USFFan

And still Army didn't rush for over 400 yards against us. Hopefully this year we're teaching our players to actually tackle instead of just hitting... USFFan

I just don't see any way in which USF is going to give up 400+ yards on the ground to anybody. We've never done it before, and we're not going to start with the Mountaineers. If they're that 1 dimensional, we'll force them to pass the ball to beat us. USFFan

Not to mention 4 hours with a USF coach and some friendly banter ("nice putt, Alice..."). I wish I were there to participate. USFFan

In some ways, though, you help make my point. According to our own alumni website, "more than 90,000 of the 175,000 graduates of USF still live in the Tampa Bay area." If we have 90,000 local alumni and only about 3,500 season ticket holders, that's deplorable. Moreso because of the fact that a fair number of our season ticket holders don't even live in the Tampa Bay area, which means far less than 4 % of our local alumni are season ticket holders. We can't get much more apathetic than that. USFFan

FYI - I asked on a Big East board about artificial noisemakers, and there doesn't seem to be a rule against them (although there wasn't alot of love for thundersticks...). If this isn't a Big East restriction or a Raymond James restriction, then we definitely should pursue it... USFFan

Seems like a great question for Tom Veit. Maybe somebody could ask him that on Thursday... USFFan

I don't think this is a conference thing. I think this is a Glazers/Raymond James Stadium thing. I truly would like to see it changed. At Texas they use cowbells all the time - it's a great tradition. USFFan

Without a doubt, this is our biggest problem. The apathy seen from the majority of our students spills over to their willingness to give time and money as alumni. It really pisses me off... USFFan

Don't know if you were being funny (or glib, Mr. Lauer), but BullsEYE did one: http://www.usf.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=427923 USFFan

All joking aside, take a look at how many Nebraska alumni are playing in the NBA and compare it to how many USF alumni are there... USFFan

I don't personally think .500 qualifies as "terrible." We are .500 over the last two seasons, both in conference and overall. Gee, maybe we should just shut the program down... USFFan

Is there going to be any kind of organized get together for people who post? I know we'll recognize smazza by the muscle shirt... ;D but what about the rest of us? A 3:30 game leaves time before or after the game... USFFan

I'd love to be there, but I can't access chats at work. :'( USFFan

#279 (9th round) to Texas USFFan

The San Francisco Bay area was the runner-up for this potential bid, even though it had all of the stadiums and necessary facilities in place, an Olympic-style village just about ready on Treasure Island and was the favorite of the original committee. New York got it because of the sentimentality factor and because they assured the IOC that these stadiums would be approved. San Francisco would do a much better job with the games than New York, anyway. USFFan

Let's see. For starters, it's hard for anybody to "own" anybody else if they've never beaten them. You say we beat you "back in the stone ages?" You do realize that your entire senior class from this past season (you know, the one you'll be trying to rebuild from) was on that last UConn team that we waxed 40-21, don't you? You also realize that we not only beat you down here, we beat you up there, right? If anybody has a right to claim ownership, it's the team that's never lost to you on the football field (ever). Now that's great logic. I guess we "own" Miami, Florida State, USC, Syracuse and every other team that's never come in to our new home and proven to us that they belong. Hell, we own the New England Patriots! We'll let our team do the talking on the field. Good luck with finding a new quarterback. USFFan

Well, the winter conditions was more of a general statement. I lived in New Jersey long enough to know that early November is more fall-like than winter. However, I still think that it's a stretch to say that we "probably will win" at Rutgers, when we're playing a Penn State team that had an identical record to both of us and you consider that game much more of a toss-up... USFFan

I don't consider not doing something once in the last four years "consistently achieving" that which I failed to do. In our 10 year Conference USA history we have an overall winning percentage of .545. Take away our first two seasons in Conference USA and we're under .500 for the last eight. That's consistency alright - consistently mediocre. I personally believe we can do better. USFFan

I see, so now it's fan support (a problem that's not exclusive to baseball). We don't draw flies to softball, but they're doing quite fine, thank you very much. Same can be said for volleyball or women's basketball. If you want fans, you have to get out there and show some interest and give them a reason to come to the ballpark. Facilities alone don't draw fans - look at the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers or Pittsburgh Pirates. Let's face it, Cardieri has coasted for the past several years, and it's clear that "if we don't get him some new facilities," we're doomed to do no better. We also know that we won't be getting new facilities for some time (Brent suggests no sooner than 2009 on the TBO site). Do we just sit around now for the next four years to see whether Cardieri can possibly recruit once a new stadium is built, or do we go out and find somebody who's actually driven enough to try to win with what we have? USFFan

Over the past four years, USF has finished in 7th place, sixth place, ninth place and tied for sixth place.  Not only is that not "consistently top 5," it's not EVER top 5.  That's for an entire class of USF students.  Over that time span, USF has a record of 58-59 in conference (under .500).  In fact, in our entire history in Conference USA, we've only finished in the top 5 half of the time (five of the ten years). Is that consistent? Over the past 8 seasons, USF has a winning percentage of 0.510.  In our Conference USA history we've only ever made the championship game once (in 10 seasons) and we got our asses handed to us in that one.  This despite being in one of the most talent-rich areas in the country.  We're an anomaly, alright... USFFan

I think you're highly underestimating Rutgers. Let's not forget that this is the first year we're likely to have to play outdoor games under winter conditions... USFFan

Dropping 2 out of 3 to Eastern Michigan at home along with home losses to Army (who managed to get in the tournament) and Kent State as well as a losing record to UCF (who won 42 games and also didn't get into the tournament) probably had a lot to do with it. Oh, and next year, our strength of schedule will drop like a stone. USFFan

That's nice, but it has nothing to do with what I said, which is that Cardieri's done nothing to improve the situation here at USF. We can all carp about Erikson, but at least he showed passion in trying to change things. You also never addressed the fact that the new facilities do indeed include a very nice baseball-only locker room... If Cardieri showed 1/10 the passion for USF baseball that you're showing in defending him, we wouldn't be having this conversation. USFFan

Hmm... well, like I said, the stadium's only a small portion of the "facilities..." While it may be unfair, it's what comes with being a head coach for two decades. Ultimately, he's the one who gets the credit and takes the blame. I am certain that somebody else would be willing to do that, and might also go out and russle up some fans to sit in the stands, too. When I was an undergrad, the Red was practically full with fans rooting for the Bulls. Now, not so much. USFFan