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It's Official: USF To Play Florida State In Home-And-Home

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TBO.com Staff Report

Published: January 7, 2009

TAMPA - The University of South Florida football program officially announced a home-and-home agreement with Florida State that will begin in Tallahassee during the 2009 season.

The first meeting in the series will take place at Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept.26 of the upcoming season. USF will host the Seminoles at Raymond James on Sept. 29, 2012.

The Bulls and Seminoles have never played each other in football.

"This is a milestone moment for our program and a tremendous opportunity for our players," said USF head coach Jim Leavitt in a press release. "Florida State has a great football tradition and we have a tremendous amount of respect for them. They will present our team with a great challenge and we embrace that."

The addition of the Seminoles completes the 2009 non-conference schedule, which also includes in-state foes FIU (Sept. 19) and Miami (Nov. 28), plus Western Kentucky (Sept. 12) and Wofford (Sept. 5). USF will also play West Virginia, Cincinnati and Louisville at home during the 2009 season. The dates and times for Big East Conference opponents will not be announced until the spring.

USF has a six-game winning streak against teams from the state of Florida.

"We are pleased to have added USF to our football schedule," Florida State athletics director Randy Spetman said in another press release. "Anytime you can play a quality in-state opponent, everybody wins because it generates excitement for fans of both schools throughout the state."

The Bulls' trend of playing Florida-based schools will continue with additional games against Miami, Florida and FAU in the coming years. The 2009 home game with Miami is the beginning of a five-game agreement with the Hurricanes. The Bulls will travel to Florida in 2010 and 2015 and also have two games remaining with FAU (2010 and 2013).

The addition of FSU shifts the previously scheduled road game with Indiana to the 2015 season. USF plays host to the Hoosiers in Tampa in 2016.

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