Bullsayer

Don't get too excited or upset this season. The whole thing depends upon Grothe. With Grothe starting all 13 games 9-4; losses to @ Auburn,@ Rutgers, WVA & Louisville. These established WINNING teams WILL be prepared for USF and WILL play like Top 25 teams against USF. No established WINNER wants to give up ground to USF, a "new" winning team basically trying to climb up the backs of these established WINNERS. There's only room for 25 teams in the Top 25- a tough club to join. For every game Grothe is not starting or stays in the game and plays injured WE ARE IN TROUBLE no matter the opponent. We are still a ONE MAN OFFENSE in my estimation and how the offense goes so goes the defense. Or so it was in 2006. Anything substantially different in 2007?

Grothe WILL be running as much as this is the kind of offense we have as explained above. He will be running up the middle for big gains and we'll be cheering each time he hits the end zone. :GoBulls that's right. that's the optimal use of grothe's talent, his skills and his intangibles (ie leadership). anything more conservative than that nuetralizes grothe and takes points away from our offense and forces out defense to wins games. i hope cjl and staff appreciate the "risks" of "conserving" grothe.

We all know what an impact MG made last year. He was our offense most of the year. He carried the team with his legs the first half of the season. The Defense played well  (and even great late in the season) because they knew what MG could do with the ball. There's no way to overstate what MG did for the entire team in 2006. Now the world knows about USF's QB. So what's next? Do we put a lid on lightning in a bottle and go with a more traditional ground attack? This is where MB hands off the ball and then watches the play. Do we make MG a tackle to tackle pocket passer in the hopes we can protect him? Or, will we let MG do what he does best-read the play and make things happen with his legs and then his arm??  We will be discussing this all season I'm sure. ANSWER: When you have a strength like MG he is your feature offensive weapon. Don't expect him to be the best passer in the league. But, he is the most effective WINNER in the Big East when he is left to use his football senses and when the team is depending on him to make plays.

we're in sooo much trouble in men's bb it's not funny.

When Doug Woolard talks to, interviews, whatever you want to call it-these contacts with prospective BB coaches and/or their agents his success is likely going to be a function of how he responds to their questions, comments and observations about USF Athletics. BESIDES ACTUAL coach salary number questions what do you think the prosective coaches will want to talk about? Attendance? Season Ticket Holders/ Show up rate? Number of new Donors since entering BE? These and other numbers questions are likely on the minds of inquiring prospective coaches. Whatever issues are likely to come up?

young upstart vs. experienced coach depends upon finances and of course availability and did I mention finances. Huggins would have been ideal to jumpstart a failing program. our problem is actually deeper than the pit we've allowed ourselves to be dug into. IT'S OUR REPUTATION AS A PERENNIAL LOSER (both in CUSA & BIG EAST). I wish it were a matter of underfoming except that I don't really think we underperform on the court. We actually compete in most games and usually do not give up on a game. That's the main postive for CRM.  We try so hard that eventually we even grap a BE home victory here and there. This is not the question we as individuals ever want to ask ourselves because the answer is difficult to accept. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A BAD REPUTATION AS PERENNIAL LOSER TO WINNER? I'm not talking about our reputation as WE see it but our reputation as the basketball world sees it ie. recruits, media, donors, fans ,even our own students

Very excited about this news. We were going nowhere fast. McCollum had to know this was coming. Last talk in the Green n Gold room before Providence game he seemed to be a little retrospective but not resigned. I'm thinking he thinks he did the best he could with what he had. He's a quality guy I'm sure coming out of the Big East he'll be working next year- a less competitive smaller conference. USF BB has a ways to go before we're competitive in Big East. We'll be paying the price for the Lack of recruiting and failure in player development . It's going to take time no matter who comes in. I just hope the next guy has more to show after four seasons.

how do you get espn 360 if you have dishnet satellite?

the charlotte bowl is our bowl next year. it works well for us and the date, location, and everything about it is perfect for us. looking forward to it..

Not our problem. Our problem is finding another Big East Win.

we finally got a store front to sell Bulls stuff and some people want to take away sales these folks need tostay in business. i hope they are able to stay in business. i hope they sell alot of that gator crap and use the proceeds to buy more Bulls stuff to sell. it's business man!!

Not so fast. When the Notre Dame NBC contract ends and is not renewed-welcome to Big East football. With 9 football teams the Big East will be looking to expand to 10 teams and play a Championship game. Who is that 10th team? The lure of Orlando to add another Florida team will be irresistible. UCF jumps into the Big East..

4400 is no surprise to me. Buying an extra ticket here and there is a nice gesture. But, it's butts in the seats that count for TV and economic reasons. We'll be lucky if 2000 actually make it into the stadium. Very dismal turnout. Last year @ CHarlotte didn't do much to dispel our reputation as a non-traveling sports program. We're still a baby when it comes to "projecting" an image locally to the tampa bay community not to mention and to the national sports scene. It's not just our relative newness (10 years) it's deeper than than. Sports excellence is just not a major priority or concern @ USF.

Welcome to what's called tradition! We will arrive there someday-many years from now.

Very nice thread.

That's great. This is really our best Bowl opportunity from a fans standpoint. Great City, Great date etc. really enjoyed my 2 nites in Charlotte oover New Years. Hope we can get there next year.

For what it's worth, the sponsor is their website -- so they will want you to order on-line. It's the "PapaJohns.Com" Bowl... I realize this may be a difference without a distinction, but they are promoting the ability to order pizza online rather than over the phone...  Go figure. Maybe we should all watch this game online?

Yesterday's WIN was huge because it proves last year's WIN over Louisville was no one time flash in the pan; We also earned respect of having a better year than FSU and Miami; because both those teams appear to be headed on the way down our in state recruiting should rise-finally; THIS ALL ADDS UP TO RESPECT. P.S. The Big East respects us now and next year as well..

usf 1 bozeman 24 williams 8 67%

Actually, it was a well prepared and well coached USF team this evening. I was surprised. Starting 2 point guards and running the ball up and down, rotating guards in and out. The fastest I've seen them. this took away Buffalo's size advantage. We jumped out ahead and held them back despite numerous turnovers (mainly Capko) in the first half and then opened it up in the in the second with nearly 70% shooting. A solid win against a decent team. I was happy with our team.. Has McCollum reinvented himself? There's something different. I haven't figured it out yet. Old dogs don't learn new tricks. there's something going on different than last year.

its Bowl game if we beat UL and WV. The media will be all over the "Freshman Sensation". This is not exacly a hot national champion situation. No USC v. Texas w/ the Heisman v. Runner up. I just don't see the excitement this year. The media is very sensitive to whether there's enough excitement, anticipation etc to = $revenue. They are always looking for new angles. For example, an Ohio St. v. Michigan NC. Never happened in past 100 years until now. If they(the people who make $ from Bowls) can tout an unknown freshman sensation from an unknown school, a kind of David & Goliath angle- we will have more than 1 or 2 bowls knocking at our door. Our relative obscurity could actually be in our favor in the right situation. Comments?

Obviously, Grothe is the best man for OUR program. Talk about the right man at the right time. Where would we be without Matt's legs, arm, qiuck decision making, guts, winning attitude, drive and leadership? He's made believers out of the OL, the receivers, the defense, the fans and media. Still waiting on the final word from CJL. Last word after the game on Sat from CJL was "we didn't know how good he was".  I'll let you all be the judge of a comment like that. That's the first public compliment(?) from CJL thus far. Another subject, I'm sure. Best in Florida? Put it this way-Florida has to use 2 QBs, Leak and Tebow, to get done what we do with Matt Grothe. And they still barely beat South Carolina. Pound for pound Grothe is the best packaged QB in the State of Florida. The debate in the future will be about a lot larger area than just this state..

Looks like 3 members quessed the correct score.

Last year we stayed at the team hotel in Charlotte. I think the Omni. Anyone know the team hotel for the big east in Birmingham??

Good Point! I'm sure that's a major consideration.