Bullish

Cmon people, I have not seen anything on this thread that would demand the harsh reponses. No one should be banned for posting opposing views and having a little fun at USF's expense after a win. Hell, this board would be shut down based on that logic if USF did not get lucky and pull out the win against UCF. USF should have played better at KU, plain and simple. The name calling and the threats of violence are a bit silly and over the top.

I hate USF losing as much as the next person, not as much as the person that used a short term investment broker and lost hard cash, but at the end of the day I am going to wake up and get on with my life.

Instead of asking - who has Rutgers played to justify their ranking, ask yourself who has USF played to allow so much optimism. I have seen them play a div 1aa McNeese (losing for majority of game), barely a div 1a FIU (losing for majority of game), UCF a tier 3 div 1a (losing for majority of game), and Kansas a tier 2 div 1a school that everyone on this board thought would be beat (hoped USF would win but after first 3 games not so much).

This is not an insult to UCF, FIU, Kansas or McNeese but they are not stella opponents to ignite optimism and considering that USF could easily be 1-3 after those games, I see less reason to be optimistic about USF. I will keep wearing my USF gear, going to the games, and donating money to the program because I know that they will eventually get the right recruits, run the right schemes, and have the record to compete with the heavy weights in the state of FL. I would like to have Miami's success in such a short history but bullieve USF will win a championship in their first 100 years of football like UF has.  

Joe, I agree about the offensive plays being scripted, my problem is the USF offense is like the movie Groundhogs day. The d knows what is coming as do every person in the stands because it is the same script over and over.

USF is not the Cowboys of the 90's where it did not matter that the D knew what play was getting called because the O was so much better they controlled the game. USF does not have the capability to control a game on O.

The way I see it:

- Running game would suffer w/o A Hall - did not see the injuries and the drug probation but still thought the RB would not be close to A Hall

- OC RS will always call a terrible game - just do not like this guy and if CJL can not see how bad he is then the decision should be made for CJL and RS should be fired. IF CJL stands in the way fire them both. I appreciate what CJL has done for this program just like I appreciated Coach Dungy for the Bucs but sometimes a new direction neds to be taken.

- PJ should never have been the starting QB this year - that has been even better then I anticipated because MG has been the best player on O and possibly on the team

- CJL made a bad decision by choosing the wrong kicker and it cost us this game

- Coaching in general has been disappointing because this team continues to take penalties that are a result of a lack of discipline.

- This team will struggle to make a bowl game this year.  

The 2 main issues I see:

1. Style of the running game - most runs are designed to look like pass plays, allowing the Dline to make the 1st step and then the Oline directs based on initial move.

2. Predictability of the running game - most runs are diagnosed in the stands let alone on the field of play where opponents study game film

Out of curiosity, where would you rank this staff among the Big East and Florida schools?  Some key factors: Game Planning, Recruiting, Ability to move program forward, Payroll, Record

Payroll should not be as big a concern since it seems like USF has stepped up the pay scale to afford most of the Big East coaches.  

Seeing how things are going this year, not sure how many people will convert to USF fans.

I was impressed with the student section..... although I am not sure what happened to bring out the Tazers in the McNeese game.  The students have to start the tradition for the alumni to follow. You can not expect a town of UF, FSU and lesser extent UM fans to love the Bulls. The school has a hard time reaching the transplants and business community (this fan base is convertable), it may be making strides (slowly) but without getting people to their first game it is tough to get them to buy season tickets. I know the Athletic Department has a hard time with the thought of giving away tickets but I would give away every ticket in the upper level to the Teachers, FD, PD, EMS and MacDill (I am sure their are others that deserve them as well) as a way of showing appreciation to people that drive our community and get overlooked. I know the Lightning used to give away tickets all the time to that segment and it seems to have worked for them - so has the fact that they have been winning but it did help the team feel like they were playing home games in the beginning.

The sky might not be falling but this team will have to get much better just to be 500. The fact is we played a division 1aa team and a team that is barely a division 1 school. I have to say I am very disappointed with this team and specifically the coaching staff.

I like CJL but I am not sure about his ability to hire / fire the right people (ie - most of the Offensive coaches) and his recruiting continues to be suspect at best (IMHO). This offense has not changed at all in CJL's tenure - the same plays as when MB was at QB. We can only make so many excuses for lack of talent before the fingers need to get pointed at the coaches. Year after year this team plays with NO discipline and takes stupid penalties. I am frustrated to say the least.

Next week is going to be very tough and I HOPE that the Bulls win but if they play like they have been playing I see the first of 5 or 6 losses for the season.  

I will second that AMEN!!!

I know we all want the best for this team and if PJ is the best then sobe it. At that time, my concern rests solely on recruiting and how there is something very wrong wth the recruiting process. How many years can we blame everyone else on the team for PJ's inability at QB to be consistent. This offense is potentially designed for max opportunity - thus sending all capable bodies into the pattern. As a result of running a gimmick based offense and not a pro-style offense, PJ has to be elusive and improvise for it to work and in 2 years he has not proven capable. Look at the stats for the games USF has won, PJ amost always has less then 150 yards. This stat only means something if you buy into the fact that PJ can win games with his arm. IMHO...USF will only win if PJ acts Dilfer esque (prior poster mentioned) - winning with an above average running game and a stout defense that mixes in an occasional pass to keep the D honest.  

Great to here some news about baseball and the recruiting. I asked about the other recruits Coach P landed last week and there was very little interest in responding. If anyone has some insight on how the recruiting is going I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!!

Not sure about the WR and the DB ratings but every other rating seems fair to me. The DL will also benefit from good LB's and DB's and will therefore finish higher at year end then they grade out individually to start the year.

Sports radio was talking about Coach P and baseball landing a few recruits from local schools. Checking around to see if there was any info and as I guessed there would be none.

Hopefully, the 4 kids from Tampa (2 from Jesuit) are a positive sign of things to come and maybe football and basketball will benefit from some of the local kids staying around with their respective sports. Maybe Coach P can work his magic and get some big money behind his vision and move the baseball stadium to the forefront. If anyone has any information on how Coach P is doing since his return to Tampa would be greatly appreciated?

Of course there has to be the prove it scenario, so Mike I did more research and here it is. If you need more proof do your own research but I will provide a sampling to give you a start. I also included teams in the Big East and Florida schools that matter most to USF:

Miami - 7

FSU - 2

Florida - 11

UCF - 7

West Virginia - 9

Pittsburgh - 9

Connecticut - 4

Syracuse - 7

Rutgers - 8

Temple - 4

Notre Dame - 8

This list does show that verbals are fairly important at other schools, while posters following USF seem to think there is nothing to worry about. Again, I do not think the 2007 recruiting season has been lost already but I would like to see some recruits verbally committ to USF.

It might not be earth shattering by USF standards that no verbals have been recieved but the schools that continue to rank in the top 30 when it is over all have received verbals from high ranking recruits.

Yes, the first one was at Tampa Palms today.

Just wanted to let everyone know how much fun it was to participate in the 2nd Annual ATH golf event. There are still 3 more left throughout the state and if you can make one of them I highly encourage it. This event was much better then last years and Eric has proven he is willing to learn from past events and make each event better.

Hopefully more posters in this forum can participate in the future. Every time I have been around the coaches, I have garnered more respect for them as people outside of the coaching world. They all have great personalities and make the outing a great way to get to know them.

The event is not cheap and that might stop some people from participating however I can not imagine that other BCS schools make their entire Athletic Dept available for less then the $700 it cost for a 4 some. I suggest a lower level sponsorship deal and that way the golf is included. Anyway, if some of the posters in this forum were able to participate I would like to read your ideas on how the event went.

I would have liked to see them pull the plug 2 years ago on EC but I will wait and see how they handle the hiring of a new baseball coach before I crticize the Athletic dept any further. There is still a small school mentality that USF maintains eventhough they are in a BCS conference. USF runs Athletics on a very tight budget, from what I can tell, Eric and Co. operate in a world that is understaffed and overworked. Tuff to raise money and gain ground in the business community if you can not get people excited about your products.

Let USF sports do something that the right people want to have their names associated with and the big money will come. For a good example - see RJ Stadium.

Bien - based on your logic, it is PATHETIC that USF kept Coach C when he clearly did not deserve to be kept.

There is a sense of apathy around USF and it keeps getting swept under the rug of they are taking baby steps because they are growing. A school this size, should be able to fire a coach that is only making $64K per year. Instead they keep giving him more rope to hang himself while saving a few bucks and now eventually have set back the baseball program (the only sports TEAM that has actually made it to multiple tournaments).

Before anyone asks, yes I donate money and time to USF Athletics.

Not really sure where this post is going but I would agree that $64k is good for most of the working world in Tampa FL but it is PATHETIC for a coach of a baseball program.  Should Coach C have been paid more (YES), should he also have been fired for lack of results (YES). Hopefully, USF can get a 2nd tier coach on the rise, and garner interest in the program from a big donor to fix the putrid stadium the team has to play in.  

USF continues to make strides but the lack of pay and recent resignations have become quite concerning to me. A couple of months ago, I believe the Trib posted all of the coaches salaries at USF and they were well towards the bottom of division one sports.

My main concern is that when a high school kid is choosing between going to USF or FSU (insert any big program you choose) is they will make that decision based on the CHANCE to get noticed and possibly drafted and not where he will have the best chance to play right away (ie. Xavier Lee). Until kids believe they can come to USF and get noticed or USF develops some offense talent, USF will never win the high level recruit or the recruit that has talent but needs to be developed by the coaching staff (ie. Dante Culpepper). Big reason why I was hoping Hall got drafted early, to start a pattern like the defense has of developing draftable talent.

Saw some posts about kids graduating being important, well not in this version of the NCAA. IMO, I think penalties should be handed out for not graduating seniors (pulling back scholarships) but the NCAA does not have any penalties. National Championships are not handed based on graduating their seniors.

IMO, Hall had a better season last year and albeit an unknown commodity but sometimes that works in your favor and lets you get drafted based on potential. Remember all the talk leading up to last years draft about will he stay or go, someone must have thought he was draftable.

Teams geared up for Hall this year because of his success of last year and the lack of talent / play calling he had to endure.

Looking at some of the teams coming up in the 5th round, Hall has a great chance to get selected. IMO, this is where he should be in the draft because of how poor the USF offense was his Sr season. Hell, there are still some productive backs from bigger Universities still available.

Hall coming back for his Sr season hurt his draft position and cost him financially, similar to Leinert, if asked about coming back for thier Sr seasons were still a good decision both would probably say no. Leinerts decision cost him about $10 million in gaurunteed money and a years worth of opportunity (can not be quantified), Halls not so much but still money.

Notre Dame, FSU, UF, etc also have private jets and multi Billion dollar endowments at their disposal to wine and dine prospective coaches and prospects.

I do not have much to compare the weight room to but from speaking with Eric and the Athletic Staff, this room is on par with the best in the country. True, not many trophies, jerseys or bling hanging around but as facilities go this is in the top 10% in the country. The architect, engineer and USF did this top notch, hopefully the trend continues when the other fcilities are built.

It all takes money and to beat a point to death, USF alumni suck at giving back. If every alumni just gave $10 (less then the cost of a 12 pack of beer or a couple of pack of cigs) just think how much the Athletic Department could do. Cash is king and USF lacks the cash.

A can see a BE championship and possibly a regular spot in the top 25 rankings but ultimately this program will end up in the SEC or the ACC. A lot depends on how much funding the program gets to recruit more aggresivley in and out of state.

Not many schools have the world class athletic facility that USF enjoys but that means nothing if we can not offer the kids a chance to make the NFL on a regular basis. Winning is important but the ability to be seen as part of a winning program is almost equally important in the recruiting wars. USF needs to develop the kids that come here and get a couple of kids drafted every year to make the next step. The "D" coaches are starting to make that trend but the "O" coaches have not developed anybody. Hall was an athlete before he arrived at USF and coming back for another year probably cost him money because of how schools shut him down due to USF's lack of a QB w/ ability.

I give the current coaching staff another 2 years to make the transition to a top 30 team, with a top 30 recruiting class. If they do not, I hope that JL will transition to another school and take his offensive staff and scheme with him.

Why? A spring game does not make a season. This SOS is getting tiresome. Last year CJL made everyone believe that it was going to be a different story on offense and it was not. Now this year he is suggesting (I am hoping by the 1st game this might change) that PJ gives us our best chance - then recruit better freakin QB's beause PJ sucks. Here's a suggestion - try getting a QB that is an athlete instead of an athlete that is a QB. I have read some good things about Grothe (not as much about C Hill) and hope that when the dust settles Grothe and a minor extent Hill will be the starter because at least they have an upside that is unknown. The entire offense, Hall excluded,  has sucked for the last 4 years because it is based on gimmicks and if the gimmicks do not work the offense bogs down.