FazaUSF

It is scraping by when you fail to cover the spread nearly every time with an SOS ranked outside the top 100 and you are compared to an average margin of victory of 39 points by your conference-mate UCF.

Baker penned an article defending why he did not rank USF. Honestly, I agree with him. I do not believe this team has done what is necessary to be considered a top-25 team. If we were blowing lowly opponents out, there would be an argument, but we are scraping by all of them. While it would be nice to have a little support from the hometown paper, I can't help but agree with his stance. Anybody who knows me knows I am a massive USF fan, and go the distance against a lot of odds to make games and show support. Our team this year is scraping by lesser opponents, we have a defense which (while it does come through during important times) gives up a LOT of yards and scores, and our offense has lucked out with starting new transfers for QB and RB while struggling massively against inferior opponents. The playcalling is... to say the least... highly suspect, lackluster, and not helping us pass the eye test. I love USF to death but we are just not one of the best 25 teams in the country right now. I hope some serious progress can be made ahead of our Black Friday date.... and that's even if we can withstand a mediocre (by Houston's standards) Houston team. I tend to doubt that we will, and expect losses at minimum to UCF and Houston. UCF looks like they would destroy anybody right now, including the majority of the SEC.

I agree. My opinion on that opportunity being lost is that it rests with coaching. A decent, but not ideal, job was done. Full advantage was not taken of the talent on the field, outside of perhaps at UCF. Next year is a bigger opportunity because we already choked away the one in the past; we can't do anything now about last year, but next year hasn't happened yet.

Milton will destroy us!

There is a lot of opportunity for improvement. It is reasonable to be thankful for progress while staying hungry for improvement. Next year we have the opportunity to make a splash on the national scene like UCF has done the past 2 years. I for one would like to see us take full advantage and silence the doubters instead of scraping by with a record that looks better on paper than to the national viewership.

He changed his last name to McCants to stay humble when he ran out of things he couldn't do.

What did Ohio score on UMass? 58? Does that mean we are shooting for 80? What would C do.....

Really hope the AAC can step up its bowl contingent the next time contracts are up for renegotiation. We have been fortunate this far, tending to play the more decent opponents available to the conference, but as our colleague above points out, while they represent a decent conference, they are often .500 on their season or just above it.

VaTech, UF, Colorado, and Boise State will all jump us with their wins. Do not look for us to be ranked after this weekend, nor do we deserve it.

Pitt beat Georgia Tech the 2nd game of the season. UCF is currently beating the tar out of Pitt. They look extremely well-coached... like their coaching staff "has them ready for the game." After watching USF scrape by much lesser competition through 4 games and now watching UCF.... I must admit I don't think we have much of a chance of beating them this year. We would have to play out of our minds... A lot to ask of a team which hasn't showed up outside of one half of football this year.

Colby Erskin gets ratted out as a UCF spy the whole time, having sold em the whole playbook and architectural design for the USF Athletics building while sending Brett McMurphy packing on a star career as ESPN's ultimate mole

Same record as last season, with losses to the same teams as last seaso . We absolutely could have and should have gone undefeated last season. This team isn't as solid in all phases of the game, but they've got a good foundation. Next year will be even better; glad the schedule is stacked and ripe for the rocking.

I emailed Elevent Sports a week ago and got no reply. The channel has yet to update its programming more than a few days in advance and does not say whether it will carry the game (for those looking for it on FuboTV or to stream it via app).

Sticks in the mud will not be talked out of being sticks in the mud. It is why I try to avoid standing too much due to the quickness with which the worst few will complain to TSA the most loudly about it, why I politely oblige the folks nearby when they ask us to keep it down since yelling makes them develop "migraines" (as though my group's cheering is the sole cause at a football game), and why I don't make a fuss when someone says that slapping high fives around them sets off their epilepsy and asks it to be reduced. Yep, all of those and more have happened in the past 2 years at home USF games. If any of that sounds like a massive load of hogwash, you're preachin' to the choir. Then I go to other football games across the country and watch the unity with which huge numbers of people cheer in unison, and I am both awestruck and also hopeful that USF will be there someday and that I'll be around to see it.