1/2 way point, (4-2), how do you feel?

[bull2saintleo]

Ricky Ponton, Josh Julmiste and Kackie Chambers will all help to improve the team.

That win over UConn shows that we can be a decent team, especially if there's a running game.

How do you see the second half of the season going? Can we pick up two more wins to get a bowl?

@North Carolina

@Cincinnati

  Pittsburgh

  Syracuse

@Louisville

@West Virginia

Ideally, I had us at 5-1 at the halfway point.  Out of the remaining games, I see us beating UNC, Cincinnati, and Syracuse.  I predict losses to Louisville and West Virginia, with the game with Pitt being a swing game.  I forsee at least 7-5, possibly 8-4 for our USF BULLS!!!!!

[BullsWinBucsWin]

Mixed feelings about our record right now.  However, if you would have told me that we would be down to our 3rd string walk-on RB halfway through game 1, I would have gladly taken 4-2 at this point.  I would say that 3-3 the rest of the way would be a pretty fair expectation to finish up 7-5.  This is a young team that should only get better over the next few years.  I am excited about the future of this team.

[WoolyBully]

@North Carolina ........... "W" but not a blowout*

@Cincinnati ................."W"

  Pittsburgh ................."W" (home field advantage)

  Syracuse .................."W"

@Louisville ..................."L" (OTR & payback being a mo'fo)

@West Virginia  ............"L" (OTR & a loss to USF would be too expensive)

If I had to pick which one I'd rather have back, it'd be a win over Rutgers

rather than Kansas.

* You gotta think in terms of how we've done on the road against crappy

teams, and UNC won't be looking at us as some bizzare little insect that

wandered into their domain.

Bottom Line: I'd say I feel good about being 4-2 at this point, and probably

finishing 8-4 (if everything works out as planned).

[Bishop of Bulltown]

Cincy might jump up and bite us, I see that as a potential swing game

[outrunner]

Pass Offense: B

Grothe is the spark this team needed. The WRs have made significant improvements from last year and are making the catches. Still needs some work but is good.

Run Offense: C

Could be alot worse if not for two factors, 1) Grothe and 2) Williams 100-yard game against UConn. If Williams continues to roll and Ponton returns, we might have a tough offense.

O-line: C

Shaky at times, but great at other times. UConn was probably their best performance since they were able to open up holes for the run. Going 3 games without a sack was good at the begining of the season. This is the one area of the offense I worry about most.

Run Defense: C+

That Rutgers game hurt. Outside of that game it has been solid, but we must work on first contact tackles. Still leaves something to be desired.

Pass Defense: C+

Only a couple of breakdowns, but we've gotten lucky here for much of the year. The picks that have come up have been right when we needed them. Again, leaes something to be desired.

Special Teams: C-

This should be a D if it were not for Randolph's returns. Coverage has been bad. Kicking has been bad. Punting started bad, has somehow developed in an unorthodox form.

Coaching: C+

We have never been out of a game and the coaches have made some good adjustments as the season goes. Especially with Grothe and the "3 stooges" being suspended. There have been some questionable decisions at times, but everything has worked out so far.

Intangibles: B-

Home field advantage is a big one. Grothe is the other. Those two factors play heavily into how our team performs. Let's not forget the youth on this team that leads to mistakes such as penalties.

OVERALL: B-

This team has alot of potential. It's almost scary thinking about the future. Before I get ahead of myself, we must take care of business at the present and finish strong. I see us Bowling again this year.

[Bull Dozer]

Positives

Grothe-What more do you need to say this kid has been our season so far.  As long as he can limit his freshman mistakes theres a few more wins and a bowl in our future.

Nicholas- This kid is a monster and makes plays game in and game out

Heart- This team has alot of heart and doesnt give up on games, this could lead to a possible upset of a better team if we play to the BEST of our ability and one of the big boys at the end of our schedule makes some mistakes.

SCORING defense-  Not so hot on time of possession and allowing yards but we keep people off the scoreboard.

Receiver Play-  Other than a few untimely drops here and there the dept and talent we have a WR has been great.

Running back play-  These guys may not be the most talented players on the roster but they did step up and play with heart when they filled in. I think they catch too much blame for the lack of a running game (outside of grothe) when the real problem is line play.  I love what they did for us but i still want Ponton back in there for the rest of the season.  

Getting the idiots back from suspension- The more talent you can get on the field the better it is for the team.  Hoepfully these guys come out and play like their possesed because they know they let their teammates, coaches, fans and pretty much everyone associated with the program down.  

Negatives

PENALTIES- We really shoot ourselves in the foot way too much and give other teams too many breaks with stupid penalties, if this doesnt improve they could cost us one of the more winnable games we have left, or allow UL or WVU turn the tide of a close game to a blow out.

Offensive and Defensive line play- Other than UCONN both units have lost the battle of the LOS for the majority of the other games.  Both of them took care of business against UCONN but there arent any real cupcakes left UNC included if both units fail to show up or play like they did against kansas or rugters or even UCF we will lose a winnable game.

Tackling- We continue to arm tackle and not wrap up which allows plays we have contained or stop to go for better gains as we play better and better talent as this schedule moves along those 1yd gains that get turned into 5 yd gains by bad tackling will become big plays rather than just moderate gains.  

Defense not getting off the field- We keep people off the scoreboard pretty well but our defense continues to stay on the field too long and allow offenses to control the TOP (89th out of 119 division 1a teams in 3rd down defensive %).  This is a result of bad tackling, penalties, and blown assignments.  If these things dont get corrected we could see more and more points allowed as the year goes on.

Inconsistant secondary play-  At times i see flashes of brilliance others i see people getting beat over and over again making the same mistakes but are saved by bad passes by QB's that arent accurate passers.  Too many pass interference calls (most deserved).

Defensive play calling- Our scheme looks very passive compared to past years.  We arent bringing enough pressure when its clear our front 4 cant do it by themselves, we dont blitz enough in obvious passing downs or to stop the run, the coverage packages we run are too soft and allow teams to too easily get 7-10yd gains especially on 3rd downs.  We look alot more passive then we have in the past which is why i think we lack alot of big plays on this side of the ball.

The So So

Special Teams- Some aspects are improving others leave alot to be desired.   If we can make a good % of our field goals and continue to protect our rugby style punting i will be happy with this unit. We still are getting too many bad long snaps for my liking though.  And of course our return game can make plays.

Offensive play calling- Its SLOWLY getting a bit better but has a long way to go.  Im not as down as it as i have been in the past but im not praising Smith either.  Glad to actually see some sort of improvement here.

Linebacker play-  the have been up and down this year.  Flashes of brilliance but not as consistantly good as i expected them to be this year.  They can look REALLY bad in pass coverage at times.  Alot of this can be attributed to play calling but you gotta do what your asked to do.  Hopefully we start blitzing more and using their playmaking ability more which will result on them having to be in coverage for less time and getting to QB to get our D off the field or force some turn overs.

Remaining schedule

UNC- I think this will be closer than most think but we will get a W here.  Lets not foget that we arent the best road team but i think this will be balanced out on the emotional return of the idiots.

Cincinasty- A team that can play at a very high level at times (a good part of the OSU game and VT) and scares me.  This can be a trap game especially since its on the road where we dont usually fair well.  As long as we arent looking ahead to homecoming and dont keep them in the game with turn overs and penalties this should be a win.

Pitt- A game that im glad is at home this year.  Pitt is a team that matches up strength vs our weaknesses.  Big physical o-line, accurate experience passer, good speed at the wideout position, play making defense.  If we commit penalties and turn the ball over we will lose this game.  Palko wont miss open recivers that get behind our secondary (70% completion percentage 15tds 3 ints, very good arm strength).  However if we can step up and make some big plays early and play with emotion  and what will be a big and wild crowd and avoid turn overs and penalties we have a very good shot at winning this game.  

Cuse- I think this game will hinge on the results of the week before but should still be a W.  Either we lost to Pitt then go on and take it out on the orange or we beat pitt for our biggest win this season so far or have a bit of a let down game after an emotional home coming win.  Either way this should be a W unless we completly crap the bed.

UL- We have to play no mistake football and hope they make a few/we force a few mistakes to make this close or pull it off.  They will not be overlooking us this year but rather be out for revenge in what they consider a very embarassing loss to a lower teir team.  We have to get pressure on the QB as he can get rattled and make some bad throws if you pressure him plus hes not very mobile.  Their speed at the skill positions scrares me.  PLEASE DONT JUMP ON THE BIRD!!!!!

WVU-We have to stop the run in this one or we wont even be in the game end of story.  They could potentially be playing for a spot in the NC so if thats the case forget them over looking us.  But bottom line if we dont stop the run they will blow us out.  I havent seen enough of them passing this year to really say they can beat us there so if we can stop the run we will have a chance in this one if we limit our mistakes.  

Im prediciting 8-4 or 7-5

I dont think we have the right team/circumstances to beat a UL or WVU this year.  Pitt will be tough and we cant afford to help them, and cincy is really a trap game.  I really hope im wrong and we can pull out a 9-3 or a 10-2 though  

[Bull Dozer]

figured there would be more posts in this thread

[Bulls Are We]

figured there would be more posts in this thread

Steve, if you want "action" on a thread you'll need to comment about RJS security, an on campus stadium or the color of our uniforms.  

[Kizarvexis]

I haven't been able to watch USF this year, so I can't give an indepth analysis like above. Radio isn't as good as TV, which isn't as good as being there live. But, based on past history, things don't look good for the Bulls.

The Bulls win about 75% of the time at home vs I-A competition. With two home games left, that leaves one win at home, probably vs Syracuse.

The Bulls win about 40% of the time on the road vs I-A competition. With four road games left, that leaves one win on the road, probably vs UNC or Cincinnati.

So I think USF will go 2-4 for the rest of the year and have a 6-6 record. That will mean USF will have to hope for there to be more bowl slots than 7-5 teams. If all the stars line up, I could see the Bulls going 4-2 for an 8-4 record, or worse, 0-6 for a 4-8 record.

Kizarvexis

[smazza]

7 maybe 6 wins

another mediocre year in the books

pretty bad usf doesnt have a shot against pitt,ul and wv