cophbulls

does a bear wear a hat?

good thing we got that 0.50 of a fumble

1) South Florida 2) 23 3) Holmes - 21 4) Jones - 13 5) 92.3%

maybe we all oughta wear skunk hats

C'mon give the guy a break. Of course we love the Bulls and we all would like to see them in the national spotlight, but really, does anyone think that the Bulls are one of the top eight teams in the nation? This is a great run that we are on and by the rules if win a BCS spot, by God, we deserve it, who cares how many losses we have. But really, do you love football because of the Bulls or do you love the Bulls because of football? All the writer was trying to say is the BCS is screwed up and USF is going to help the BCS people see how screwed up it is. I think that's great. hell we could go down in history as the team who forced an NCAA playoff system. You want something to be pissed abut? You want to talk about being dissed, look at the front page of the St Pete Times. headline, with a score in bold black letters, South Carolina 30 Gators 22. Down on the bottom in a small corner of the page, oh yeah, USF wins again. That's our home town paper, let's fight with them for approporiate exposure before fighting with a national system for appopriate exposure. Let's clean up our own backyard first.

I gotta agree with cee in a way. There is too much "can't wait untill the sugar bowl" enthusiasm here. I feel confident that we are going to beat Syracuse but I don't believe it is a done deal. Yes, Syracuse is having a miserable season but please don't think that their coaches aren't going to be able to get them up for this one. Syracuse has too much history, too much pride for us to assume that they are going to roll over just because big bad USF beat Rutgers. The coaches are telling these kids right now, "Don't you let this punk-ass upstart team come up here and beat us , in our house, in front of the homecoming court, and especially not in in front of the men you all aspire to be #44; Mr. Brown, Mr. Davis and Mr. Little" As far as Julmiste goes, I've posted my praises about this guy and his leadership capabilites before but he has half the QB skills that Blackwell had and Blackwell was not a guy that I would have been willing to bet my mortgage on. Say what you want but don't be too disappointed or come down to hard on the team if things don't pan out as "expected" FYI A post from the Syracuse website. IF we're gonna....... Win, this is the game..last home game of season.last time seniors play before the home crowd, retiring 44..can you imagine looking BACK at this day and say you lost to USF???!!!If i was in anyway connected with the SU football program, rebuilding or not, there are some games you shouldn't/can't lose if you have ANY pride...THIS IS ONE!!! with the week off, this has to be the 2005's best effort and will be very telling as to the coaching abilities of GROB and staff. ARE things on an uptick or have we yet to reach bottom... the answer comes at 4:pm tomorrow.

THE BATTLE CONTINUES vs. Cincinnati Oh Lordy, Lordy, there’s a much wringing of them hands in Whoville ain’t there? Oh, Pa! Could it be? Can it be? Are them dere Bulls back from the dead? After going 2-4 daddy Bull was put to pasture and the season was put in with the pig slop wasn’t it? Although Bull faithful continued to cling to that last remaining rung of hope, TBC was skeptical. Louisville on the road? UAB on the road? Figured ‘em both to be losses and had that been the case that last rung would have collapsed and sent the Bulls into the abyss of mathematical elimination. But it didn’t happen that way did it?? Sure, Louisville, now the tenth ranked team in the nation, crushed the Bulls into submission. But if you’d listen closely, the ole ball coach did point out that the defense did play better. And lookie here, after allowing 181 points in the first 5 ¾ games, those Bulls have only allowed 37 points in the last 2 ¼ games. That’s an average difference of about 15 points a game. In that same time span the real offense has come to play, 127 points scored, including a defensive touch, in the 5 ¾ games for an average of 22 ppg. In the last 2 ¼ games, 92 points for an average of 41 ppg, an average difference of 19 points per game. Sure there will be naysayers. TBC, amongst others, pointed out things like Louisville not laying it on in the third quarter, the weather at UAB grounding the high powered Blazer offense and the mere fact that the Pirates are who they are. But holy cow, combining those point differentials and we see an average swing of 34 ppg. Even if the naysayers are half right that’s still an average of 17ppg differential. What’s the difference? Pure and simple, the front line. Although USF has had a running game all year long the Bulls have been more successful as of late. The last two games the Bulls have rushed the ball 104 times for 594 yards which works out to 5.7 yards per attempt. Compare that with the first six games where the Bulls ran the ball 218 times, not counting sacks, for 1035 yards, again not counting sacks. This works out to 4.7 yards per carry. The difference is a whopping 21% improvement in the running department. However even more importantly is the following stat, the first six games the Bulls allowed 16 sacks. In the last two nary an opposing gentleman has been able to corral Mr. Julmiste. In fact the last time the Bulls gave up a sack of any relative importance was with 9:56 left in the second quarter in the Louisville game right before Grammatica kicked the field goal to make the score 14-3. I say meaningful sack because Julmiste went down on a fourth down scramble at the end of the Louisville game. But if you want to be technical that still is only one sack in 10 ½ quarters of play. Purty darn good if you ask me. All in all, this front line play is also the reason why the defense is playing better. Simply put time of possession. We go back to those first six games; the Bulls had the ball for a total of 168:46 of clock play or approximately 47% of the time. The last two games the Bulls have had the ball 64:48 or approximately 54% of the time. Big difference. So now here they are, still with their backs against the wall, a loss here kills all bowl hopes but amazingly still with a chance. In they go to Nippert stadium riding a fairly strong wave of momentum looking to beat a team they have to beat in more ways than one. The Bearcats swagger into their home sporting a 2000yd, 21td senior QB, Mr. Gino Guidugli. Mr. Guidugli hung 350 yards and 5tds on Southern Miss last week; he has thrown a TD in every game except the opener against Ohio St. and has not thrown an INT in 3 games. Impressive. Guidugli main target is Hannibal Thomas who has 752 yards receiving and 9 td grabs. Impressive. The Bearcats also have a Hall of there own, Richard has racked up 826 yards and 5 tds. Didn’t do much last week but put up 149 yards on TCU the week before. Impressive. Cincinnati’s defense holds its own allowing 23.7 ppg vs. the Bulls 29.0 for the season. TCB Prediction Both these teams coming in here are playing for the lives, some players will never be in a game of this “magnitude†again as they will be graduating and moving on. The line is a sucker’s bet, 11 ½ points? Come on. TCB will be surprised and somewhat elated/disappointed if the spread of the score is more than a TD. Take the points and run far, far away. TCB logic says Cincinnati but TCB has a heart and it was crushed last year in that must win game against UAB. TCB is looking for a little love. Besides TCB will be freezing his a** off with the rest of the mob due to Cincinnati’s unrelenting visitor press pass regulation. Take the points AND the Bulls. TCB is 7-1 against the spread and 5-3 straight for the year.

Did the time change for the game?? I thought it was at 1p? ... And yep, in the media guide it says 1p, now 3:30? wonder why? Anyone else going to brave the cold?? H52 L31 Yeeee.

The Battle Continues vs. ECU The Bulls are coming off of a great win against UAB on the road in front of a “national†audience. A put national in quotes because yes you could see the game anywhere you could find ESPN2, but really, what would draw more a USF – UAB match up or a Calgary – Tampa Bay Stanley cup finals? At any rate the win snapped a three game losing streak and kept the Bulls slim bowl hopes alive. And now the Bulls have a great shot at starting another streak and let TBC be the first to announce….. THE BULLS WIN! THE BULLS WIN!! Why the premature victory holler? The Bulls are guaranteed a victory and here’s why. What do TTU, TCU and UAB all have in common?? Yes, they all lost to USF but what else?? All three teams are better known by their initials then by their real names, Tennessee Tech, Texas Christian, and University of Alabama Birmingham. But Bulls fans all knew those names didn’t they? Yes they did because those Bulls are 3-0 against initial teams and 0-4 against non-initial teams, South Carolina, Army, Louisville and Southern Miss. You could argue the case of South Carolina (USC) and Southern Miss. (USM) being initial teams but the real USC is on the left coast and is number one in the nation and give me one example when an ESPN sports head has announced Southern Miss. as USM. All the success probably has to do with USF being an initial team themselves. But who care? What we want to know is what does all this mean (see title)? Yep USF is playing in its fourth initial team of the season ECU and is favored to win big. Will this be an undefeated season? TBC (initial team themselves) says bring on USC, LSU, OSU, or FSU we will beat ‘em all. Just don’t make us play Austin Peay, Iona or Butler. So what does this ECU team bring to the table that might upset this perfect Bull season? Oh I don’t know maybe some guy named James Pinkney. Whose he you ask? Just another top rated QB in C-USA. Yep this guy only has 1700 yards passing, 15 TD’s and a 56.1% completion rate. Pretty solid numbers from where I stand. And don’t think these numbers have been against cheese ball teams, Jimmy put up 322 yards and 3 touches against West Virginia. Yes that West Virginia. Jimmy goes hot and cold though. He had two strong games to open the season then fell flat the next four only to open it up again the last two. Fortunately the team doesn’t fair any better whether he has a good game or a bad game. The Pirates are 1-3 when Pinkney throws for more than 200 yards and 1-3 when he throws for less than 200 yards. So do the Pirates struggle? To start with their running game is lackluster. Andre Hall has more rushing yards (822) in fewer games than the entire Pirate offense (813). Additionally their defense is as porous as TBC’s logic. The Pirates give up almost 450 yards per game and just a hair under 40 points per game. Jeff Sagarin’s computer has the Bulls winning by somewhere between 2½ and 10½ depending on which spread you look at. Currently Vegas puts the line at 11½. TBC Prediction TBC thinks the Bulls match up well with ECU but TBC thought that against Army. The line is more reasonable than the 18 point Army line. So TBC says give up the points and take USF. Hall breaks more school records, Bulls win by 2tds; 38-24 Last week we said the Bulls would cover but lose, nice to be 50/50 but the money win is the important thing. TBC goes to 6-1 against the spread (South Carolina) and 4-3 straight up (TCU, Army, UAB).

Aaahhhh, good catch, I was hoping that logic would fly. Although it's a possibility, you are right it is unlikely. I used the Gator Bowl because it illustrated my point the best.

OK good points but 1) I don't smoke anything, 2) If anyone believes that, behind the scenes, college football is anything other than a business they are mistaken. Bottom line, college football is in the business of generating revenue for the school they represent. Another point before I make my argument is, you apply for that 1-AA exemption and become eligible prior to accepting a bowl bid. Now this probably occurs somewhat simultaneously but any AD worth his salt would have the capability to determine if a) the school could become eligible through the exemption and the school actually is getting an invivtation, PRIOR to anyone else's knowledge. That AD/coach could make the choice to accept or decline a invitation without anyone being the wiser. Now for sake of argument lets say that next year we find ourselves in the exact situation where an exemption would be required to get into a BE bowl. If we took a bowl bid this year, say Hawaii, USF would lose an enormous amount of money. Think I'm kidding? According to the USA today back in '99 Oregon State got $750,000 from the Oahu Bowl  and spent $1,052,870 going to it. And that's going from Oregon to Hawaii,  think about the cost going from Florida to Hawaii. Now I think most would be OK with that if the team wasn't using up it's exemption. There would be very little exposure(reward) for the cost. Now comes next year, we are in the same prediciment, but can't accept a 1.6 million dollar gator bowl bid, which would cost very little and have enormous exposure(reward), because we already used our exemption. I think the athletic department knows this and will not use their exemption for this year. Now I've been wrong many, many times before and will be wrong many, many times in the future and could very well be wrong here as this is all speculation. I would prefer USF to win out, accept a bid and not use their exemption at this point. One more point before I leave, last year we could have gone to a bowl but JL didnt want to petition the NCAA for a different kind of exemption. See it just isn't that the win is against a 1-AA team. That school also has to have a certain number of scholarships of which neither Charleston Southern nor Nicholls State had enough. A school can petition the NCAA for another exemption ot allow that to go through. The success rate is about 50-50. JL and company declined to take that route even though the Bulls were a better team then than now.

The Battle Continues vs. UAB Desperation. That’s the word of the day in more ways than one. Just as voters and candidates across the country are filled with desperation, the USF Bulls and their fans are filled with desperation of their own. With their backs against the wall and the 2004 season crumbling in front of them the Bulls travel to the University of Alabama-Birmingham to make a desperate attempt to salvage the rapidly fading bowl hopes. A loss knocks the Bulls clean out of the picture, a win, well a win means next weeks game against East Carolina actually means something more than bragging rights. A win won’t put the Bulls into a bowl but it keeps their hopes alive. These next five games are playoff games for the Bulls, win ‘em all and you’ll probably be able to play again. Lose one and well, there’s always those bragging rights. UAB (3-1 C-USA; 5-2 overall) come in to the match-up fresh off of a dramatic offensive showdown with Tulane. The Blazers lost when Tulane score with 12 seconds left on the game clock. The final stats consisted of 1,174 yards of total offense, eight passing and six rushing touchdowns between the two teams. UAB monster QB Darrell Hackney passed for 448 yards and 2 touchdowns while UAB sophomore wide receiver Norris Drinkard rushed for three touchdowns. Guess you won’t hear any complaints about the UAB offensive scheme being boring. Monster Hackney, who by the by is 6’2†and 235 pounds, has 1,776 yards passing and 18 touchdowns on the season. And don’t think this offense is one tracked. UAB also has sophomore tailback Dan Burks on the roster. Mr. Burks averages 5.5 yards per carry and has hit pay-dirt twice this season. UAB also has sophomore tailback Corey White on the roster. Mr. White averages 6.1 yards per carry and has hit pay-dirt four times this season. These two gentlemen have a combined 856 yards between them. On the other foot, did TBC mention the Bulls were desperate? The Bulls(1-3 C-USA; 2-4 overall) come off of a disappointing but expected blowout loss to Louisville. Much maligned QB Pat Julmiste has 687 yards and four touchdowns to his credit. He also has thrown 6 int’s. The passing woes are not all PJ’s fault, dropped passes have been a bane. Additionally, PJ has been sacked 14 times this season, all with an offensive line that was supposed to be a strong point for the team. The porous offensive line makes Andre Hall’s success this year an enigma. Hall has 547 yards rushing and averages 5.5 yards per carry. Mr. Hall has also found the elysian-fields 7 times. Defensively the Bulls struggle, giving up 32.5 ppg. TBC Prediction This match-up is similar to the TCU games which bodes well for the Bulls. Unfortunately TCU is not UAB. Did TCB mention the Bulls were desperate?? This always bodes well and we will definitely see the true make-up of this team. Unfortunately for the Bulls and their fans, this just isn’t going to be enough. This is probably the worst match-up of the season, yes even Louisville wasn’t as bad of a match-up, simply because this offense is the real deal. The QB is Dante Culpepper-like and the Bulls secondary just won’t be able to keep up. I like the Bulls to put up a fight but all hope for a bowl dies on the road. Bulls cover (+18.5) but lose. 31-17 TCB is 4-2 straight up (TCU, Army) 5-1 against the spread (South Carolina) Need more Bulls? Listen to Tyler and Jordan on “Got Sports?†Up to the minute sports news and live call-ins Tuesday afternoon’s @ 5pm on 1620am WBUL Matt Richardson is a contributing writer for SouthFloridaBulls.com. His columns appear regularly throughout the season. You can e-him at cophbulls@southfloridabulls.com

I realize that this may have already been said but you need 6 1-A wins to be bowl eligible,Tennesee Tech was not 1-A. Yes I realize that you can make a 1-AA win count once every four years, but with big money BE bowls coming up I doubt Leavitt takes that bait. USF has to win out to get those six wins. Sorry guys, bowling is unlikely.

Good points Smazza, but question like that are reserved for the offseason. When we have the opportunity to speak with the coach after the game it is pointless to bring up questions that involve the offseason rather than the game. Even if he did choose to answer them they would be vague at best because his mind is on what just happened on the field. That doesn't mean queries concerning the playmaking or personel decisions made on the field are offlimits. There is such limited time to talk to CJL and so many other questioners one has to make their questions relevant. BigMatt

BIG MATT IN THE BOX This is my rookie campaign. For the six readers who actually muck their way entirely through this column you probably already know this but it’s worth repeating. As with any rookie campaign there are growing pains, mistakes made and most importantly lessons learned. For instance I learned that in the press box a rookie must act like a grizzled veteran and pretend personal indifference towards the team the rookie is covering. I learned that in the press conferences if you don’t open your mouth someone else will open theirs. I’ve learned that if you don’t get to the press box early there will be no food left. (Seriously, if any other reporters are reading this, relax, the food ain’t all that). And this past weekend I learned this - Don’t have your beer-drinking buddies come over to watch a football game where your team is a 30 point underdog and expect to be able to get serious insight on the game. I should have known I was in trouble when after the tackle on the initial kickoff, buddy#1 exclaims, “Look, eight seconds into the game and USF isn’t losing yet!†Actually it’s a brilliant statement. The speaker gets to poke fun at the poor sap rooting for the big underdog and ending the statement with a ‘yet’ reminds the same poor sap that yes you aren’t losing right now but you will. And speaking of, remember that first game against Tennessee Tech? That was the 1-AA team that the Bulls struggled mightily against. Remember them? USF had a late interception to seal the victory (and haven't had one since) It was at that moment when all Bulls fans should have known that something was amiss with our beloved Golden Goats. (Goats? Check out the old logo - courtesy of Mrs. Reporter) Did we heed this warning? Did we even subconsciously prepare ourselves for a possibility of a terrible season? Nope, nary a flicker in the ever present burning flame that is Bull nation. And now we know better don’t we? We know now that the Bulls are not a bowl-bound team, not even a team in the upper echelon of C-USA. Nope, we now know that the Bulls are the Armys and the East Carolinas of our mind. The team that everyone secretly wishes they could play over and over again. Of course USF had to give us a tease, not only during the game against Louisville, recovering that fumble and playing fairly well on defense for the first 10 minutes, but also during the early part of the year, beating TCU in 2OT. Those teases hurt, and as Bull nation is painfully acutely aware, only delay the inevitable. But I digress; Buddy #2 had to throw in his two cents joking about the game being over after the first quarter and USF being down by 14. I indignantly insisted otherwise while opening my third beer of the evening. Back to Buddy #1, “Uh, Mr. Reporter, yes it is. But hey, have we seen Levi yet?†Oh, good job Buddy #1 that leads us right into our weekly topic- -The penalty count brought to you by #79 Levi Newton. The most penalized team in the NCAA’s got beat so bad they lost the penalty count also. The Bulls ended up with 7 penalties for 71 yards while Louisville was 8 for 75. But the most exciting news here is that our Levi, Mr. #79 did not get a penalty for the first time this season! Oh we were rooting for your name to be called every time the yellow hanky came out but you eluded the pinstriped executioner every time. Congratulations! You know it’s bad when you have worked your way through a six-pack and have faced the inevitable of an insane blow-out and can recognize it as such, all with a good third of the game yet to be played. But there I was staring a 41-3 deficit in the face and my “buddies†snickering wildly about the deer in headlights look that was hung on my face. You have got to love Jim Leavitt though. This guy either is the most in denial individual person I have ever met or one of the worst spin masters in the book. After the game Leavitt had this to say. “It’s just we need to play a lot better football. But I thought we battled a little bit better in the second half.†Ok let’s break that down: “It’s just….† - I don’t care who you are, when you lose by 32 points throwing up your schools fourth worst loss ever, it is never, ever, ever, “It’s just…†It’s not that simple and I hope Leavitt knows that. “….we need to play a lot better football†- Well that’s just great; at least we know which game we are playing. Of course you need to play better football. What kind of statement is that anyways? Do we want to play better horseshoes? Five-card stud? Good Grief. And can he be any more vague? How are we going to play better? Who is going to play better? Is it the players or the coaches? The players or the play? Gimmee sumpin’ Jimmy. We need to find a reason to come buy tickets to that East Carolina game, your salary don’t grow on trees. “But I thought we battled a little bit better in the second half.†- Do I even need to go here? Do you honestly think Louisville played their best players for the whole second half? Do you think they played their second best players the whole second half? Michael Bush, third on the depth chart, led the team in rushing (69) and carries (9). Eight different Cardinals carried the ball and nine different Cardinals caught at least one pass. Compare this to USF’s three ball carriers and three receivers. 60 Cardinal players were in the game for at least one play, USF had 35. The thing about friends is that they always remind you about the times you were up during the times you were down. “How’s that press box now, rookie?†Buddy #1 chortled. Indeed. Point well taken. I sat there wondering if the press box and RayJay for that matter was going to resemble more of a mausoleum than an arena of competition at the next home game. Game Balls – Offense: Levi Newton, no penalties, no sacks allowed – Defense: Javon Camon, eight unassisted tackles Need more Bulls?  Listen to Tyler and Jordan on “Got Sports?†Up to the minute sports news and live call-ins Tuesday afternoon’s @ 5pm on 1620am WBUL  Matt Richardson is a contributing writer for SouthFloridaBulls.com.  His columns appear regularly throughout the season. You can e-him at cophbulls@southfloridabulls.com

The Battle Continues.................vs. Louisville By Matt Richardson Ugh. Well Coach Jimmy asked for it, he got it. It, being one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult schedules ever for the USF Bulls football team. Tough losses to South Carolina and Southern Miss wrapped around a big win over TCU right before a staggering loss to an Army team who was coming off it’s first win in 20 tries. That means they were 1-19 before coming into RayJay and left 2-19. Coach JL says, “It was a tough loss, a real tough loss, and NOT because it was Army.†Uh, I don’t buy it coach, neither do you or you wouldn’t even have had to say that. Is Army better than their record shows? Yep, you bet. TBC pointed that out last week. Was this pre-punched a ‘W’ by our beloved gridiron team? TBC would bet on that also. JL can say what he wants but no team after losing 19 straight can be so much improved that they should be expected to go on the road and beat a stronger team. The Bulls were looking past Army, had to be, that’s the only explanation. I honestly, I don’t really blame the team for being apprehensive about their next game, cause tonight, ladies and gentlemen, it’s about to get a whole lot tougher. USF is a 29.5-point underdog going into Papa John’s stadium to face the 18th ranked Louisville Cardinals. USF averages 24.8 points per game while Louisville averages 42.2. USF gives up 30.8 points per game while Louisville gives up 13.8 and a only allows a staggering 3.5 points per game at home. Just by looking at those averages it’s no wonder why USF is a big underdog. Now look at the injury list, South Florida has 10 injured Bulls, 5 out for the season, 1 out for the game (Lee Roy Selmon) and two others questionable (Andre Hall, Santiago Gramatica). Need more? Cardinal QB’s Stefan LeFors and Brian Brohm both average over 70% completion ratio. Seventy percent. Every ten times they throw the ball they connect over seven times. Ridiculous. These guys are so good that Mr. Lefors is a final nine Johnny Unitas candidate. That means some people think he is one of the top ten best QB’s in the country. Pat Julmiste’s completion ratio? 48.6 percent. He is not a JU finalist. Speaking of Pat, in case anyone is wondering, TCB asked Coach JL if Julmiste was still the starter. JL answered empathically that, yes, he was. And to tell you the truth, he didn’t look none to happy to be asked that question. So like him or not, he is our guy. TCB doesn’t mind this. PJ is struggling, no doubt about it, but he is a warrior and a leader. He exudes positive emotion and his team will follow him and play better because of who he is. TCB says Good Luck PJ, you’re going to need it for the next couple of weeks. Now TCB is hearing a lot about how our season is over and yes it would look as if our beloved bulls were out of the bowl picture. The Bulls could very easily be 2-5 going into the East Carolina game and would be officially out of the hunt. But I say hold on l’il buckaroos, stranger things have happened. You think Miami thought Louisville was going to play as they did? I remember a couple years back a certain Louisville team who at that time wasn’t even on the national map had a certain Florida school come into town and what did Cards do? Took ‘em to the wood shed is what they did. One of the biggest upsets in CUSA history. And what about the Bulls? Do we forget so soon a 35-26 whipping placed on the storied Pitt Panthers? Upsets do happen so don’t think the Bulls are done quite yet. So with that being said are the Bulls going to find their miracle this week? Uh, not likely. TCB prediction, take Louisville give up the points. Bull’s fans it’s going to be ugly. The Cardinals are looking to be satiated after losing that game against Miami. Pat Julmiste says about the two teams, “Hey they lost, we lost.†Pat I love the confidence, but while the Cardinals are looking to avenge not only last week’s loss to the Hurricanes but last year’s loss to the Bulls, USF is just looking scared. The only way Louisville isn’t going to cover is if they get so far ahead that the second team comes in and the Bulls play them tight the rest of the way. Louisville cruises 42-3. TCB is 3-2 straight up (TCU, Army) 4-1 against the spread (South Carolina) Need more Bulls? Listen to Tyler and Jordan on “Got Sports?†Up to the minute sports news and live call-ins Tuesday afternoon’s @ 5pm on 1620am WBUL Matt Richardson is a contributing writer for SouthFloridaBulls.com. His columns appear regularly throughout the season. You can e-him at cophbulls@southfloridabulls.com

Immediately after the game Andre Hall indicated that he indeed had a strained neck and was extremely disappointed and felt he had let the team down. Coach JL has a "policy" to not comment on injuries that have not been diagnosed proper. He did not lie about Hall's injury. Kepping true to this policy, in the press conference after the game, CJL said that Hall was banged up but did not want to comment on the injury or the extent of the injury.

Another thing about PJ. Right after the game the team was understandably PO'd, Leavitt was furious in his press conference and generally the mood was gloom and doom. I was able to get a quick interview with PJ and he was mad, upset, but incredibly positive. Not positive in the dopey I don't give a **** sense, but leader positive. When he came out he was already preparing himself to focus on Louisville, discussing his tape viewing schedule for the next day. He was upset, no doubt about that. He is holding himself responsible and accountable. But he is seemed committed and confident. Leadership like that breeds success, people will follow that attitude and be more productive because of it. It was a relative eye-opener after all the negativity that was floating around the locker room.

CO '97 MSPH '00 MBA currently pursunig Wife MSPH '00 PhD ??? Kids CO '20 CO '25