The Bulls replaced 11 starters from a 10-2 season in 2017. One of the biggest storylines of the offseason was the addition of graduate transfer Blake Barnett who was named the starting quarterback following stints at Alabama and Arizona State.
Listed in the order that they were released
The AAC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Bulls predicted to finish in second place in the AAC East Division.[ 5]
Media poll (East)
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
UCF
175 (25)
2
USF 140 (5)
3
Temple
132
4
Cincinnati
91
5
UConn
51
6
East Carolina
41
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 1 6:00 p.m. No. 12 (FCS) Elon * ESPN3 W 34–1431,217 September 8 12:00 p.m. Georgia Tech * Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ABC/ESPN2 W 49–3834,182 September 15 3:30 p.m. vs. Illinois * BTN W 25–1921,725 September 22 8:00 p.m. East Carolina Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL ESPNews W 20–1334,562 October 6 3:30 p.m. at Massachusetts * ELVN W 58–427,988 7:00 p.m. at Tulsa No. 23 ESPN W 25–2416,142 October 20 7:00 p.m. UConn No. 21 Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL CBSSN W 38–3042,127 October 27 3:30 p.m. at Houston No. 21 ABC/ESPN2 L 36–5731,631 November 3 3:30 p.m. Tulane Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL CBSSN L 15–4131,388 November 10 7:00 p.m. at No. 25 Cincinnati ESPNU L 23–3529,310 November 17 12:00 a.m. at Temple ESPNews L 17–2721,029 4:00 p.m. No. 8 UCF ESPN L 10–3857,626 8:00 p.m. Marshall * ESPN L 20–3814,135 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Schedule Source: [ 6]
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 12 (FCS)
0
0
7
7
14
Bulls
7
17
7
3
34
1
2
3
4
Total
Yellow Jackets
17
0
14
7
38
Bulls
14
7
7
21
49
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
7
0
0
18
25
Fighting Illini
10
6
3
0
19
1
2
3
4
Total
Pirates
7
3
3
0
13
Bulls
6
7
0
7
20
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
10
10
28
10
58
Minutemen
7
7
14
14
42
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 23 Bulls
3
0
7
15
25
Golden Hurricane
7
3
14
0
24
1
2
3
4
Total
Huskies
7
0
7
16
30
No. 21 Bulls
0
7
17
14
38
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 21 Bulls
0
21
15
0
36
Cougars
14
14
15
14
57
1
2
3
4
Total
Green Wave
7
20
7
7
41
Bulls
3
0
6
6
15
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
9
7
7
0
23
No. 25 Bearcats
7
7
21
0
35
1
2
3
4
Total
Bulls
7
10
0
0
17
Owls
0
0
10
17
27
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 8 Knights
7
10
7
14
38
Bulls
0
3
7
0
10
edit
1
2
3
4
Total
Thundering Herd
21
7
3
7
38
Bulls
7
3
10
0
20
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP — — RV RV RV RV 23 21 21 RV — — — — — — Coaches RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 20 20 RV RV — — — — — CFP Not released — — — — — — Not released
^ "Gasparilla Bowl loss caps off USF's horrendous finish to 2018" . Yahoo Sports. December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on December 22, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018 .^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF) . July 20, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018 .^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED" . July 24, 2018. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List" . July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018 .^ "UCF Tabbed as Favorite in 2018 Preseason Media Poll" . TheAmerican.org . Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .^ "2018 South Florida Bulls Football Schedule" . FB Schedules. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018 .
