2016 South Florida Bulls football team

The 2016 South Florida Bulls football team represented the University of South Florida (USF) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2016 season is the 20th season for the Bulls, and their fourth as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). They played their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and were led during the regular season by head coach Willie Taggart, who was in his fourth year. Following the regular season, but before the team's appearance in the Birmingham Bowl, Taggart left to take the head coaching vacancy at Oregon, with co-offensive coordinator T. J. Weist named as interim head coach for the bowl game.^[1]

2016 South Florida Bulls football
The American East Division co-champion Birmingham Bowl champion
Birmingham Bowl, W 46–39 OT vs. South Carolina
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Division	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 19
Record	11–2 (7–1 AAC)
Head coach	Willie Taggart (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinators	T. J. Weist (1st season) Darren Hiller (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Gulf Coast
Defensive coordinator	Raymond Woodie Jr. (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Raymond James Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Temple xy$		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 19 South Florida x		7	–	1					11	–	2
UCF		4	–	4					6	–	7
Cincinnati		1	–	7					4	–	8
UConn		1	–	7					3	–	9
East Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
Navy xy		7	–	1					9	–	5
Tulsa		6	–	2					10	–	3
Memphis		5	–	3					8	–	5
Houston		5	–	3					9	–	4
SMU		3	–	5					5	–	7
Tulane		1	–	7					4	–	8
Championship: Temple 34, Navy 10
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Even though South Florida had been ranked as high as #2 in 2007, this was their first season finishing the season ranked; even though they were ranked in the 2008 pre-season poll.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m.	No. 24 (FCS) Towson*		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ASN	W 56–20	35,976
September 10	7:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois*		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	CBSSN	W 48–17	36,557
September 17	3:30 p.m.	at Syracuse*		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ACCN+	W 45–20	32,288
September 24	12:00 p.m.	No. 13 Florida State*		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ABC	L 35–55	61,665
October 1	7:00 p.m.	at Cincinnati		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	W 45–20	35,108
October 8	12:00 p.m.	East Carolina		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPNews	W 38–22	30,397
October 15	7:00 p.m.	UConn		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	CBSSN	W 42–27	30,297
October 21	7:00 p.m.	at Temple		Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	ESPN	L 30–46	25,950
October 28	7:00 p.m.	No. 22 Navy		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN2	W 52–45	31,824
November 12	7:00 p.m.	at Memphis		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	CBSSN	W 49–42	37,218
November 19	7:00 p.m.	at SMU		Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	CBSSN	W 35–27	18,417
November 26	12:00 p.m.	UCF		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (War on I–4)	CBSSN	W 48–31	36,056
December 29	2:00 p.m.	vs. South Carolina*	No. 25	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Birmingham Bowl)	ESPN	W 46–39 OT	31,229
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source:^[2]

Game summaries

Towson

	1	2	3	4	Total
#24 (FCS) Tigers	3	7	7	3	20
Bulls	14	14	21	7	56

See also: 2016 Towson Tigers football team

Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	7	0	10	17
Bulls	14	13	14	7	48

See also: 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

At Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	0	28	7	10	45
Orange	17	0	3	0	20

See also: 2016 Syracuse Orange football team

Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Seminoles	28	10	7	10	55
Bulls	14	0	7	14	35

See also: 2016 Florida State Seminoles football team

At Cincinnati

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	10	14	14	7	45
Bearcats	6	14	0	0	20

See also: 2016 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

East Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	3	3	7	9	22
Bulls	7	10	7	14	38

See also: 2016 East Carolina Pirates football team

UConn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	0	14	10	27
Bulls	7	7	7	21	42

See also: 2016 UConn Huskies football team

At Temple

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	7	6	10	7	30
Owls	3	17	14	12	46

See also: 2016 Temple Owls football team

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Midshipmen	0	14	7	24	45
Bulls	28	14	3	7	52

See also: 2016 Navy Midshipmen football team

At Memphis

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	14	7	14	14	49
Tigers	3	14	14	11	42

See also: 2016 Memphis Tigers football team

At SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	14	7	7	7	35
Mustangs	7	7	10	3	27

See also: 2016 SMU Mustangs football team

UCF

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	7	7	10	7	31
Bulls	14	10	7	17	48

See also: 2016 UCF Knights football team and South Florida–UCF football rivalry

South Carolina–Birmingham Bowl

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#25 Bulls	15	14	10	0	7	46
Gamecocks	0	14	10	15	0	39

See also: 2016 South Carolina Gamecocks football team and 2016 Birmingham Bowl

Rankings

Further information: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	—	—	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	24–T	25	19
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	22	19
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released