After a loss in which the Bulls were held scoreless for nearly the entire game on Saturday, coach Alex Golesh revealed his thoughts on the offense. 

“It looks like we’re in year one,” Golesh said after the 28-7 defeat against Navy. “There’s a bunch of young cats out there, and it doesn’t look like what you want in year two.”

Regression is not territory you want to be in when you’re rebuilding what was considered the laughing stock of college football. The Bulls won only four games in three seasons under former coach Jeff Scott. 

Over halfway into his second season at the helm, Golesh has an 11-11 record at USF, considerably better than his predecessor. 

There’s one problem. He can’t seem to beat a winning team. 

Against winning teams, Golesh’s record falls to 1-8. That one win came over a year ago – a 42-29 victory against Rice last season. The Owls were 2-1 at the time.  

Is Golesh still searching for his signature win? He may be. 

Expectations were high after last year Golesh led the Bulls to their first bowl victory since 2018. Suddenly, USF was in the running for a conference title.

At times, USF looked like a contender during the first half against Alabama and Miami. The Bulls trailed the Crimson Tide by only one score in the fourth quarter, and nearly led the Hurricanes at the half. 

On other days, they looked flat out dysfunctional. 

The Bulls averaged 31.9 points per game last season, good enough for 31st in the NCAA. This season, that number has fallen to 25.2 

Related: USF’s Golesh sticking with quarterback Archie for Charlotte matchup

It’s easy to pin the blame on the loss of star junior quarterback Byrum Brown – who virtually set every single-season passing record at USF last year. Brown exited with a leg injury against Tulane on Sep. 28 and hasn’t played since. 

His replacement – junior Bryce Archie – has been pedestrian. He’s thrown for 1,093 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions in four games started. 

The rest of the offense has taken a step back. Brown’s top target last season – graduate wide receiver Sean Atkins –  has struggled to get going. 

He’s only recorded one game over 100-yards, and only has one receiving touchdown. He hasn’t had over 70 yards in a single game when Archie’s started. 

The running game has been inconsistent – sometimes dominating and at other times disappearing. 

Last season’s leading rusher, graduate running back Nay’Quan Wright, has been used in rotation with senior Ta’Ron Keith and graduate Kelley Joiner. 

Related: USF’s offensive struggles persist in Homecoming loss to Navy

Wright had two 100-yard games this season, against Southern Mississippi and Florida Atlantic. In the following games, his workload significantly dropped – only totaling nine carries. 

All five of USF’s losses have been by multiple scores, including American Athletic Conference defeats to Tulane, Memphis and Navy.

USF’s three FBS wins – Southern Mississippi, UAB and FAU – have all come against losing programs. The combined records of those schools is a dismal 5-22.

Rebuilding takes time and patience. But USF needs to beat more than one winning team if it wants to be a conference contender.

Maybe our collective expectations were too high. This was a program that didn’t even come close to sniffing a bowl game for several seasons and is now two wins away from its second-straight appearance. 

The Bulls can end their season on a positive note. USF needs to win two of its next three games to meet the 6-win bowl eligibility threshold. 

But maybe the question about beating a winning team will have to wait until next season. USF’s three remaining opponents – Charlotte, Rice and Tulsa – all have losing records. 

USF football will face Charlotte on the road at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and BullsUnlimited.