Lakeland Ledger: Bulls Can Give State The Big 4

[TyBull]

article from www.theledger.com

Published Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Bulls Can Give State The Big 4

By Patrick Zier

TAMPA

They are calling it a signature win, that's in vogue now, but let's hope it isn't. The only way South Florida's 24-19 upset of West Virginia becomes a signature win is if it leads to Jim Leavitt putting his name on a contract with Miami or Alabama or some other school. After all, that's what a signature is, signing your name, and the last thing USF wants is to see Leavitt bring the Bulls within sight of the top of the mountain only to have him finish the climb by himself.

So let's not call this a signature win. Rather, let's look at this as being the cornerstone for a foundation on which South Florida can build a highly competitve program.

And how do we define competitive? Competitive means that the Bulls can step on the field with teams like West Virginia on a regular basis and not necessarily be three touchdown underdogs, as they were in Morgantown on Saturday.

Competitive means that when Leavitt sits down with a top prospect from Miami or Lakeland or Tampa or Jacksonville or anywhere else in the state who is also being recruited by Florida, FSU and Miami, the kid will listen and seriously consider playing for the Bulls.

Up to now, that hasn't happened. But the win over West Virginia has knocked the door open.

Make no mistake. South Florida looked good Saturday. Maybe West Virginia was looking ahead to Rutgers, but the Bulls hit the Mountaineers in the mouth and left them stunned.

And they made a favorable impression on a national TV audience. A few more games like that and this team will start commanding respect nationally.

And therein lies the key, which is why this is not really a signature win. That implies everything is set and done. This is a cornerstone, a win that gives South Florida a chance to build something.

Make no mistake, the Bulls can't rest on this. If they go to Birmingham, Ala., or wherever and blow a bowl game, the West Virginia win becomes tarnished.

When you're building a program, you only get a very few opportunities to make that big leap, from mid-major to big-time, and this is one of them. Getting in the Big East, a BCS conference, was another.

The West Virginia win gives South Florida a chance to turn the corner, but what the Bulls don't want to do is make a U-turn.

And that's exactly what will happen if they don't take advantage of this.

The Bulls are on the verge of attracting national attention as a team. Quarterback Matt Grothe has already started to make his name known around the country and gives the Bulls a face.

People outside the program are starting to see the potential here. Good prep players are starting to see South Florida as a viable option, not the last option.

There is really no reason this school can't move up, in time, to make the state's big three the big four.

Getting in the Big East unlocked the door and beating West Virginia opened it. Now, it's up to the Bulls to race through before it shuts.

Last modified: Tuesday, November 28, 2006

[Guest]

It's a good article!

http://www.thebullspen.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/nph-YaBB.pl?num=1164728452

(Thread was bumped down to Page 2)

[T-Man]

Nice!

[mutt]

Winning means everything...  

[Unintelligibull]

How about the Big Two?

We are clearly the second best college team in the state.

1. UF (11-1)

2. USF (8-4)

3. FSU (6-6)

4. UM (6-6)

[USFMikeB]

I've always said that USF will be a part of the Big 4 when the media starts talking about it.  We're getting closer.  We need to build on this.

[MikeG]

I have to disagree a bit with what the writer considers important. Specifically-- winning our bwl game does not validate anything, especially if it is against a freaking (and no I didn't swear) CUSA team.

If we get lucky and play Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl-- that opponent would be a strong enough challenge to say -- yes we have arrived. Now don't get me wrong-- beating ECU or whatever CUSA team is guaranteed situation. But in the eyes of the rest of the world, beating a team from that particular conference is meaningless. It doesn't do anything short of fueling the fire for those who like to talk about how the Big East schedules OOC chumps and not real tests.

Anyway-- it's nice to have a writeup like this.  I just don't think it was really thought out very well.

And as for the person who asserts the Bulls are #2 in the state--- well-- perhaps from a strict record-wise perspective. But I think we would be lucky to win a game against either FSU or Miami still at this point. To me-- until we beat them, we can't say we are above them or their equals. If we won the Big East this year-- OK-- THAT would have convinced me that we may have leapfrogged the FSU/Miami guys as that is the main benchmark I can feel would have equated to a field win. Your argument has merit but I'm just not quite ready to believe we have gotten that far.

[bulls96go]

solid article

this builds on the UL win last year

we need to win every game we are supposed to and have a few upsets

ie get consistant. we have the QB to go with our Defense and if the coaching does not cost us games we will step unto the national stage in 2007 andd stay there for 3 years. and if we recruit a successor to grothe we may indeed stay on the national stage for a while

[USFPDiddy]

I have to disagree a bit with what the writer considers important. Specifically-- winning our bwl game does not validate anything, especially if it is against a freaking (and no I didn't swear) CUSA team.

If we get lucky and play Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl-- that opponent would be a strong enough challenge to say -- yes we have arrived. Now don't get me wrong-- beating ECU or whatever CUSA team is guaranteed situation. But in the eyes of the rest of the world, beating a team from that particular conference is meaningless. It doesn't do anything short of fueling the fire for those who like to talk about how the Big East schedules OOC chumps and not real tests.

Anyway-- it's nice to have a writeup like this.  I just don't think it was really thought out very well.

And as for the person who asserts the Bulls are #2 in the state--- well-- perhaps from a strict record-wise perspective. But I think we would be lucky to win a game against either FSU or Miami still at this point. To me-- until we beat them, we can't say we are above them or their equals. If we won the Big East this year-- OK-- THAT would have convinced me that we may have leapfrogged the FSU/Miami guys as that is the main benchmark I can feel would have equated to a field win. Your argument has merit but I'm just not quite ready to believe we have gotten that far.

Come on now.  Miami lost to Virginia and a bunch of 20-30 ranked teams.  FSU copied that trend with a horrible loss to NC State.  It's going a little far to say we'd be LUCKY to win against those schools.  If either of them played at RJS this year, USF would have won.  On the road, it's more iffy, and I'd say they'd have won.  We're not a good road team.  On a neutral field, I'd have to say we're slight favorites this year.

Remember, that's this year and as far as history is concerned, this year only.  It's a great opportunity for USF, because we're rising at a time where they aren't 10-2 or better.  However, those schools still have a lot of money and brand name power.  Miami is a coach away from being a major pain in the ass again, and they'll probably find that coach.