WoolyBully

Wait a minute. Didn't that Taggart guy say the same thing? I think he did. So is Golesh being honest, or is he simply plagiarizing those who went before? I don't want to have to open up a full-blown congressional investigation into spinnin' yarns for continued employment, but I will do it!

And what, just sayin', that U of SF did not defeat Charlotte? What if the must-win became didn't-win? What do we think the tenor of this board would be? It's still a five-win season, hugely successful compared to the last four years. But just how much weight do we attach to the 49ers game?

Probably go bowling. Charlotte is a bad team, and there's no good reason for USF not to win that game. USF's abysmal four-year losing stretch makes for a good story during the bowl week ('cause we all be diggin' that little-engine-that-could story).

Safe to say we use the word "fun" differently.

But the important thing about Charlotte is that it's a rendezvous point for me and my oldest homie from high school (UNCC alum). He drives down from Virginia; I drive up from Florida.

And here's a list of teams that are but one win away from eligibility ranked by APR and this week's opponent: Northwestern (996) vs. Purdue Wisconsin (996) vs. Nebraska Minnesota (992) at Ohio State Boise State (988) at Utah State UCF (984) at Texas Tech Georgia Tech (978) vs. Syracuse Florida (977) at Missouri Nebraska (969) at Wisconsin Western Kentucky (969) vs. Sam Houston South Florida (967) at UTSA Virginia Tech (967) vs. NC State Arkansas State (967) vs. Texas State Texas Tech (966) vs. UCF Utah State (965) vs. Boise State Illinois (962) at Iowa San Jose State (962) vs. San Diego State Marshall (961) at South Alabama South Alabama (959) vs. Marshall Syracuse (955) at Georgia Tech BYU (954) vs. Oklahoma Central Michigan (952) at Ohio Louisiana (952) at Troy

That seems like a reasonable assessment. For the 'casual fan' (non-season ticket holding attendees) UF FSU is, and has been, a huge annual event. It's a rivalry where the issue is not what records are thus far, or if a bowl invite is on the line, it's one of those don't-care-just-win-this-one type of games. You can't say anything remotely close to that when discussing the USF Charlotte game. It means a lot to USF, 'cause that'd be the sixth of the season (.500) and makes us bowl eligible. Not that it'd be one of the premier bowl invites, but it's a bowl game, nonetheless. A true example of a little bit is better than nada.

Unfortunately, the timeline for this game and the timeline for us 'putting it all together' do not coincide. However, I do believe that one day, having put it all together we will beat UTSA.

I should have phrased it on "ESPN normal'.

I think the last time I heard the phrase 'Waxing Gibbous moon" was in my astronomy course to fulfill a science requirement. So: in line at the bookstore with my astronomy textbook, and the two girls behind me wanted to sign up for that course (unfortunately confusing astronomy with astrology as the standing-in-the-checkout-line conversation waned )

This brings up a good point. I remember some of the insight post Sun Bowl was that we didn't implement a "bowl package" and that Oregon was pleasantly surprised that we were executing the exact same template as was available on film. It sort of points out that "oh yeah, this is something we need to do". There are a lot of moving pieces to 'big time football' that weren't in place back then. Live and learn.

Never lose sight of the objective: getting the hell off the rural route in North Carolina as well as running amok in the 'ville outside the main gate!

Well, if we're on ESPN Deux for the last two games of the season, this would be a great time to cancel ESPN+.

What, in exhausting detail, constitutes "a better game day experience" at RayJ? I'm not being a wiseass, I'm just the sort of ancient Woolysaurus Rex that went to games to - actually watch the game. That's it. End of story. Tailgate beforehand (and for some years, afterwards as well). The game WAS the entertainment. What other functionality needs to be added to the 'game day experience'? Club anecdote: If I'm payin' for it, I'm using it. If I want to work on my tan, that can be done poolside with a number of rum based libations. So, the club access would be an example of the level of expectation in twenty-first century arena amenities.

Yes, because twenty-odd years past, USF football was a bright, new shiny object. Didn't matter if we were playing Drake or Valparaiso - we were amped up for it because it was fresh. The decades pass and the fanbase ages and starts to take a critical look at where the program - honest to god - really is. The world has changed, and what we aspire to has not come to fruition. We are very much not playing teams people have heard of (threads on the board with "I don't know who's in our conference" and "I never heard of these schools") that garner objective interest. How'd I spend Saturday? Watched USF on television, followed by Florida State then Georgia. Were I not some measure of a USF fan, I can't say I'd have tuned in for Temple. I think the OGs tend to fondly remember the early days and that level of excitement, when the competition was EVEN WORSE than what we play now. We're an impatient lot. We want to play - dare I say it - real teams. We pine to exit our conference and somehow land in P(x) land. And every Saturday that we play an AAC schedule is a not-so-subtle reminder of where we are not. And as the OGs have aged, they're a lot less likely to gloss over shortcomings. Maybe the second generation of USF fans will have a different perspective. Maybe if 2023 is the beginning of an upward trajectory, attendance will increase.

There's a lot - I mean a whole **** load lot - of that right here on TBP. Like it or not, the clock moves forward.

Happy Veterans Day to those penners who once sported alarmingly short hair and exceptionally unstylish footwear!

$20 on USF courtesy of our good friends at the intersection of Hillsborough Avenue & Orient Road.

Well, you know salad isn't really food. It's the promissory note that food will soon arrive. When you order a steak, they first bring you a salad - and they don't charge you for it. Why? Because it's not worth anything - it's free; it simply signals that the food is on its way. When you're asked what you'd like on your salad, just say Häagen-Dazs...melt it so it looks like ranch dressing. The wisdom of our good friend Jon Pinette

I'd say it's a 'must win' if we're trying to accomplish something. For instance, being bowl eligible requires two more wins from the remaining three games, in which, we are favored in two. 'Must win' would mean doing what is expected. To lose the Temple game would be a failure. Do we recalibrate expectations? Wouldn't five wins, but missing being bowl eligible, also be a success? We'd have beaten Vegas pre-season expectations (O/U 4.5) and have more wins than in any of the previous four seasons? That's progress! So yes, if we believe that this team should be bowl eligible (six wins), then the Temple game is a must win, as the UTSA game is an expected loss. There's no wiggle room left in the season. Gotta win what you're expected to win - MUST WIN.

I would assume someone has run the numbers and the expense outweighs the revenue stream, and there are probably some legal complications vis-a-vis what can and cannot be charged for.

That was the one attended by the guys who sat behind us at RayJ. One of the guys had a food truck outside.

Such a nebulous term.

We're complaining that the TBT didn't front-page-above-the-fold tout that this kid is considering (maybe, could happen, might, fiddy-fiddy, not etched in stone, details yet to be worked out) playing at USF, in addition to L'ville or Ole Kentuck, until long after this hypothetical was released in the twittersphere? (Becky did you hear? I heard he's THINKING of asking her out! This is so exciting!) One day we will not be so starved for such positive press - in ink or bytes. I hope.

1) Memphis 2) 35 - 17 3) Brown 4) Atkins 5) 402