MikeG

SS will be the Gator coach. It is a done deal. All other actions are window dressing at this point. With all the cries of racism about not hiring a black coach, UF has to take this one step at a time to avoid looking like they aren't wiling to interview the slim pickings of black coaches who would even be able to handle the situation (hell-- there are few great coaches out there that can handle the situation, regardless of the color of their skin). Bama might have dropped the ball by not getting Croom (an alumni and talented coach nonetheless). He will not take Franks away from USF, although it was considered. Franks may become USF's OC next season though. As we have seen, even the legendary Gibbs is struggling with Washington. SS might have been able to turn them around in the long run but the NFL is a grind far worse than any college job. I don't consider his time in Washington a total waste-- he got his cash and tried his system there. His system fits college ball, not the pros. So trying again in Miami would be kind of redundant. Wannstedt wasn't a complete failure with the Bears. He did manage to get them into the playoffs. But overall-- all these organizations we are talking about have had some rough water the past 5 years.

This has more to do with his knees than anything IMO. He suffered an injury and teams are wary of that, regardless of the salary requirements.

Let's just hope our day wasn't the TCU 2OT win. Beat UAB!

This post is laughable on many fronts. I don't recall anyone here trying to say USF had come close to what UF has done to date-- we haven't. What we have done is pretty **** good-- regardless of the troubles this and last season. Any fan worth a **** understands that you are not always going to be successful on the field every year. As long as we keep our core values intact, continue to recruit the best we can, and hope for better results on the field-- not much more can be expected from a program seriously lacking the coin the larger schools already have and continue to add to. To me-- the problem is our guys just aren't getting it done on the field. You can be an offensive genius but if a player can't catch a pass or a QB can't throw to an open receiver or your defense has lapses in coverage/tackling-- well-- you are going to lose. The fact is that despite having some fairly bad performances this season, we have been in all games except for two. Those two were against highly rated teams IMO. The difference between now and three years ago is WHO we are playing on a consistent basis along with the talent level/experience of the players we are putting on the field. We can bash the lack of QB recruiting until we are blue in the face. It won't help matters much to revisit that situation and if you believe we haven't taken care of that by attracting some nice recruits in Carlton Hill, Matt Grothe and even transfer Denson-- well-- have fun with that. I would much rather focus on what lies ahead of us-- a tough schedule all things considered. Our team needs to get itself back on track and just go out there and get the job done. No excuses-- we either perform or we will lose more games this year. I'm certain the palyers and coaches understand this. For the person who started this post-- I can only guess you are a troll for two reasons. Most Gator fans could care less what is going on at USF and those that do care probably would not use UF's past success as some indicator that are head coach is not getting his job done as best as he can. Leavitt would be the first to admit that he is not happy with the results this year-- as he should be. But as long as we are keeping it real here-- how many of us really htought this team was going to dominate a bunch of games based on last years offensive output and the many leaders we lost on defense? Anyway-- someone will no doubt make some bold statement about how I'm telling people they can't ***** about the team. My point is that some folks just have a skewed vision of what is going on with the program. They are not looking ahead to how this experience only helps us going forward in terms of the young talent getting on the field and gaining necessary experience. The reference to criminal behavior is flat out ridiculous. We are by no means very bad in that respect compared to other schools IMO. ok-- slam away MikeG haters.

That is a good point about rebuilding and I have a theory if you want to hear it. The guys like JR Reed, Kawika etc-- the ones we got when we were finding some gems and stealing away 1-A transfers while we could as a 1-AA-- they have moved on. So the two years that our last two senior classes come from are more or less our in between years. In between 1-A and 1-AA (few 1-A studs dropping in), In between our Indy and CUSA start. Those recruiting years weren't all horrible but they weren't like the last two classes we have gathered-- especially last years class. That and the inability to land the big QB recruit all these years. We got kind of lucky with Barnhardt. We got very lucky with MB. But no one else has been a standout at what is clearly a important position. With any luck, that will work itself out in the short run. Add to that the start of conference play which is clearly more grueling than we imagined along with less and less 1-AA opponents on our schedule--- which I would call growing pains. We had one hell of a team in 2002 thanks to some fortunate transfers and a real team chemistry. But that team is gone and for the most part-- so are the guys who were left over from that era. The new breed is coming but they are very raw and lack leadership IMO. We can blame the coaches for not getting the job done teaching guys like the QBs mechanics. But I am starting to wonder if it is not so much about that and more about the fact that some key player just don't have it when the whistle blows where the guys before them DID. One positive about starting all these young guns is that they are getting some serious experience very early. We are playing so many freshmen out there right now-- and withtime, they should develop and learn and get bigger-- and get smarter. I have the patience to wait this one out and take some lumps if the end result gets us where we need to be. But it sure is going to hurt for a while.

Obviously someone is paranoid or confused. I posted my thoughts on the tpic here and made no mention of anything that you "quoted" me as saying. Why don't you do us both a favor and stop worrying about what I write? If you weren't calling me out anytime I wanted to state my opinion, I surely would be responding to you at all. If you find what I write distasteful-- ignore it. You clearly did not read my entire post-- I was actually agreeing with smazza. My opening questions were valid and were restatements of others sentiments (for example in case this isn't obvious to you-- someone said we aren't good enough to act like Miami-- had we beaten UL, technically we would be that good). Anyway-- It is responses like yours that make me want to stop posting or just start deleting my posts. I don't need to judged by you or others for everything I write or feel any need to defend my "blind loyalty". I would would be loyal to this team if they never won another game. I am not saying I like what is going on during the games but some people take things a bit farther than I feel is warranted. Losing to Southern Miss the way we did-- that wasn't a complete drubbing-- we still had a shot or two at the end. And I have done my share of second guessing many things with this program. But I believe that if someone has an opinion you need to either respect it or ignore it. I can't stand it when someone write "Fire Hobbie" and nothing else-- where is the thought behind that other than "he sucks". I would prefer reading someone who says why they think he sucks, why he should be fired, and who we should get to replace them. That is not a waste of my time because it allows me to see how the person thinks and see their perspective. So like I said-- continue to hound me if you want to but I'm pretty much tired of having to defend my posts just because you read into them something they do not say or try to link various other pasts as you remember them to try to make it out to be some jackass. You're not alone-- I have many critics and for whatever reason, no one seems to want to hear that a fan here stiull believes in his team. I can't explain why that is other than I feel some compassion for the kids who are out there trying to win these games. They are trying to win so the fans can be proud of their school and not have to suffer through goofy friends taunts during the UL game. If you think it was tough to watch that game on TV-- let me tell you something, it was nothing as bad as actually being AT the game itself. That was about as close to Arkansas as I can remember (and unfortunately I went to that stinker as well). But embarassed? Nope. I wear my school colors proudly and I will walk into any enemy camp with them on regardless of the outcome. It is after all is said and done, just a game. It is supposed to be fun and for me it is-- even when we lose-- to go to other schools and have new experiences. It's even better when we win those types of games though (like Pitt in 2001 or even TCU this year). That's my approach-- and I'm sticking to it. You do whatever makes you feel good (or bad) about it-- that's your life.

I saw plenty of drops against the Ville and those passes were in guys hands if not hitting them in the facemask. The early interception was thrown behind Lipp and tipped to the LB behind him. Anyway-- that was clearly a poor performance. What I would really like to see is PJ have a game like he did versus TCU. His last three games were pretty bad overall-- agreed. But if he can put together that type of performance along with Andre Hall running the ball-- we can start putting up some points on the board. The one thing I've noticed this year is we do one thing consistently on offense. WE'll run the ball two maybe three times and get that first down at the start of a drive. After the first down-- our first play is almost always a pass from the shotgun spread. Maybe I'm seeing things but our play calling is fairly simple to figure out and I don't even study game tape. Any defense with good corners can shut us down by stacking the box. Anyway-- I think we have to stick it out with PJ this year. I'd like to see what Gachette can do but there must be a good reason they are holding back on using that redshirt. He dresses for all the home games so I know he is our third option-- for what that is worth. As for Denson-- he can't help us at this point. We'll see if he gets a shot in the spring game. He sounds like the type of QB that could run the spread if we are deadset on staying with it. Whether that is the right move or not is hard to say at this point though. I wonder if we will ever stop pondering the Kraky question. He can't help us either anymore and I'm starting to wonder if he ever really could have in the first place.

Last year, we could have just as easily finished 4-7 instead of 7-4. Three double OT wins should point that out to anyone. So when our team struggles this year to win the tight games (and yes even the so-called cupcake of Army)-- what did you really expect to see? Here's the thing-- few of us thought we could hang with South Carolina. Some thought we would lose badly to Southern Miss. Others thought/knew (especially after Army) we would lose to UL. So the only serious surprise so far is the Army game. But it doesn't get any easier. Every team we play has the ability to beat us-- as do the Bulls them. I get a kick out of someone saying UAB is an easy game but Memphis is the tough one when UAB has beaten Memphis badly. The league has a lot of parity in it right now in terms of overall ability. We have our share of problems just like any other program and a few plays here or there can make a huge difference in these tight games. So what I'm saying is stop worrying about the UL and Army games-- that crap is old news. WE CAN GET THIS DONE-- but the fans have got to back the program -- through thick and THIN. I'm sure the players haven't given up-- I know I haven't given up. Now we need the rest of the fans to start believing in this team and try ot look at the positives whenever possible. Otherwise, I think you may be adding to the problem instead of doing your job-- which is to root for your team. That isn't an attempt to stop the "we suck" posts-- just an attempt to get people to get their game faces on and back our squad. They can use all the help we can give-- and I think the players, coaches, and all others associated with the team deserve at least that much from the fans.

If it's any consolation-- I'll be at the watch party. You know me-- life of the party and all. Thanks for the heads up Brad.

If USF had won the game, would this post be made? Or if we had we played a close game? Maybe so-- Every week we have a new angle on what is wrong with the team-- a new theory. While I agree that "thuggery" (hate this term-- seems racist for some reason) is an issue we should nip in the bud if possible-- is this just another attempt to find some excuse for our poor play? Poor play really boils down to playing 17 freshmen and not performing or being able to perform versus superior competition. We were 30 point dogs for a reason--- and I hardly put any of that on "thuggery". No one really expected us to beat UL this time yet we are unhappy. CJL often speaks about getting our fundamentals right (tackling, lanes, etc) and I think the attitude aspect also falls under this umbrella. So I agree with Mr. Mazza that we need to address this issue-- but I will extend it further that we should focus on getting our fundamentals in general back on track. I don't ever want to see the USF at midfield jumping up and down on someone's logo OR taking some turf from midfield after a win for some opponent graveyard back in Tampa. You will notice that since we did that, we have not won again. Let me apologize in advance to anyone who found that post disatisfying. God forbid that I feel free to post whatever I want to.

USF 37 UAB 36 335 yards Green

It was not during the anthem. It was right after the captains coin toss and prior to the anthem. It lasted about 10 seconds. I was not happy they did that and said as much at the time.

Well I hope you had fun writing that BS but it had nothing to do with what I wrote about. First, you immediately took some defensive stance probably because you think your thoughts aren't very enlightened to begin with. But more to the point, I never at any point said you shouldn't post. By all means-- get your rocks off and throw down your wonderful comments. Just in case you want to know why I wrote that-- it is simple. It is far easier to analyse a program from hindsight than what should we do tomorrow. People often say "Fire Coach Hobbie!" without any concern over who we should use instead of coach Hobbie-- as if that matter will resolve itself. If those who pick the next OC don't meet your inflated expectations, you'll call for their head to or maybe just after the decision makers. All these posts point out what is going wrong and we all pretty much understand the problems. What most of those who post this type of stuff fail to examine is the reasons why these guys are having so much trouble and it really boils down to inexperience in a complicated system. The guys before them had years to learn the system before they stepped-- or they at least had years to work in the system while playing 1-AA teams (where the margin for error is not as severe-- we could afford to make mistakes and still pull out the wins). So take my comments as some sort of personal slam just because some clown named wildrover says I'm some sort of "holier than thou" poster (while never bothering to actually read what I am writing--OR respecting MY RIGHT to have an opinion). If you truly felt we were supposed to hang tough with UL this past Friday then maybe you have a reason to be upset. If this is some sort of continued boo hoo due to the Army game-- let me suggest you get over it.

The one that sticks out most in my mind was what he did in that first game at ECU. Monster game!

It goes without saying how I feel about this "poster". What I find LAUGHABLE is that anyone would use the UL game as further evidence of something wrong with our program. The point is simply this-- Louisville has a better team than us by far this season. How we pulled out the upset last year is amazing to me even with our more veteran players like JR Reed. If you really think about it, the defense we had last year was our saving grace 90% of the time. We had great players on that team with tons of experience. Maby not on the line but at LB, SS, FS, and the corners. Low and behold-- now the Bulls are getting beat in pass coverage or when teams try to run at our corners. There is a difference between hoping something goes well and actually expecting it to keep getting better. We all knew that we had probelms at QB going into this season. We all knew that there were a lot of questions on our secondary. And yet, we have people who somehow ask why the coaching staff can't get these players to play better. Now the dropped passes and poor passes are one thing. But getting on a true freshman like Danny Verpaele just seems rude and uncalled for. The kid is busting his hump trying to stop the other team and all you have to point out is everything wrong they do. And then we have others talk about how bad our players are and how this reflects POOR RECRUITING. I seriously doubt the people stating this are even paying attention to who we have recruited recently-- those kids are studs in a lot of cases. We also seem to think that our schedule is some piece of cake to walk through when the fact is that most of the teams INCLUDING ARMY are the strongest they have been in years while USF is in a serious down year. As for the "coach hyping the bowl chances"-- I never heard him "hype" anything. All he has ever stated-- and this is very clear to me-- is the goal is to get to a bowl game and to win the conference. Those a simplistic goals and at this point highly unlikely. But the UL game didn't change this--- it was a series of events. I find it disgusting when people who generally look for everything wrong or distasteful they can about the program sign on here and pile on whenever we run into bad times. Where are these guys after a win against TCU? Well they are here-- but they like to talk about the penalties instead. Then I get hammered about not respecting someones goofy opinion about firing Leavitt as if my own opinion is less important than some jackass who comes around whenever something bad happens and wants to point out how brilliant he is for being able to see it. You want change? Do what the Gator boosters do and give millions of dollars and you too can run our football program anyway you see fit. That's what happened in Gator land-- their AD was thinking about getting rid of Zook this year and the alumni who could pony up the cash said pull the trigger. Here's the thing with message boards-- they are great for posting thoughts, experiences, and other nonsense. But they are not the place to go to find the best ideas on how to run a football program. Some guy posting in his house because he is upset that somebody didn't win a game or catch a pass or make a tackle or call the right play or used the timeouts the wrong way-- well-- they are simply using hindsight. Yes-- one can sya that the play calling is less than stellar and perhaps changes have to be made there. For what it is worth, I feel we have adapted our offense in that regard. We haven't completely dumped on the spread just yet but there are new formations and plays. If the players do not execute those plays correctly though, you can hardly blame the OC in particular. He can't catch the passes that are on target and he can't throw the passes to be on target either. MB was great at improvising but he did not exactly play the level of teams we play now. OK-- you might Army is below that level-- and that game was not exactly the best. But if you also recall-- he had his problems against NIU the first time only to blow them out the next year. Any game can go a lot of ways. Last year, we literally squeeked out several wins and that was with a better defense IMO. This year, we have some nice talent but it is simply too green to know how to handle the situations presented to them. I just think we need to be patient and watch our team grow into this new stage (conference play & the Big East). We will have the talent needed when it matters. This year is not over by a longshot either. If you want to give up-- that is your decision. I plan to stick with the Bulls through thick and thin.

I don't know why they did it. They shouldn't have and they shouldn't do it again. Perhaps UL did it to our logo. I don't know. That and the "turf graveyard" idea are silly and not going to help us in the long run. Those moves are as silly as us trying to dothe two bits cheer just because some guy thinks it isn't just the Gators. Only place I ever heard it means that it is the Gators. And if some other school is doing this field stomping BS-- then it's their dumb thing to do. USF should think about being a classy team instead.

We had about 100 people there, maybe more like 200. Not sure as our crowd kind of randomly filled the section. Anyone who wants to complain about how many people were there should remember it was a Friday night game -- tough to travel to those. Expect even less for UAB. I will put the comments on my UL photos as well as my Army ones as time permits. Sorry there aren't a lot of action shots at the UL game. The lighting there was very strange and tough to take pictures under. That and the fact that there were few things worth taking pictures of in what really was a tough game to watch.

Shurron was great. I yelled out for him and he heard me and was cool about the whole thing. We chatted briefly about USF (told him I was at the game etc). He even stopped one more time so I could make sure to get the best shot possible. All that in spite of losing the game. Sure would have been nice to have him one more year but ya gotta pull for this guy-- he's a class act in my book. The guy standing next to me was acting like a jerk then I told him I needed to talk to one of the players. Once he realized I actually might know someone, he shut his yap. In the end, his kid got one of SP's gloves. PS-- Shurron had one tackle and one assist on the day. Not bad for a back up and special teams guy.

If you didn't post your prediction before this thread-- it will not count towards the contest per the rules.

What the hell~~ USF 35 UL 26 402 yards Bain Am I the only person on this board going to the dang game?

By my calculations, this is the winner this week. No one (not even lotsofbull) picked the Bulls to lose this game. So it went down to the second criteria -- score predictions. usfbob83 -- a registered member who did get their prediction in prior to the day of the game (which knocked out RJWGoBulls who had a differential of 14 points but posted on game day) had a point differential of 18. If you want to argue that-- take it up with Bulliever.

USF 28 Army 27 305 yards Bain

We better not take either Army or ECU for granted this year. Army looks like they are improving greatly every week. ECU gave us a scare last year and is capabale of doing so again. At this point-- we must face the fact that the Bulls are a mediocre team this season. We are not the team from 2002-- we have some talent but are not playing like that team. With a little luck and hard work-- we might still make a bowl game. But anyone who puts all there marbles on that square is taking a big chance as we have several land mines remaining on our schedule.

Saw the movie last night. Not great, but not totally sucky either. More of a rental than a big screen deal IMO. I had the pleasure of sitting near 20 or so high school kids (mostly young girls) who talked throughout the movie and left/came back about 10 times in packs of three. So in that regard-- the movie probably represents as a high school game itself might, at least to teens. They proabbly thoguht it was Friday night all over again. Good story from Brett.

sure-- but is it a "colassal" mistake?