Pat McAfee names college football program that fears nobody

ESPN analyst Pat McAfee dropped a significant compliment on an up-and-coming program on College GameDay. The punter-turned-personality gave a major shoutout to the rising South Florida Bulls during Saturday's broadcast. USF is facing arguably the biggest game in program history against No. 5 Miami.

Pat's take

This USF team is electrifying. They're explosive and they don't fear anybody and [quarterback] Byrum Brown is an absolute dog.Pat McAfee

USF's run

South Florida has taken down ranked opponents in each of the season's first two weeks, and with a win over No. 5 Miami, they would become only the fifth team in the last 75 years to open 3-0 with wins over AP ranked opponents in each of the season's first three weeks.

The Bulls bested then-No. 25 Boise State 34-7 in Week 1, rolling past the Broncos on two rushing touchdowns from QB Byrum Brown and a fake punt score. Week 2 presented a much more formidable opponent. The Bulls were 18.5 points underdogs to No. 13 Florida, but aided by 11 Florida penalties, the Bulls sprung an 18-16 upset.

Brown has gained momentum as a potential long-shot Heisman Trophy candidate. Brown was knocked out midseason in 2024 by injury, but passed for 3,292 yards and 26 scores while rushing for 809 yards and 11 more touchdowns in 2023. So far this season, Brown has passed for 473 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 109 yards and two more scores on the ground.

South Florida is currently the top G5 team in ESPN's FPI statistics. The top conference champion from the G5 will, of course, earn a College Football Playoff spot, and ESPN gives the Bulls a 35.6% shot at the Playoff. FPI has South Florida with a 27.9% shot at an upset of Miami today, with the Bulls still being a substantial underdog. But as McAfee's comments would indicate, taking the Bulls lightly has not been wise in 2025.