BullyPulpit

Why couldn't we get the Noles in week 1???

You have to keep in mind that we didn't really show a lot yesterday. Very basic offense and very few blitzes. When we did bring a corner blitz we got pressure. I'm not overly concerned about the defense yet. I will withhold judgement one more week.

I get your point with Tulane, but in all fairness, Wake Forrest is hardly "middle of the road".....they are more like bottom of the barrel in the ACC. Their conference records the last 4 seasons: 1-7, 1-7, 2-6, 3-5.

To me the biggest thing is that the players have confidence and believe in the coaches and each other, just like Tom Allen said. Coaching isn't this incredible art form, but being a true leader of young men is. Taggart won these kids over last season and they have all bought in.....I expect BIG things the next 2 seasons, and beyond. We have athleticism (crazy good athleticism0 all over the field and really good depth (with the exception of DE). What we lacked under Skippy was heart. What we lacked under Leavitt was depth. This team now has both.

Sounds as if you are volunteering to do so....have at it!

You are mostly right. Under the new agreement the TSA gets 67% of all parking and concession between $2 million and $3.5 million and then 50/50 with the Bucs thereafter. This is the giant concession that the Bucs made to get the TSA to help with a larger share of the costs of the stadium renovations.

While I wouldn't say "no chance" I do agree that it is highly unlikely. However, if USF was to go out and win each of the first 3 games by 40+ points and QF and Mack are leading the nation in TDs and a few teams are upset early on, then we at least have a chance.... Looking at the schedule, if both teams are undefeated, our game is ripe for a 3:30 pm ABC/ESPN regional time slot. The games that appear to be marquee on paper right now are: Stanford v. UCLA (likely the Fox prime-time game) Florida v. Tennessee Georgia v. Ole Miss (one of these two games will be the 3:30 CBS game and the other will likely be a 7 to 8 pm ESPN/ESPN 2 game) Oklahoma State v. Baylor (likely on FS1) Penn State v. Michigan Wisconsin v. Michigan St. (one will likely be a nooner, the other could be a 3:30 regional ABC/ESPN game) Outside of these games, the only other matchups with national appeal will be LSU v. Auburn (Auburn likely to have 2 losses) and Pitt v. UNC

I agree with you about the Auman era. In those years, the Tampa Tribune was still a viable hometown paper and could keep the St. Pete Times honest. The loss of print journalism in this country is alarming. John Oliver had a really good piece concerning the issue on a recent episode of Last Week Tonight. I'm not looking to fight with you on the issue, but the actual attendance number isn't going to go away. I agree that it doesn't need to be reported, but, as I said, nothing is going to stop the TBT from doing so at this point. Interestingly, I found an article from another thread that stated the actual attendance impacts how much rent we have to pay per game at Ray Jay.

According to this article, USF's rent of the stadium is between $142,500 and $153,000 per game, depending upon how many butts are in the actual seats, and not just how many tickets are distributed. I'm not sure how much of the ticket money they receive, but I haven't read anything that suggests they get any money from concessions or any share of the parking revenues beyond the season ticket holder spots they are allocated. "In lobbying for a stadium, USF will have to explain why a venue that's good enough for Super Bowls and a college football championship isn't good enough for the Bulls. USF pays the Tampa Sports Authority a fee of $142,500 for games when attendance is less than 24,000, and $153,000 per game when it's above that threshold." http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/after-18-years-at-raymond-james-stadium-is-an-on-campus-stadium-still/2244413

http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/deal-would-give-rayjay-100m-in-renovations-20151202/ This article seems to indicate that USF doesn't see any revenue from concessions or parking (beyond their contractually allotted spaces). The Bucs get the first $2 million and then the TSA shares with them thereafter. While it doesn't specifically mention concessions and parking, I would imagine that those make up the numbers that they are discussing.

WE can gauge whatever we want to. While you can't know exactly who isn't showing up with total numbers, it is safe to assume that those that buy individual game tickets are more likely to use those tickets than a season ticket holder. Complaining about Joey Knight and the TBT publishing the number will do absolutely no good. I agree that it makes us look bad and it is unnecessary, but I don't see ANY correlation between discussing it on this message board and the beat writer publishing the actual figures in the newspaper. The TBT has a long history of being a negative rag that loves to take a dump on all things Tampa, guessing how many of our fans actually show up to the game (vs. tickets distributed) does nothing to change that.

It has been moved to tonight. It is happening. Field will look nice by Saturday.

Because it will continued to be used regardless of whether or not we use the figure. I think it does matter how many people are actually showing up to the games versus tickets distributed. It is one way that we can gauge the overall fan interest in our team. If 30% of season ticket holders aren't showing up to our games, something is wrong.

But his counterpart had this little gem: Chip Patterson: South Florida and Florida State will be tied in the fourth quarter on Sept. 24 in Tampa. http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2016-aac-expert-picks-overrated-underrated-predicted-order-of-finish/

I would love to see him actually extrapolate on that and breakdown each AAC game to show how we would finish in 5th in the AAC-E

USF 48-17 Mack Bronson 513

I think announced attendance will be 32,000 or so, with actual attendance closer to 27,000. Keep in mind that last season's FAMU game had an announced attendance of 30,434 and, outside of FAMU, we topped out at 28,400 versus a ranked Temple squad. FAMU brings more fans to the table than Towson, so other than a few hundred Towson alums we will be counting entirely on USF fans. I don't think weather will be much of an issue. The storm's movement is expected to accelerate quickly and it will be far out of the area by Saturday evening. I figure we will see a typical late summer Florida day.

Not that it has any value at all at this point, but with the two ESPN talking heads predicting us to be in Florida, thought I would share this article wherein Stewart Mandel from Fox Sports has USF playing Mississippi State in the Birmingham Bowl. Although I don't think it is likely, it would be great to get a shot at an SEC team. http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/gallery/college-football-preseason-bowl-projections-schedule-playoff-picks-stewart-mandel-083016

Bentlee is not a pick-up, he's a high-end luxury machine!

I just wanted to personally thank Jeff for taking the time to answer our questions and thank you to Brad for arranging the Q&A.

I used to have one in my former life (pre-divorce) but left everything behind when we split, including the generator. I wasn't even going to get one, but between the price and the memories of the good times we had at tailgates with frozen drinks, watching TV, and playing Guitar Hero, I decided to take the plunge again.

Shoot, looks like the deal sold out. You can still get the generator, but it is actually cheaper through Home Depot or Sears right now ($469)

Just thought I would share this here, as Amazon.com is doing a great deal on an inverter generator. Equivalent generators (Yamaha) go for $900 to $1,000, and this one usually sells for close to $500, but is on sale for $380 today only. For those who haven't used them before, they are really quiet and produce very little exhaust. They are great for running a TV and small appliances (fans, stereos, blenders) at tailgates. I figured I would share the offer here. Also, maybe Brad can help, but I believe there is a link to somehow go through The Bullspen so that they get credit for the purchase. http://amzn.to/2bzZBih Here is a link to remember for any Amazon shopping. Arrive at Amazon using this link and the site gets credit. http://bit.ly/AmazonTBP

I think USF can do some things to help with the pre-game atmosphere. In 2007 against WVU they set up a concert stage near the north entrance and had MIMS and Shop Boyz perform their respective hits, This Is Why I'm Hot and Party Like a Rock Star. Things like that help to get the students out there.