With a bye week behind them, Alex Golesh made it clear his South Florida Bulls are locked in on the next challenge tonight at Raymond James Stadium as they open American Athletic Conference play against Charlotte.
Golesh described the off week as “really intentful,” a chance for the staff to self-scout the first four games and for players to recover from what he called a “gauntlet” of a nonconference slate. The goal was sharpening details across all three phases. “It gave us an opportunity as we do every week, but really gave us a long, hard look at what the first four weeks look like,” Golesh said. “Areas where we’ve been successful and then areas where we’ve had to really focus to clean up.”
The Bulls now turn their attention to a 49ers team that Golesh said reminds him of where USF was “two and a half years ago.” Charlotte is led by longtime Ohio coach Tim Albin, someone Golesh said he has known since his GA days. “You watch the film and it is a bunch of guys playing really, really hard on both sides of the ball that are trying to truly find an identity,” he said. Despite injuries, the 49ers have established a culture of toughness, discipline, and sound football.
Golesh emphasized that Charlotte’s defensive front will make USF earn everything, while offensively the 49ers are still adjusting after a quarterback injury. “You’ve got defensive film to watch from Ohio. Offensively, new staff coming in…you’re kind of digging to make sure you got enough to go off of,” he said.
As for the stage, Golesh sees tonight’s game as both opportunity and responsibility. “You’ve got the eyes of the country on you…Ray Jay on Friday night under the lights will be incredible. It’s an opportunity for us to show our identity to the whole country…I can’t wait.”
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