USF coach Alex Golesh on playing Alabama, Miami: 'Bama and Miami gotta play South Florida'

Perhaps last season's close loss to Alabama football has instilled confidence in USF football coach Alex Golesh .

At his appearance at the American Athletic Media Days on Tuesday at the Loews Arlington Hotel in Arlington, Texas, the second-year coach for the Bulls was asked about his team playing both Alabama and Miami in a span of three weeks.

Golesh, leading a USF team coming off a 7-6 season, confidently provided Alabama some bulletin board material:

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"Bama and Miami gotta play South Florida," Golesh replied .

The Bulls travel to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama in Week 2 of the season (Saturday, Sept. 7) and then host Miami in Tampa in Week 4 (Saturday, Sept. 21). The Crimson Tide and Hurricanes will likely be in the top 25 when the 2024 college football season begins.

"That's what college football is, man," Golesh said. "To me, if you don't want to go play in Tuscaloosa, you don't want to host Miami at home — I think it's awesome. I think that's what college football is. Our guys, we'll be more than ready to go play those games."

Last season, Golesh was tasked with turning around a Bulls program coming off a 1-11 season that had held a 4-21 record since 2020. USF gave the Crimson Tide all it could handle in a 17-3 defeat in Tampa. Eventual starting quarterback Jalen Milroe did not play, with Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner splitting time at quarterback. Alabama rebounded to defeat Georgia to win the SEC and earn a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The Bulls finished the regular season 6-6 and defeated Syrcause 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl to earn their first winning record since 2018, the penultimate season under former coach Charlie Strong. Entering Year 2 under the former Tennessee offensive coordinator, the Bulls were picked to finish second in the AAC’s preseason media poll , released Tuesday morning.

In Week 2 of last season, the Bulls took an early 3-0 lead over Alabama and held it for much of the first half until the Crimson Tide tied the game with a field goal with 2:10 remaining. A Roydell Williams touchdown in the third quarter gave Alabama a 10-3 lead, and another score with 33 seconds remaining in the game made the final score look more comfortable of a win than it was for the Crimson Tide.

In an EA Sports "College Football 25" sim, Alabama defeated USF 38-36 in overtime .

"I think it's absolutely imperative for us to play the best teams we possibly can," Golesh said. "I think playing Miami at home is an absolutely huge deal for us. Did it for a long time in the Big East days. They have to come play in Tampa. I think going to Alabama is absolutely huge for us. They came to our place. We had every opportunity to go be successful in that game, couldn't finish it. Now we get to go redeem ourselves."

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: USF coach Alex Golesh on playing Alabama, Miami: 'Bama and Miami gotta play South Florida'