The South Florida Bulls are closing in on their most successful season since 2017.
USF controlled its own destiny for the College Football Playoff in the final month of the regular season, but a Nov. 15 at the hands of Navy prevented the Bulls from a path to the American Conference Championship Game. Still, it has been a wildly successful season for the program which is 9-3 and chasing its first 10-win campaign in eight years. There’s even a possibility South Florida finishes 2025 ranked if it can capture that elusive 10th victory in the Cure Bowl vs. Old Dominion, which kicks off Wednesday, Dec. 17.
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However, the Bulls must achieve that without their star quarterback. Byrum Brown, who has one year of eligibility remaining, is currently mulling his future with the program. Brown onboarded in Tampa in 2022, holding down the starting role since the tail end of his true freshman season.
With head coach Alex Golesh already off to Auburn, Brown must decide his future, whether it’s with South Florida, Auburn, elsewhere at the collegiate level, or the NFL. In an interesting move, South Florida CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins released a statement that Brown will not play as he prepares for a decision, despite remaining present at practices and team activities. For the Cure Bowl, he will serve as an unofficial member of the coaching staff.
“Bulls Nation, we wanted to share that Coach Hartline and I continue to have great conversations with Byrum Brown and his family about his future at USF. In the spirit of transparency and based off the recent coaching transition here, we mutually determined with Byrum that it’s best for him to not play in next week’s Cure Bowl. This quick determination means that Gaston Moore is able to fully prepare and make the well-deserved start in his final collegiate game. Byrum continues to attend every team activity/practice and has been incredible in supporting his teammates as he always is. So much so, that we’ve asked Byrum to serve as a coach in the Cure Bowl to help us get our tenth win, which we’re excited to share he’s graciously agreed to do! We can’t wait to finish this season strong and together, while also supporting (Coach) Byrum Brown and his family! Go Bulls!”
This thrusts senior Gaston Moore into the starting quarterback position for the Cure Bowl. Moore has been a longtime Golesh disciple, following the head coach from UCF to Tennessee to South Florida. He threw 44 passes in four years as a Volunteer and threw two touchdown strikes but never earned a start in that bright shade of orange. Moore fired 20 passes in his lone season with the Bulls due to the lopsided nature of many contests, but now he’ll finally take full reins of the team. The sixth-year senior will receive his first opportunity at a collegiate start in Orlando in what will be his final game.
South Florida isn’t the only team in this matchup lacking a star dual-threat quarterback. Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph already announced entry into the transfer portal, even though it doesn’t officially open until Jan. 2, and he’ll enter with two years of eligibility remaining. That moves Quinn Henicle into the starting role for the Cure Bowl, making this high-stakes clash a matchup between backup quarterbacks.
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The 2025 Cure Bowl kicks off from Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. ET, and is viewable on ESPN. Both South Florida and Old Dominion enter with identical 9-3 records, but only one can claim the double-digit win season.
