Watch: South Florida press box coaches celebrate next to dejected Florida assistants

We often see locker room celebrations after big wins. For good reason. We don't often get cameras on the scene that unfolded within the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium press box on Saturday night.

There they were, South Florida coaches, exuberant as they exited the booth for the elevator, hustling to join the party in the visitor's locker room after their stunning 18-16 upset of the 13th-ranked, Florida Gators. And there they were, their counterparts in orange and blue, dejected as they trudged their way to a dejected home locker room. And they were right next to each other. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.

Both sides knew exactly what Bulls 18, Gators 16 meant for their squads.

For South Florida, it's instantly among the biggest wins in school history. In its 29 year history, South Florida has scored wins at Miami (in 2010) and at Florida State (in 2009). Saturday's win, the first over the Sunshine State's flagship school, completed the trifecta. More than that, the win moved Alex Golesh's team, likely, into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2018 -- and the Bulls should arguably be in the top-10. No team has had a more impressive back-to-back wins than the Bulls, who clobbered No. 25 Boise State in their opener and then registered the second-highest ranked road win of this young season, trailing only LSU's win at No. 4 Clemson last week. 

Futhermore, if USF can beat Boise State and Florida, who can't they beat? This team is now a clear College Football Playoff frontrunner, and Saturday's win turns next week's game at No. 5 Miami into one of the biggest games in school history. 

Beating Florida is obviously a great box to check for the USF football community, but it means that every goal this current Bulls team can possibly have is not only still in play, it's attainable. That is why those staffers are so overjoyed.

As for Florida? Yeah, they know what this means, too.

“Fire Billy” chants have broken out at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after UF falls to USF, 18-16. pic.twitter.com/4OaNw1NWKf

— Riley Orovitz (@rileyorovitz) September 7, 2025

The reward for exceeding expectations last season was even bigger expectations this season for Billy Napier and company. Florida had -- and still has -- very real Playoff aspirations this year, and if you can't beat USF, how can you feel confident about going 9-1 against a schedule with eight top-20 opponents remaining?

That's a discussion for another time. Immediately after South Florida 18, Florida 16 went final, those Gators staffers were just concerned about armoring themselves for the locker room that awaited them and the week ahead of them.