Tennessee in September but, behind Collaros, strung together four decisive victories to build a 5-1 record, already surpassing the win total from a disappointing 2010 campaign. The Bulls were determined to spoil the vibes, scoring a go-ahead touchdown on a BJ Daniels pass in the final two minutes. Collaros—steady as always—piloted a 70-yard two-minute drill, capped by a QB dive for the winning score.
In 2019 the Bearcats needed 134 yards from Michael Warren II and a Sam Crosa buzzer-beater, their second of the season, to lock up the win.
And South Florida made things uncomfortable Saturday in a 28-24 Cincinnati victory, taking a fourth-quarter lead at Nippert Stadium—something that hasn't happened much for opponents in this 30-game win streak.
It hasn't been all Bearcats, though, and it hasn't always been unforgettable for the right reasons. South Florida fans will remind you of the 2015 game, which saw the Bulls build an unfathomable 51-3 halftime lead. In 2016, a UC loss to USF dropped the Bearcats to 3-2, the first signs of cracks in the foundation that saw a 1-7 finish to the Tommy Tuberville era. And the 18th-ranked Bulls, of course, got the best of Luke Fickell's Bearcats in 2017.
HOW BOUT THEM #BEARCATS⁉️ pic.twitter.com/f6wEFwv9QS
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) October 8, 2022
In 2023, the Bearcats are off to the Big 12, and USF won't be joining for once. Next season's schedule will be absent of the Bulls for the first time since 2002. Back then, Demarco McCleskey was grinding out touchdowns, Lenny Stokes was slicing up C-USA backcourts, and Aaron Boone was hitting homers in a Reds uniform downtown. We've been rubbing elbows for a long time.
We talk a lot about the shifting ground that college football rests upon, and the Bearcats are a perfect case study. Establishing long-term conference rivals is hard when Cincinnati and its peers are leaping between leagues this often. Yet USF has been a pretty good roommate––or at least an entertaining one.
Saturday was the perfect closing chapter, for now––occasionally raucous, surprisingly discomforting, but ultimately something we'll remember: A beautiful afternoon and, for the 13th time in 20 years, a Cincinnati victory over South Florida. Up Next It's a bye week! The Bearcats are off Saturday before a pair of pivotal road games later this month at SMU and UCF. The team returns home Saturday November 5 against Navy. Tickets are sold out but can be purchased through StubHub, our official secondary ticket provider, HERE.
Tickets remain for the final two home games: East Carolina on Friday, November 11 and Tulane on Friday, November 25. Read More