On Sunday morning, three totally different American Conference head coaches had been employed by SEC applications.
Auburn agreed to phrases with South Florida head coach Alex Golesh — two days earlier than the Bulls defeated Rice 52-3 of their common season finale.
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“He has produced wins and record-setting results throughout his entire career, including over the last three seasons at USF,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Alex is known nationally for his player development prowess, ability to shape creative and explosive offenses, and his relentless approach to building winning programs. I was also struck by his coaching experience on both sides of the ball. In our conversations, he showed the determination and edge that this program demands of its head coach. I want to welcome Alex, his wife Alexis and children Corbin and Barrett to the Auburn Family.”
Golesh spent three years at South Florida, producing a 23-15 file with two bowl victories. The 41-year outdated Russian born coach inherited a program that produced a 4-29 file within the three seasons previous to his onboarding, proudly owning the longest shedding streak to FBS opponents within the nation. Golesh turned South Florida round immediately, blanking Syracuse 45-0 within the 2023 Boca Raton Bowl to complete 7-6 in yr one and outlasting San Jose State 41-39 within the 2024 Hawaii Bowl to complete 7-6 in yr two. The 2025 marketing campaign was his most profitable but. Currently 9-3 getting into bowl season, Golesh kicked off the yr with back-to-back ranked victories over Boise State and Florida and earned eight of his 9 wins by at the very least 27 factors — together with a signature 63-36 thrashing of 10-1 North Texas.
The Bulls appeared within the AP Poll in 5 totally different weeks this season, rating as excessive as No. 18 in two separate weeks — marking their first time within the Top 25 since 2018. USF was additionally ranked by the College Football Playoff committee earlier in November and primarily managed its personal future for the playoff till a 41-38 upset defeat at Navy.
Under Golesh, the Bulls at present boast the 4th-best scoring offense within the FBS at 43.0 factors per sport, cracking 48 factors or extra in seven of 12 outings. They rank second in complete offense at 502 yards per sport, checking in at eleventh in dashing and nineteenth in passing in a balanced unit led by dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown. Golesh has at all times been famend for his offensive prowess, incomes the South Florida job after profitable offensive coordinator stints at UCF and Tennessee. He operates with a signature unfold up-tempo offense, counting on spacing, vertical photographs, and snapping the ball as quick as potential — much like the system he ran with Josh Heupel at Tennessee, though evolving the scheme with just a few of his personal wrinkles.
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South Florida vastly improved defensively this yr, rating eighth within the FBS with 23 turnovers collected. The Bulls demonstrated extra physicality up entrance than that they had in previous years, limiting opponents to three.6 yards per carry as a heralded run protection.
Golesh succeeds Hugh Freeze as Auburn’s thirty third full-time head coach. Freeze was fired on Nov. 2 after spending three years because the Tigers’ frontman. Golesh would be the program’s fourth totally different coach of the 2020s decade. In 2026, he’ll look to resurrect Auburn the identical means he did South Florida, because the Tigers at present trip a streak of five-straight 7-loss seasons.