The way I was raised, when you slap another man’s hand down, you stick around and talk about it,” Herman said on Monday.

Now Herman, a former OSU offensive coordinator with head coaching stints at Houston and the University of Texas prior to his FAU post, is offering his viewpoint on the postgame handshake-non-handshake following USF's 44-21 shellacking of Herman's Owls.

The action during the postgame handshake was better than it was on the field during the FAU-USF game Friday night. Coming into the game, there was tension between the two AAC programs dating back to last season.

Let's rewind to Oct. 14, 2023. FAU, in its first season under the former Texas head coach, blew the doors off of South Florida, 56-14. It was not a graceful win, as FAU attempted and recovered an onside kick, then went for it on fourth down while up 42 points in the fourth quarter.

Alex Golesh, who served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator during the Vols’ exciting 2022 season, brushed right past FAU coach Tom Herman following the game, giving him more of a firm low five than a handshake. It didn’t look like Golesh said anything, but Herman obviously took exception to the move.

Tom Herman explained his tense post-game interaction with Alex Golesh. On Friday night, FAU fell to 2-6 with a 44-21 loss to South Florida. Following a brief handshake on the field, Herman turned around and began chirping at Golesh.

Herman has had other interesting handshakes with opposing coaches in the past. The 49-year-old former Texas Longhorns coach is 6-14 in his two seasons with the Owls. Golesh, 40, is 11-10 as South Florida’s coach. FAU joined USF in the American Athletic Conference two years ago. USF leads the all-time series 4-2.

After the game had long been decided USF coach Alex Golesh reinserted quarterback Bryce Archie into the game in the final minute. Up 23, the starting quarterback completed a 10-yard pass for a first down.

After vowing a year ago that his Bulls would remember getting worked at home by Florida Atlantic in a 56-14 blowout-loss, Golesh saw his team emphatically respond Friday night. Down 14-7 at halftime, the Bulls trampled FAU with a 37-7 second-half surge in their 44-21 win.