South Florida head coach Alex Golesh says "Close games are for losers"
During an appearance on the Jim Rose show on Thursday, South Florida head coach Alex Golesh said that it is a loser's mentality to legitimize close losses. South Florida trailed Alabama 14-13 with six minutes left during week two before losing 42-16. Miami plays at South Florida on Saturday.
Miami is a 16.5 point favorite at South Florida per FanDuel. The ESPN Football Power Index projects Miami with an 85.2 percent chance of defeating South Florida. Other than the loss to Alabama, Southern Mississippi and Bethune-Cookman to begin the 2024 season. Golesh has turned around South Florida.
Golesh is 9-7 in his first season plus as a head coach, both at South Florida. South Florida was 4-29 under Jeff Scott in the three seasons before Golesh was hired. The Bulls have won more games in a year and a quarter under Golesh than they did in the four prior seasons. South Florida was 4-8 in 2019 under Charlie Strong.
The comments from Golesh could have been to serve as a motivator for his team versus Miami. Although South Florida was competitive for most of the game versus Alabama, the point spread and FPI project Miami to defeat the Bulls easily.
Golesh acknowledged the need to coach through losses, but does not want his players to find a silver lining in a loss. Coaches are hired to win games and recruit players to win games Golesh told Rome. Golesh stated he doesn't want to legitimize losses to anyone, especially his own team.
Doug Samuels of Football Scoop transcibed the interview for Football Scoop. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal has been stating he tells his team to focus on each game. There has been a lot of praise for Miami during a dominant 3-0 start. The praise would end with a poor performance or loss at South Florida.
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Cristobal said during multiple media appearances early this week South Florida is the best team Miami has played this season. Cristobal also told his players the same people praising them now are who were previously throwing dirt on them. Staying focused is critical for Miami on Saturday.