USF Football getting over the hump in 07

[twillybull]

What was the biggest problem in our losses last year, or over the last 2 for that matter?  Consistency at OFFENSE.  

Chalk last season up to lack of depth at RB and a good ole' helping of bad playcalling from Rod Smith.  Smith is gone -  replaced by better coaches, the stable at RB is now full,  there are plenty of veterans on the O-line, Grothe has a full year under his belt, almost all of the recievers are back... the offense can only be expected to be better than last season.  

Cinci did not STOMP us, hell neither did Rutgers or Kansas.  Even the Louisville game was close up until the 4th quarter.  What was missing from each of those contests?  A running game and good offensive playcalling.  

With McKenzey (sp?) joining the team and Ben Moffitt back in the middle and the secondary almost completely intact,  I'm not worried about the defense.  That is if they can all keep out of trouble this off season.  ;D

USF has made it's national headlines by playing the "Giant Killer" role.  Pitt in `01, UL in '03 and '05, WVa in '06...  And how many loosing seasons did USF have (in the regular season) since 2000?  

That looks less like luck and more like progress to me.  

[BullBlood]

seems like we're just not playing that well on the road.  what's the last bad home game we've had?  (army 2004).  Kansas, cinci, uconn(05), and Pitt (05) were all on the road, and were all games we would have won if they were at home.  It's still a young team and we're learning to win on the road (RUT, WVU, UNC)

The shut out in the MCCB is a tired argument.  Me moved the ball and missed field goals/went for it on 4th downs, but they ultimately had a fantastic defense (multiple defensive players drafted from that team including #1 overall).  Still we only lost by two scores.  It's not like we lost by 40 and got shut out.

[ChiTownBull]

Until we consistantly win the games against good teams we will be overlooked nationally. Out of our 8 reg season wins last yr one was agaoinst a bowl team. Our BE. wins other than wvu were against the cellar dwellers. However, i believe we did progress and grow as a team as the season went on which includes our last two wins. 2007 is setup to be a coming out party nationally for us if we seize the opportunity. Beat aub on the road and then WVU for the 2nd yr in a row all in the month of sept and lookout! I think we have a great shot at beating wvi as i think we match up well with them not sure about on the road in bama.

[E.T.]

...

"South Florida came to play that day and West Virginia didn't. Simple as that. South Florida played about as good as they could have on the road, and West Virginia thought they'd win by just jogging out onto the field.

..."

I disagree with this.

Simply put: the better team WON !

:GoBulls

[bulls96go]

to get respect we must deliver consistantly

[ChiTownBull]

...

"South Florida came to play that day and West Virginia didn't. Simple as that. South Florida played about as good as they could have on the road, and West Virginia thought they'd win by just jogging out onto the field.

..."

I disagree with this.

Simply put: the better team WON !

:GoBulls

I say the better team that day won...don't think we were the better team all seasom but we were def the better team that day.

[CCCballboy]

Kansas was Grothe's first away game..without our starting running back. USF had everything in place to win that game except experience at a key position and a personal mistake by some players that cost the team that W.  If the players that played against WVU played against Kansas, the story would read, "Bulls edge Jayhawks, move to 3-0" instead of some dork posting on a website about how inflated USF is.

Cincy..well...we could of had players we sent to the NFL come back and play that night, it wasn't gonna happen for us..it happens.

I'm willing to put up with those pitfalls in the maturity of a player like Grothe, instead of letting PJ play his entire Sr. year without a change..because that means we get a So. Grothe with 1 year expierence, instead of a So. Grothe and us saying, "Man, when he gets experience, he'll be awesome!".   Not knocking anybody, just explaining the mindset there.

In the end, actions speak louder than words, USF doesn't have to go as long a way to be a powerhouse as many of you guys think, at the same time, USF has to pound teams that are obviously only "decent".   The reality is, USF's fate is tied to how they preform against Auburn, specifically because Auburn beat UF last season.  You can argue that till your blue in the face, but thats fact..not fiction.