the first time in the season, coming at #23 after beating Syracuse 34–20. The following week, they lost to highly favored No. 8 Cincinnati. The Bulls would finish the season 8–5 and received a bid to the International Bowl against the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Bulls would go on to win 27–3. Jim Leavitt was fired on January 8, 2010, after an investigation alleged that he grabbed a player by the shoulder pads and struck him twice across the face. The investigation also claimed that Leavitt interfered with the investigation by telling several coaches and players to change their stories. Leavitt maintains he never struck the player, but was merely trying to console him, and after a wrongful termination suit against USF, the university eventually settled with Leavitt for $2.75 million. On January 14, 2010, Skip Holtz was hired away from East Carolina and named the team's second head coach. The Bulls went 8–5 in Holtz's first season, finishing it off with a 31–26 Meineke Car Care Bowl victory over Clemson. USF started the 2011 season on a high note, defeating No. 16 Notre Dame 23–20 at Notre Dame Stadium. The Bulls reached No. 16 in the AP Poll after starting the season 4–0 but would struggle for the rest of season, finishing with a record of 5–7 and failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 7 seasons. The Bulls' 2012 was its worst ever at the time, as the team finished 3–9. On December 8, 2012, USF announced that Willie Taggart, who previously coached at Western Kentucky, would be the third head coach in USF football history. The Bulls struggled in Taggart's first year, posting a 2–10 record, however, the team improved slightly in his second year, finishing 4–8. Taggart finished his third season at USF 8–5 with a loss in the Miami Beach Bowl to Western Kentucky. In Week 5 of 2016 against Cincinnati, Marlon Mack passed Andre Hall to become the leading rusher in program history. Two weeks later, in a Week 7 game against UConn, Mack passed B.J. Daniels to become the program leader in rushing touchdowns. During their Week 9 game against No. 22 Navy, the Bulls set a school record for rushing yards in a game, racking up 412 yards in a 52–45 victory. The Bulls broke that record two weeks later in their Week 11 game against Memphis,