USF Football is Dead. RIP 1997-2020

[NovaBull]

16 minutes ago, pascobull said:

If i had to bet with my own money...I say death also. Scott will have to recruit like CWT to survive. I'm still stunned Willy was able to get M Mack and D Johnson in the same 2014 class. That saved us from being dead already. We need another M Mack savior and he did save us as much as Q Flowers.

CWT definitely knew how to get the Jimmys and Joes onto campus, as that was his greatest strength. He knew there is talent in spades throughout the state at the skill positions and he knew where to look to find the guys who were being overlooked by the traditional programs.

This was instrumental in getting us back on track and I’m not quite sure CJS has the relationships or the knowledge of the state of Florida high schools to get this back to par. 

Ultimately, we will have to wait and see, but I don’t think CJS is that type of guy - though I very much hope I’m wrong.

[brybull1970]

3 minutes ago, pascobull said:

I will say this. If we start winning 10 games a year and move to FCS over CFP frustration then I'll be fine with that. We just can't go FCS because we're failing. I don't want to see the team I love die at the soccer field like the end of a Benjamin Buttons movie.

With a 24 game playoff in FCS, there would be a path every year for USF to compete for a national championship. Throw is a couple of pay day games against a few in-state schools and USF can build the foundation in the community it should have in the early 2000's. Sometimes taking a step backwards is the best path forward.

[SilverBull]

I have almost a half century of USF fandom.  Which means I have suffered through close to a half-century of losing.  You learn to live with it and move on with life.

"Oh yeah, life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone."

                                                -- John "Golden Brahman" (nee Cougar) Mellancamp

[George_Bullnard_Shaw]

6 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

The drain is circling. The decision to make a move doesn't have to be made yet, but its coming. And I for one would rather see USF thrive in FCS on a smaller scale then have the entire community reject USF football at our current level and cause its death.

I'm going to hypothesize that USF football's existence will not hurt the school one bit if it were to end. My eyes and my anecdotal evidence say the student base doesn't care about college athletics, at USF and in general all over the country anymore. Heck, at my school we didn't care about our college athletics and that was 87-93. I keep saying the day of the homogeneous student body in big land grant universities where the students are 2nd and 3rd gen, and football is the big draw in the city other than bars is over. It's the alumni still buying into that era that has long past, like 70 year olds today thinking they can legislate the 50's back into existence.

[George_Bullnard_Shaw]

7 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

With a 24 game playoff in FCS, there would be a path every year for USF to compete for a national championship. Throw is a couple of pay day games against a few in-state schools and USF can build the foundation in the community it should have in the early 2000's. Sometimes taking a step backwards is the best path forward.

As Tim Rice said

"So famous so easily, so soon
It's not the wisest thing to be"

And now we pay for the early rise and the flashy big wins due to not getting them anymore and being demoted. The area has P5 expectations now and they can't be fulfilled.

[brybull1970]

2 minutes ago, George_Bullnard_Shaw said:

I'm going to hypothesize that USF football's existence will not hurt the school one bit if it were to end. My eyes and my anecdotal evidence say the student base doesn't care about college athletics, at USF and in general all over the country anymore. Heck, at my school we didn't care about our college athletics and that was 87-93. I keep saying the day of the homogeneous student body in big land grant universities where the students are 2nd and 3rd gen, and football is the big draw in the city other than bars is over. It's the alumni still buying into that era that has long past, like 70 year olds today thinking they can legislate the 50's back into existence.

I agree. The apathy that the university has for the football program will mean that once its gone the university will go on without much impact. We'll be the old guys that talk about USF football like the guys in South Tampa talked about the good old days of the University of Tampa football did 10-20 years ago.

[pascobull]

4 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

With a 24 game playoff in FCS, there would be a path every year for USF to compete for a national championship. 

I do think the 5 low revenue conferences sometimes called the G5 should have a separate CFP. It's long overdue. When the CFP replaced the BCS the committees that rank teams moved the goal posts by emphasizing "Strength of Schedule" which is code for play against the 30 richest programs with brand strength or we'll rank you no higher than 10th if you go undefeated. It's like a country club you have to have money to get in. The so called G5 should produce a single champion every year and rub it in their rich pretentious faces that we don't need or give a **** about those pretentious jerks or what they think.  

 

[George_Bullnard_Shaw]

4 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

I agree. The apathy that the university has for the football program will mean that once its gone the university will go on without much impact. We'll be the old guys that talk about USF football like the guys in South Tampa talked about the good old days of the University of Tampa football did 10-20 years ago.

My life is busy and will go on. I try, but fail,to follow the wisdom of someone here who once said, to paraphrase, I'm an adult my emotional engagement lasts no more than an hour before the game to an hour after the game and often only the game time itself.

[NewEnglandBull]

21 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

The drain is circling. The decision to make a move doesn't have to be made yet, but its coming. And I for one would rather see USF thrive in FCS on a smaller scale then have the entire community reject USF football at our current level and cause its death.

There would still be rejection. I teach at a FCS school. They make the playoffs every year. About 2000 people care...and that’s New Hampshire. I would think it would be even worse in Florida. Based on your metrics (which I don’t completely agree with), then in my opinion we should play in the AAC or shut down completely...there is no middle ground here. 

[brybull1970]

Just now, NewEnglandBull said:

There would still be rejection. I teach at a FCS school. They make the playoffs every year. About 2000 people care...and that’s New Hampshire. I would think it would be even worse in Florida. Based on your metrics (which I don’t completely agree with), then in my opinion we should play in the AAC or shut down completely...there is no middle ground here. 

Yeah, I know I am in the minority on this one.