LewSFBulls

well....

Still have nightmares of that 74 yard run at the end of the first quarter from Cook. He seemed to hit another gear at the FSU 40. And then some TERRIBLE tackling down field on our part. 

NIU hung with #1 Ohio State last year. They seemed to fall off at the end of the season and got blown out in the bowl (as did we). 

This game does make me nervous but if we execute on offense, I expect a fairly comfortable win.

7 hours ago, TheUpperHand said:

Couldn't care less. Nice to see votes but we have a lot to prove. Are we better than #45? Hopefully. We have to prove first that last year wasn't a fluke. I'm not sold. The offense was horrendous the first 75% of CWTs tenure. Although I'm stoked about the possibilities, that 8 or 9 game stretch doesn't erase the four years or so of mediocrity we suffered before it. Up until that Cuse game, CWT was a goner but made an about-face in the middle of the season. I'm excited that we pulled another great class, that we brought Coach King on board, that Coach Gortmaker and Co are pushing the limits in the weight room, but I'm still concerned. Coach Allen and Coach Hope, regardless of your opinions about them and how much they had to do with the about-face, were the DC and OC during our turnaround and losing them could hurt us very much. There's still some question marks on the line, but I love bringing in Coach Hiller, and I'm a pretty big fan of the Coach Weist hire. I'm rooting for Coach Woodie -- the man's a great recruiter and a great position coach, but I know nothing about his ability to call a game; that probably scares me the most about this year, but I hope he works out. Most of all, I'm concerned about consistency -- if we have another good year, I'm sold for the future, but for now, in my mind, we could be #25 or we could be #125. No matter where we are, we're overrated until we're not.

Agreed, let's temper expectations a tad. Had a lot of turnover coaches-wise and still worried about the interior of both lines. We face a good FCS team early with a former Oregon QB at the helm, then NIU who ALMOST upset #1 Ohio State early last year before going on the road to Syracuse. If we make it to 3-0 out the gates then we are really poised to do something special when FSU comes to town. Hugely impressed with Taggart in losing the ego and being able to recognize a change in offensive philosophy was badly needed after the Memphis game, but he was 1 or 2 more Ls away from being on the chopping block. Optimistic about this year, but not going bananas about being ranked 45 going in.

11 minutes ago, DataBull said:

I didn't say that.  But no objective person can look at that game yesterday and believe he is anywhere near consistent enough throwing the ball.  Those first two and half quarters were atrocious.  You perhaps forget that Johnson was throwing the ball far better than Flowers, and his TD pass kept us in the game.

Agreed only in the fact that QF had an off day. Season wise though, he had the best season any usf qb had every had, and with our players dropping like flies yesterday QF lead that comeback with some big runs and throws. Can't expect much more of of them especially with special teams doing them no favors. 

As has already been stated, the problem yesterday was the defense. Really came unglued. Our offense made strides throughout the season but we are not a shootout O... Yet. 

Amen guys! We went through the ringer last few years as a team and fans. Lets soak this in and enjoy it! 

Wow how have I never seen this one before! Great find. I was there, second best game experience I've been a part of. 

They're going to have to be 'black out' drunk to withstand the whoopin we are going to unleash. 

Amirite. 

How do you know AW is better without gametime experience? He can be dominant in practice but Flowers had demonstrated his in game management. I think we are all debating the QB competition pre season. And it's less an argument of who is 'better', more of who gives the team the best chance to win. And right now, Flowers compliments Mack and the rest of the O perfectly. 

Flowers is having one of the best passing seasons statistically in USF history. Woulard would have to part the seas in training camp to even be considered. And that is not a knock on Woulard, it's just that Flowers is playing that well. The thing that makes him great is his will to win. Remember late in the SMU game (I think), he did this crazy flip for a Td on the sideline, pretty much injuring himself but scoring. And he is a great runner, much like Mack, patiently waiting for his blockers before nursing through the holes. 

Having said all that, this is a great problem to have. Competition will only make a guy like Flowers better. 

And let's not forget current QB commit Oladokun. Saw his senior highlights, I'm impressed. With all of these guys plus Kean next year, could be our strongest QB competition ever! 

Here's my theory:

We had 2 losing seasons in our history before the great Skip collapse of '11. That started 4 STRAIGHT seasons of losing, and losing badly. USF for the first time became known as a losing team locally, instead of a winning upstart. And as we all know, Tampa fans hate a loser and are the flakiest fans of all time. 

Comparing now to 07 attendance is not an even arguement as the 07 team was coming in on the back of a strong 06 and the program as a whole had a reputation as a new team who could beat any team on any day. So fans were ready to get on-board when the 07 season started rolling. 

I think attendance will improve next season but I think gone are the days of sellouts. We will draw well for FSU but if we can consistently win and aim to draw 40k a game for a few seasons, that's probably our sweet spot. 

I think our uniforms are the best they've been.  

If you look at the other teams in the conference, ours are by far the freshest, with the exception of maybe Navy. I mean look at UCF, looks like a high school team. 

I can't believe anyone would want to go back to the old gold domes with the BLACK U (which everyone would complain about back in the day btw). The uniforms were acceptable for back then, but they look so cheap now. 

Love the all green outfits for Friday, go Bulls! 

USF has 2 conference losses, Temple 1. So in the original scenario, where if we lose against Cinci and Temple beat Memphis, Temple clinch the East Saturday. 

Macks patience in letting blocks develop, decision - making and hole selection, as well as incredible top end speed are rare all together in one package. 

But the number one reason I love watching him run - he's so smooth that it makes it look effortless. Almost graceful. Privileged to watch him perform out there. Another Taggart recruiting gem, flipped him from UCLA I believe. 

Flowers is on pace to surpass Grothe statistically in season numbers, and is having one of the best seasons ever as a USF qb.

I'd say he is far more then a 'poor man's Grothe'. He's showing his moxie and is simply not turning the back over as both Grothe and Daniels did routinely. 

I rushed the field as a 31 year old man. I remember 07, best time ever as a student. This is as close to that as it's been since then. 

The players were all genuinely excited and I ran up to Taggart and high fived the man. He was smiling ear to ear. 

That WVU game was my birthday in 2007. When Moffitt pick sixed, loudest single moment I have ever experienced. I was delirious in the student section. You can hear it on the video, the crackling of the audio during that moment!

Grothe was on point that game, big runs against a physical WVU defense.

Ray Jay, when it is packed is a formidable place, shame USF fans have only ever really experienced that once or twice.

Seems like consensus for attendance is pretty far apart. 

I can't remember the last time I was pleasantly surprised by attendance. It always seems to disappoint me and there is usually a variety of excuses. Attendance has dropped to an all-time low, culminating in the SMU game.

I don't understand how people can expect 50k+ at this game. We had 15k last game, I'd be expecting about 20-25k (30k I'd be ecstatic) for this game. Even though that's criminal as we are in the hunt with a fairly realistic shot at a Conference title for the first time in our history. But I'm learning to accept.

QF lost like 20 yards on those lousy screen passes outside that kept getting called. Coaches wouldn't let him off the reigns. Only had one pick, which in terms of field position was a glorified punt. QF did make mistakes but is not the big problem.

It just shows a fatal lack of in-game football sense.

This board will almost be unvisitable for the next couple of weeks until the next game. Yet I will come and read.

That's almost an unfathomable promise to make as a had coach!! How can you pinpoint a series of a game BEFORE IT'S STARTED and promise the back up quarterback a few plays?? How can you follow through with it when the game is going like it is??? This happened in the NC state game last year.. I couldn't believe it then and I can't believe it now.

There's nothing to hang your hat on with this team, no 'well, at leasts'. Even Mack couldn't get 100 yards today. Poor performance all around, and I bought in that we had turned a corner.

QF allowed 5 touchdowns? QF allowed pressure on 3 man rushes? Flowers dropped a perfectly thrown 65 yard TD? Flowers has flaws but the defense was the reason for losing this game.

Explain.