SPT:  Auman nearly perfect-UCF must read

[mutt]

[MavTechKNIGHT2]

I just read that article online and thought it was awesome!  Greg is a really good writer and knows about the histories of both programs.

Let me suggest something though.  To many outsiders, being in a BCS conference is a huge advantage.  In that regard ONLY, USF has passed UCF by.  On the field it is a bit harder to judge simply because UCF entrusted GO to basically start the program again.  The losing streak is the result.  That will end this year.

Now, UCF, even now with supposed crappy recruiting classes, have out-ranked some BCS programs on some recruiting sites.  So, to simply say USF is BCS therefore they will be that much better is ludicrous.  Can it happen?  Absolutely!  Will it happen?  I doubt it.

It is already apparent that GO is getting a lot more from his "crappy" recruits than expected since 5 true freshmen are starting.  Last year we had a 5-star kid come to UCF on an official visit.  The point is, even at 0-15 we were able to get interest from some really good players.  Yes, they signed elsewhere but will they after the team reels off a few wins?  Who knows.

All I can say is USF has an advantage right now by being in a BCS conference.  What they actually DO with it will determine if they have passed us by.  And what good will the advantage be if UCF gets into the same conference in 3 or 4 years?

[MavTechKNIGHT2]

And that's why the smoke in mirrors game is actually out of oveido.   All you have is talk, and talk about more talk.  You are nothing but our ugly kid sister that just got a facelift.

I can't say I agree with ALL of what the original post said but there really is no smoke and mirrors coming from UCF.

GO gutted the team last year and lost every game.  That is a fact.  GO is getting more of his recruits now siging what is really his FIRST class this past February.  That too is a fact.  The team showed A LOT of improvement in the South Carolina game making UCF fans believe in GO and his staff (maybe not his OC however!).  That is a fact.

The S&M comes from USF in CONSTANTLY mentioning how great their recruiting classes have been for 3 years now and, to day, has given them NOTHING in return.  Even against bad BCS competition.

[Knight_Light]

"McDowell said one of USF's wisest decisions was not to play UCF in its early years. Playing the Knights meant acknowledging them as peers, and the Bulls went a long time without doing that.

"I did try to get USF to play us early on. I talked to them until I was blue in the face, but they wouldn't hear of it," McDowell said. "I don't blame them. They wanted to wait to play them until they could beat UCF, and that was a smart move."

------------------------------

Wait....is this where Bulls hit fans chime in about how it was USF who wanted to play UCF early again??

LOL!!!

KL

[Hoops_McKnight]

I can't help but respond to a couple of points on this article:

1.  McDowell is a former coach and AD, one that was pushed out after our fabled cell-phone incident.  

2.  If the relative states of our 2 basketball programs was the BE discriminator (and it was), then it was McDowell's fault as AD - it was him that was "asleep at the wheel."  He hired 3 bad basketball HCs, got us out of a decent conference (Sun Belt) then into a bad one (TAAC/A-Sun) then underfunded his basketball program during his entire tenure as AD.  I argued this with him for 8 **** years, and he hated talking to me.

3.  USF may not have used UCF as its model when forming your FB program, but the model Griffin did use was a direct result of our experience.  When we ****-near bankrupted our entire athletic program in 1983-84 due to our FB program, the state Board of Trustees instituted new rules design to ensure that future startup FB programs had a stable foundation.  Thats's why Griffin hired LRS to raise the required $5M, that's why he hired TheJim a year ahead of your first practice, etc - the BOT required him to do that, based upon our bad experience.

4.  Greg interviewed a very bitter McDowell.

5.  I feel much better now...

[ZeroBullChip]

I can't say I agree with ALL of what the original post said but there really is no smoke and mirrors coming from UCF.

GO gutted the team last year and lost every game.  That is a fact.  GO is getting more of his recruits now siging what is really his FIRST class this past February.  That too is a fact.  The team showed A LOT of improvement in the South Carolina game making UCF fans believe in GO and his staff (maybe not his OC however!).  That is a fact.

The S&M comes from USF in CONSTANTLY mentioning how great their recruiting classes have been for 3 years now and, to day, has given them NOTHING in return.  Even against bad BCS competition.

You are kidding right?  The S&M comes from the UCF administration and works its way down to the koolaid drinkers.  The sleeping giant?  Are you kidding?  How about that SEC invite that is on the way?  Everything has been image and words with you guys.  Do I need to even bring up that cheesy website and the cutouts?  

[KB]

5.  I feel much better now...

Hoops,

Glad you are feeling good.  Bottom line, how does it feel looking up at us?  

[beastiebull]

UCF you've had 25 years and have done less than what we've done in NINE years.  Scoreboard USF.  Let's see what USF accomplishes in the next 16 years as opposed to what ucf has done in it's first 25.   You know exactly why we don't want to be associated with you.

[Goldenbuc]

Get off of it...we'll delegate our own growth and success...USF has yet to prove anything.

This article should be plaqued in USF's AD office for good now, I assume.

According to this...USF and UCF should over with it as of 2007.  No matter how many fans attend the games...no matter how much fun it is for the fans and players...how much revenue it could build...just cause USF doesn't want associate itself with anyone but BCS.

I call chicken-$hit!!!  You still FEAR LOSING TO UCF>>BOTTOM LINE!!!

CHICKIPOOS!!!

FROM MIKE BIANCHI.....

Overdue matchup could raise status of Knights, Bulls

Mike Bianchi

SPORTS COMMENTARY

September 14, 2005

George O'Leary pulled up to a convenience store gas pump the other day when a man on a motorcycle began tapping on his window.

He had an important message for the coach:

"Beat USF."

Rivalry week.

It's here.

Finally.

UCF has played football for more than a quarter-century, and in all those years, there's never really been a rival. Which is sort of like continually eating at a chichi French restaurant and always ordering fried clam strips and a bottle of Boone's Farm. Without rivalry and revelry, college football is as tasteless as a celery stick.

That's why this week's game -- UCF-USF -- is the most meaningful in the history of the two programs, the I'm-Passionate Conception.

Some Internet message boards are already referring to it as "The 100-Mile War." We won't be so politically incorrect. So let's just call it, "The Wannabe Bowl."

This game is so important because both schools have an inferiority complex about the Big 3 -- Florida, Florida State and Miami -- since both see how much fun all the banter and bad-mouthing is during Florida State-Florida week or UM-FSU week. The fact is UCF and USF are in a frantic race to see which one can escape the massive shadow of the Big 3 and someday become part of the Big 4. That's why this game -- this instant rivalry -- is so momentous.

Why do you think USF was so reticent about scheduling UCF in the first place? The Bulls are in the Big East now -- an affiliation that will give them access to the Bowl Championship Series and the razzmatazz that goes with it. The Bulls have this attitude that their conference affiliation gives them a recruiting advantage over UCF -- an advantage that could be neutralized if the Knights beat them on the field.

Even now, although the two teams have agreed to play for two seasons, you get the sense that USF is doing it only because the public demands it. UCF officials say they believe this game should be played on an annual basis; USF doesn't seem so eager.

Just listen.

O'Leary on annually playing USF: "It's a natural being that they are only two hours away."

USF Coach Jim Leavitt on annually playing UCF: "I'm just focusing on this game. We'll just have to see what type of crowd we have."

UCF Athletic Director Steve Orsini on his desire to annually play USF: "We're ready to sign on the dotted line right now."

USF Athletic Director Doug Woolard on his desire to annually play UCF: "I'm not leaning one way or the other. We'll continue to assess the situation."

What's to assess?

Why wouldn't you want to play this game every year? Why wouldn't you want to give fans a game they can get on the Internet message boards and trash-talk about? Why wouldn't you want a game in which the opposing team (UCF), which typically brings a few parents and girlfriends on road trips, already has sold its allotment of 3,500 tickets and expects to have 10,000 fans in Tampa on Saturday night?

"I've been ready for this game since I got here in 2002," UCF senior receiver Brandon Marshall said.

Rivalry week. It's here -- finally.

When O'Leary finished pumping his gas at the convenience store the other day, even the clerk behind the counter gave the coach a thumbs-up and told him to go beat them blasted Bulls.

Asked if the clerk offered him a discount on his gas, O'Leary chuckled and shook his head. "No," the coach cracked. "He just told me, 'Good luck, and that'll be 40 dollars.' "

Just goes to show that the only thing more jacked up than UCF fans this week is the price of gas.

GET OFF YOUR MULES!!  If you win a National Title or even reach a bowl...I'll eat my words then.  UCF will reach a bowl BEFORE USF!!  Beat us to that and we'll see what happens next!!!

We don't need USF for success...the same goes in recruiting for UCF as USF!!  We lose a lot by losing to USF too!!  EVER THINK OF THAT??  But that's the FUN of it all!!!  The RISKS you take to have a fun, exciting rivalry!!

[Hoops_McKnight]

Edit:  Wrong board for that comment.  Sorry...