Mama_Bull

Use a shade like this or even more neutral for the walls. Use hunter green (USF's green) and gold as accent pieces. Of course, any and all memorabilia you can find will work well. Just keep it simple and clean in line.

We took them down a peg with the win, now it's time to show how proud we are to be BULLS and support our Big East teams. Give the horns with love. LOL

2007 is looking unBULLievably bright for USF!!! Happy New Year everyone.

My son did his BA & MA at USF. That is how I am related to USF. When my son was attending USF there was no football at all. My son's enthusiasm for the school moved me to follow the school's activities. The football program coming into being solidified that. GO BULLS!!!!

Go OSU beat UF!!!!!! No further comment necessary.

Very good news. That is one gutsy kid. Gotta love him.

It doesn't matter whether he was considering USF or not prior to going to Hargrove, Hargrave or whatever you want to call it, the only thing that matters is that he has made his choice now, and I am very happy about it.

Twilly, I don't think that is a realistic scenario, although we would all love it. Yes, we could conceivably win the Big East, but we still wouldn't be rated high enough in 2007 to be considered for the NC. 2008 would be a more realistic date for the national title battle.

Same here. Plus, it's fun when you have to wait! Ah, the suspense! Frankly, I can do without the suspense. I'd rather know NOW whether we have him or not. LOL

It's on the Deuce, Mama, if you have access to a tv at that time. If I am near the TV I will be watching, otherwise I will be listening. ****.....wish I could go. :'(

Hey, any publicity is better than no publicity, unless it is negative publicity.

I posted this yesterday on the Bullseye message board while the Bullspen was down.  Can anyone find out which is true? Brett McMurphy says: "Former Sarasota High running back Mike Ford, who signed with Alabama in 2005 but didn’t qualify, plans to attend the University of South Florida if he receives NCAA Clearinghouse approval, Bob Perkins, Ford’s high school coach said. Ford played this fall at Hargrave Military Academy. Ford planned to honor his commitment to Alabama, but changed his mind when Mike Shula was fired." According to the Herald Tribune: "Ford has been accepted at USF and plans to enroll for the second semester with a football scholarship, his mother, Dondra Walker, said Tuesday. She also said his academics are in order and he has been cleared by the NCAA to play." The question is HAS HE QUALIFIED OR NOT? BTW Scout has him listed as a commit to our program.

Although I was unable to watch the game on TV, I listened to it on WOR radio online. The great thing about that station is that I was able to get my NY fix, which I need every once in a while. LOL Way to go Rutgers!!! OK, 2 down 3 more to go!!!!!

Wish I could be there, but unfortunately I can't. Will be listening on the radio or computer at any rate.

I was going to originally predict 10-3, but with the addition of Mike Ford I moved the wins up. ;D

If in fact the Herald article is true, then I would optimistically say that we can challenge for the Big East title. Our defense will continue to be strong and our shortcomings were on the offensive side of the field. With Grothe and Ford.........WOW!!!!!

This write up was posted onj the C-USA site. Some good natured humor was interjected into the story and I thought the fans would like to read it. Bulls use dominating defense to stampede Pirates, 24-7, in Birmingham USF defense sacks ECU quarterbacks six times, allows only 54 rushing yards CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this season to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our Head Football Writer Thomas "Bubba" Rosenbaum recaps the 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl. East Carolina quarterback James Pinkney probably thought he was in Spain for the running of the bulls on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates’ quarterback was sacked four times, hurried and knocked down countless others, and chased all over the field in Birmingham. The Bulls (9-4) notched their young program’s first ever bowl win with a 24-7 victory over the Pirates. East Carolina, which was making its first bowl appearance since 2001, finished the season at 7-6. It didn’t take the Bulls long to see red and charge. The Pirates received the opening kickoff and proceeded to fumble on their second play from scrimmage. Center Matt Butler snapped the ball at Pinkney’s feet. As he attempted to pick it up, it was kicked toward the line of scrimmage where it was recovered by USF. Jim Leavitt’s club capitalized immediately when running back Ben Williams went 16 yards untouched through a hole big enough to drive a truck through and gave the Bulls a 7-0 lead only 1:07 into the game. USF wasted no time in adding to its lead, as Williams powered his way into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play at the Pirates’ one-yard line with 8:43 remaining in the opening quarter. Needing desperately to answer, ECU was able to do so; however, it was in an unlikely fashion. Faced with third-and-26 at the Bulls’ 48-yard line, Pinkney found Bobby Good in the right corner of the end zone for the score that cut the USF lead to 14-7 with 5:04 left in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, the Pirates forced the Bulls into a third and ten situation; however, there was confusion in what has been a reliable ECU secondary, and it resulted in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Matt Grothe to a wide open Amarri Jackson. Following Ryan Dougherty’s shanked 17-yard punt, USF took over at the East Carolina 46-yard line. After allowing the Bulls to convert another fourth down play, the Pirates rose to the challenge and forced a 38-yard Delbert Alvarado field goal. The kick was nearly perfect and the USF lead was 24-7 with just less than seven minutes remaining in the first half. USF star quarterback Matt Grothe suffered a shin injury in the first half and would not return in the second half. Reserve Pat Julmiste entered the game and the Bulls would not score again. They were held to 286 yards in the game, but did convert five of five fourth downs after going only 3-of-15 on third down. Fortunately for USF, its defense rose to the challenge time and time, again. East Carolina had its opportunities to get back into the game in the second half, but came up empty every time. The Pirates’ Dominique Lindsay finally gave his team a running game, totaling 85 yards on only 12 carries. Even so, ECU was unable to do anything with USF’s speedy defense, as sacks, turnovers and penalties thwarted their scoring chances. Ben Hartman’s 47-yard field goal attempt drifted wide as the third quarter came to a close. James Pinkney was forced to leave the game early in the fourth quarter following what appeared to be an injury to his left shoulder. The Pirates’ back-up Rob Kass entered the game and hooked up with Brandon Fractious on a screen pass for a 26-yard gain to the Bulls’ 16-yard line. However, the ECU running back fumbled on the next play, ending the Pirates’ chances. On East Carolina’s next possession, it had first-and-goal at the USF four-yard line. From there, the Pirates went backwards. First, there was a bad snap that resulted in Kass being sacked for 13 yards by the Bulls’ stud linebacker Stephen Nicholas. Ben Moffitt then got in on the action, recording another sack for USF and backing the Pirates up to their 24. Kass threw incomplete on third and fourth downs and ECU turned the football over on downs. The game would end with the Bulls holding the Pirates off the scoreboard one more time, as their drive concluded on the USF 12-yard line as time expired. Bulls’ defense, which was playing without defensive coordinator Wally Burnham who had flown home to attend the funeral of his mother, applied tremendous pressure on the ECU quarterbacks. It also did a superb job of jamming the Pirates’ top receiver Aundrae Allison, limiting him to three catches for 24 yards and essentially making him a non-factor in the game. Pinkney finished the game a dismal 8-of-25 for 125 yards and a touchdown. Kass went 10-of-19 for 139 yards in the fourth quarter. Bobby Good concluded his East Carolina career in style, hauling in five passes for 116 yards and a score. The Bulls’ Matt Grothe went 6-of-10 for 81 yards and a touchdown while back-up Pat Julmiste connected on 6-of-8 attempts for 49 yards. Following the game, USF’s head man spoke about what it meant to record the program’s first bowl win and the best season in the Bulls’ brief history. “We talked about how important it was to win this game," said South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, whose team finished 9-4 to tie its season high for wins set in 2002. "We felt like if we'd win today, this would be the best team in the history of the University of South Florida -- which is a short history.†"Even so, that was a big thing." While this will leave a bitter taste in the Pirates’ mouth, East Carolina made significant strides this season and definitely has its program headed in the right direction.

It is my understanding that he will have 4 years of eligibility and not have to sit out.

Shoop, you are still a moron. Backhanded compliments are no compliments at all.

It looks like we have a running back recruit par excellence in Mike Ford. Looks like you get at least onje of your wishes.

Absolutely fantastic!!!! For USF and for Mike himself. We will be okay this coming year what with Mike Ford joining the team. The future looks bright!!!!!

Agreed, ET. Appreciation should be the only thing discussed on this thread, and Pat needs to know we appreciated what he brought to the team and school.

We needed another back like Andre Hall. It will take some of the pressure off of Matt to run as much and get injured again.

As I keep saying, it will take a while for us to get the respect we want. Although foxsports.com was less than complimentary towards us regarding lack of movement during the second half of the game, the fact is that because there was no movement, ECU didn't score. Again, if Matt didn't get hurt during the 1st half of the game we'd probably have beaten them by a score like 40-7. Still and all, I love the fact that we went bowling in the first place.

We have a lot of nice memories from these photos as well as Mike G's classics. Again, thank you everyone for sharing.