USF's Golesh Details Facing Florida Gators

As the former offensive coordinator of Tennessee, Golesh has previously coached inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Albeit one time, he understands the vibe and the environment of the stadium around the field and the aura that envelops the area. Few stadiums possess that grand of a home-field advantage.

"Yeah, it's a huge part of the preparation," he said. "You can't make it solely about that, but the crowd noise is real, like you said. I've been there; there's a chunk of our team that's been there; the majority of our staff has been there, so it's a factor. It will certainly affect how you operate, specifically offensively, and our job as coaches is to prepare our guys to not allow it to be a factor. "

Player Maturity

Keeping a team together annually can be a tough task, especially with the transfer portal and lure of NIL money just waiting for players at other institutions. Yet, Golesh seems to have a handle on the situation as he navigates forward.

"But I do think we're mature," he said. "We're certainly an older football team with a bunch of young guys that are playing ball, but when you have an older football team and you trust your older guys, you can say, 'Man, just do what those guys are doing.'

“And that's the coolest thing about building a program: as you continue to build and have success, you can point to successful things, and this is how you handled it."

While confident, the USF coach does not let that interfere with the business at hand. They smacked a ranked Boise State team. Granted, Ashton Jeanty now plays football in the NFL. Still, a quality win is a quality win. Florida is a different and familiar challenge for South Florida.

Anyone with a pulse completely understands that they head into the game as a decided underdog. Yet, you cannot accuse Golesh of false modesty. While the trope of bulletin board material does appear a little played out, the head coach is not going to give the opponent anything.

In all honesty, the longer the game stays close, the more that favors the Bulls. Now, the inverse also remains true. If Florida jumps out to a roaring start and a decent lead, the game is over. South Florida does not have the depth of weapons to stage comebacks in the Swamp.