keithroby

If we were to beat Cuse handily and then beat 2nd ranked FSU? I have no doubt USF would be ranked higher than FSU because (assuming Houston takes care of business) the story would then be about the emergence of the American Athletic Conference. In a sense, USF would borrow from some of Houston's cache.

Morgan Mahalak was recruited by Oregon as one of the best dual threat QBs in the country when they had Mariota. They wound up with more prolific options, and he transferred out to an FCS program so as to not affect his eligibility. They're going to rock the proverbial boat this year, no question.

Why would the Big 12 want to include Houston? The conference is broadcasted into every household in the state already. If they're serious about marketing, then USF has a really good shot at this thing. Unfortunately, so does UCF.

It's beyond stupid to get cute at the goal line the way HOU did a few minutes ago. Just hand the ball off and plow over the clearly gassed, not gonna use that last time out Oklahoma defense.

Look, we both know it was a fumble..But there had to be video evidence of the fumble in order to overturn the call on the field. They had to see his knee on the ground first, and then the ball come out. It wasn't there. What, no love for Jon Benet?

No, actually you couldn't. You could only infer that's what happened. The announcers had it pegged right. Essentially, if you're going to use video, you must have video evidence to overturn the call. It simply didn't exist.

That was positively Ed Reed-like.

The NFL isn't ahead of the curve. They're being dragged kicking and screaming towards the future in every way imaginable. ALL of the major professional sports in this country have had online streaming of every regular season game (some with H/A broadcast choices) for years. They're never going to put together an app as a conference to stream games across multiple platforms. I think Netflix or Hulu is a much better option. They've already done the heavy lifting as far as software infrastructure: they're already in millions of homes across the country. Maybe the AAC and one of the the streaming subscription-services could get together for a one year trial balloon, between TV contracts?

This is a perfect way to illustrate the antiseptic experience that USF football is at Raymond James Stadium. The OCS is where your own (scholarly, personal) achievements collide with the team's on the field. When the games are on your campus, they mean more.

Ridden out on a rail, and the program still reels in the wake of it all.

We were in the Big East, which in and of itself would absolve a team of any 'mid-major' misnomer, by the conference's automatic qualifying (AQ) status.

There were some critical downs in the 4Q where Mack was inexplicably absent from the field. Was he hurt?

Sustained, but the lack of an OCS, to me played a large role in the lack of green in those seats. Comparing this game's attendance to previous bowl appearances where we didn't have an OCS either doesn't absolve the situation.

2/3 of the tickets sold? Sure. The stadium was at least 1/2 empty though.

The turnout based on previous Bulls turnouts is no way to base your expectations, and I went to USF before football was even close to reality for whatever that's worth. I was simply stating that an OCS would've helped substantially. I know the lower tiered bowls have difficulty filling stadiums, but this was a freakin baseball park with the upper bowl empty, and about 30% of the lower bowl empty as well. As for the PA announcer, he still sucked for reasons I already outlined. I'm sure he sucked at the Orange Bowl too.

That was mind boggling to me. It was offsides and a personal foul, and frankly, an ejectable offense. The refs were pretty freaking sub par yesterday, considering. Still USF earned its loss.

I was at the game. There were more empty seats than Bulls fans. Not blaming the fans that bothered to show up..Just pointing out the likely reason as to why there were several thousand that did not.

It's the lack of an OCS. The biggest thing an OCS does is create the mythos of Saturday football in the Fall. It's part of college life, and USF doesn't have that. It's sentenced to commuter school hell by having RJS as their home field. Frankly, had we had an OCS, there would've been a lot more students in the crowd, because they would've been in attendance with greater frequency in the regular season, and finished it off right by making a trip down to Miami.

Given that USF has anywhere between 40 and 48,000 students, the turnout was paltry, period. Agreed. For starters, his mic was turned up way too loud. Secondly, and this is either on him or the script/template he was taught to build his calling of the plays off of... He'd say something like... "The pass was complete! By Brandon Daughty to Nicholas Norris. The play was for 14 yards." And it'd take 5-8 seconds to get that out. In the big boy world, you'd say something like this: "Pass to Norris for 13 yards..." And you'd say it instantly. If the yardage is wrong, who the F cares. All that matters is the yardage on the actual field of play anyway. For the PA announcer to not get in the freaking way, he has to be TIMELY with his calling of the action. And also, and I cannot stress this enough, use AS FEW WORDS AS POSSIBLE. You don't need to say the QBs name. You only need to say the operative words, and soon after, the yardage gained. And don't say 'there are penalty markers on the play'. Just say 'there's a flag on the play'. Minimalism. It works best for you when you're blaring all over the stadium. Also - he seemed to explode with glee whenever WKU would net a first down. This isn't bumbleF Kentucky. This is a bowl game with TWO contestants 1000 miles away from KY. Facts. Live, them, mr. PA guy...

We weren't getting to Doughty enough to rattle him. Or rather, we were in the first half to get him off his game, but once he settled in, he was *as advertised*.

If you were referring to his bizarre 'half a play calling' technique he installed yesterday, where the offense lines up, and then Flowers looks over to the bench to get the play (presumably after the defense has revealed its formation), then I'd agree with you, but rules are rules.

I was at the game yesterday. Couple of thoughts... First TD for WKU wasn't a TD. It should've been ruled a turnover since he fumbled the ball before he crossed the end zone, and the ball went through the EZ out of bounds. 1st and 10 at the USF 20, Bulls ball. Last TD for WKU, the runner was out of bounds before his jump. He jumped from over a foot out of bounds. That was a terrible 'no call', and frankly they reviewed both of them and came back with the wrong result each time. https://www.dropbox.com/sc/6gav49kewegembo/AAAMgdH--fKqJVeuDDvm4avya (Let me know if this isn't accessible) Oh...and The lack of an OCS reared its ugly head again...(huh? what? It's a bowl game 300 miles from campus?!?) Let me explain: Had we had an OCS, kids would have gotten used to the 'feel' of college football on Saturdays, and frankly, would've made the few hour trek down to Miami to watch a bowl game during the holiday break with their parent(s) or extended family members. As it was however, while USF had more fans in attendance than WKU, it wasn't by a large enough amount. There's just no excuse at all as to how a freakin IN STATE baseball park wouldn't be filled for a USF bowl game. Oh, and yes, we know we're in Miami, Mr. PA announcer. Stop selling us Miami.

I think Marcus Mariota is exploding the myth of the 'pocket QB' being an elusive skill. As for exceptions to the rule: see Mariota, and watch how the league continues to evolve out of the mindset that you must be a pocket QB in college to succeed in the NFL. Anyway, he's a sophomore. If he continues his development (I mean, maybe this is his 'best' now), I really think could be drafted as a QB. Not saying he'll be a starter, but yeah, he's a dual threat. And he entered this coil humbled from the get-go. Kaep and RG3 are examples of guys who are the epitome of 'born on 3rd, thinking they hit triples'. I just don't see that in Flowers..Not in how he entered life, and how he's literally taken over the leadership role. At any rate, this kid's FUN to watch.

Russell Wilson got punted from NC State because they wanted to give the job to Mike Glennon. He developed into a pretty **** good QB, and he's 5' 11". Drew Brees is 6' 0" stretched out. Granted he went to Purdue and obviously had a better pedigree...but Flowers has dealt with all kinds of tragedy in his life. He's finally finding out what consistent success tastes like, and I'm guessing he finds it suits him well. Given his speed and leadership, and let's face it - HE'S the primary reason this team's made a paradigm shift this year...IF he can improve his accuracy downfield? I'm guessing he could very well be drafted, to play QB. As for USF/UCF nomenclature? I prefer South Florida. USF belongs to San Francisco, because Bill Russell says so.

Looks like my projection last month that Flowers could very well be playing on Sundays doesn't seem so far fetched. The kid's good. As in, could play on the other side of New Years and win now.