Score Predictions?

[CowbellBandit]

I've been on the boards all morning, getting WAY too excited about the upcoming season and avoiding work like The Plague (or a drunken UCF cheerleader). With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to throw out some completely unnecessary and incredibly premature score predictions. Feel free to throw yours in too!

Elon- 51-21

at Auburn- 17-14

North Carolina- 31-28

West Virginia- 24-21

at Florida Atlantic- 45-21

UCF- 35-24

at Rutgers- 28-21

at Connecticut- 35-21

Cincinnati- 28-18

at Syracuse- 35-14

Louisville- 31-28

at Pittsburgh- 28-14

... All with USF coming out on top.

Am I insane? Most assuredly. But I don't care!!! Nothing to lose by picking our boys every time.

You heard it here first...

"Jim Leavitt, in his tenth season as head coach at South Florida and with the help of Quarterback Matt Grothe and breakout running back Mike Ford, has lead the Bulls to a completely improbable, Cinderella-story undefeated season, toppling such giants as Auburn, West Virginia, and Louisville.

Leavitt and Grothe will be granted Sainthood by the USF student body following the ground-breaking ceremony for the soon-to-exist South Florida Stadium, a state-of-the-art on-campus stadium."

[BULLfreak]

Elon- 34-0

at Auburn- 21-17

North Carolina- 28-14

West Virginia- 31-27

at Florida Atlantic- 51-10

UCF- 10000000000000000000000000000 - 0

at Rutgers- 28-21

at Connecticut- 41-21

Cincinnati- 28-14

at Syracuse- 31-7

Louisville- 31-14

at Pittsburgh- 17-10

[flsportsfan83]

Elon 42-10

Auburn 14-27

UNC 24-10

WVU 24-10

FAU 30-3

UCF 31-7

Rutgers 27-21

UCONN 17-10

Cuse 28-0

Louisville 23-27

Pitt 10-28

USF Finishes 9-3

[smazza]

elon 70-0

[SeaBull]

Elon            41 - 10 WIN

at Auburn    20 - 17 LOSS

UNC            28 - 20 WIN

WVU          31 - 28 WIN

at FAU        42 - 7 WIN

UCF            38 - 21 WIN

at Rutgers    20 - 21 WIN

at UCONN    17 - 10 WIN

Cuse            14 - 10 WIN

Louisville      21 - 31 LOSS

at Pitt          24 - 13 WIN

10-2 ;D

[Guest]

My rough early analysis of the games...

Elon - The Phoenix will be a good warm up game, better than a scrimmage.  I don't expect a 50-0 blowout, because the play calling will be limited, with a heavy emphasis on the run.  Moreover, Leavitt understands the need to give younger players some experience -- to be better prepared to step up in case of an injury.  The team could also be a little flat because they are looking ahead.  USF 31 - Elon 10  (1-0, 0-0)

Auburn - I'm willing to think the players are really looking at this game, even now during unofficial 7-on-7 workouts.    This game will be a lot like Penn State two years ago, if not a little more challenging.  The Tigers have a couple of holes to fill on offense, especially their OL; but they have some studs on defense.  USF's game plan will have to focus on stopping the run on defense, and being innovative and mixing it up on offense.  Ultimately, this game will come down to special teams - field positions and field goal kicking - which doesn't bode well for USF.  Auburn 20 - USF 17  (1-1, 0-0)

North Carolina - USF will get two weeks to stew in their "what could have been" juices.  New coach Butch Davis will have the Tar Heels ready, but their QB's weren't steady last year and they seem to have holes at RB - and they only return four starters on defense.  USF handled them in Chapel Hill last year, they'll do the same in Tampa, in a game that isn't as close as the score appears.  USF 34 - UNC 17 (2-1, 0-0)

West Virginia - A showcase game for the Bulls.  To be sure, Rich Rodriguez will have the Mountaineers pumped up for this game, looking for revenge.  With former USF coaches Greg Frey and Rod Smith on the opposite sideline, I expect Leavitt and company to have fun with misdirections and some trickery.  USF knows how to stop Slaton and White, and will do it again.  USF 30 - WVU 20  (3-1, 1-0)

Florida Atlantic - It can be nice to have an intermission during the season.  To be sure, FAU will be pumped up for this game, looking to make a statement like FIU wanted to last year.  However, USF will pull away and we can see the 2nd or 3rd team players by the end of the 4th quarter.  USF 37 - FAU 14  (4-1, 1-0)

Central Florida - The 3rd game in this un-rivalry will look a lot like the first two.  The no-longer-golden-Knights will rely on their stud RB and a decent defense.  It won't be enough, however, to overcome the Bulls defense.  USF 24 - UCF 13 (5-1, 1-0)

Rutgers - A short week.  A road game.  National television.  These facts add up to big problems for USF.  However, USF is on a two-game winning streak in games away from Raymond James on national television.  Moreover, the Scarlet Knights no longer have the variety on offense with Heisman candidate Rice carrying the load.  Still, this will not be easy - and might be as hard as the Auburn game.  In the end, I think Grothe and company will overcome the State University of New Jersey.  USF 28 - RU 24 (6-1, 2-0 #24 AP poll)

Connecticut - Ten days between two road games is enough to rest, recover, and prepare for the Huskies.  They will have a new QB, but have a good RB returning.  Their DL was pushed around a lot last year, and if USF's OL develops its run-blocking, the game could be ugly.  No need for any voodoo on this trip to Hartford.  USF 38 - U Conn 26 (7-1, 3-0 #22 AP)

Cincinnati - The Bearcats come back to Tampa to be the Bulls Homecoming opponent.  They have a new coach who likes the spread offense.  Their OL was bad last year, and our DL will be licking their chops at the thought of more sacks.  That being said, this game will be closer than anyone really wants it to be.  USF 24 - Cincy 20  (8-1, 4-0 #20 AP)

Syracuse - Two years ago, USF went to Syracuse as the Orange's homecoming opponent, and the Bulls were the only ones who scored.  This year, USF is not the Homecoming game for Syracuse, and they will be looking to avenge two straight losses.  The team is still rebuilding under 3rd-year coach Greg Robinson, but they still have problems on both sides of the ball - especially in the defensive backfield.  USF 40 - SU 24  (9-1, 5-0  #16 AP)

Louisville - If the season breaks right, this game could be for the Big East Championship and a BCS slot.  The largest crowd to ever watch a USF football game, more than 50,000 fans, will see the Bulls face the Cardinals in a slugfest.  The Par-tay at Ray-Jay will be a game to remember.  Brian Brohm and the receiving corps are far and away the best the Bulls will face all year - matching L'ville's strength (passing offense) with USF's strength (passing defense).  It's a Clash of the Titans.  Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed.  USF 39 - UL 36  2 OT  (10-1, 6-0 #10 AP, Big East Champs)

Pittsburgh - Thanksgiving weekend in the cold.  This is yet another proving ground game for the Bulls.  Can they finish off the season? Can they win in the cold?  With a BCS bowl game locked up, and no real chance for the National Championship game, could this be a lame-duck game?  Pitt could be playing for their post-season life, where USF will be looking to come home undamaged.  Still, a win over the Panthers would solidify USF's national reputation and position.  USF 24 - Pitt 16  (11-1, 7-0, #8 AP)

Sugar Bowl - It's hard to make any prediction on the Bowl game given we don't really know who the opponent will be... It could be LSU or Florida, if they don't make the National Championship game.  It could also be an at-large team from the Big 12 or Big 10 (Wisconsin or Oklahoma).

---

Yeah, the glasses could be a bit Green and Gold here.  The WVU, UL, and Rutgers game could go either way.  So could Auburn and Pitt for that matter.  USF could be 12-0 or 7-5 at the end of the regular season... I'd rather be positive and hope for the best on this.

[JoeB]

At this point, I'll only make one game prediction. 

USF-  38

Elon-  10

Too early to make season predictions with injuries and other factors.

[ksquire]

At this point, I'll only make one game prediction. 

USF-  38

Elon-  10

Too early to make season predictions with injuries and other factors.

Agreed. I'm going to do it one game at a time

USF 45

Elon 9

[BullsFanInTX]

I have already gone on record predicting 10-2, so let me give it a try...

Elon            W    52-10

Auburn        W    24-21, on last second FG.

UNC            W    35-14

WVU           W    28-27

FAU            W    35-17, FAU keeps it close for a while

UCF             W    42-17, total domination like 2 years ago.

Rutgers        L     17-20, have to pick 2 losses, so here is one.

UConn        W   24-7

Cinn            W   27-7, D starts to dominate

Syracuse      W   31-13, to go 3-0 vs the cuse

Louisville       L    21-24, Could win this one, but gotta pick another loss.

Pitt             W   28-14, we can play in the cold.

Finish 10-2 and #16 in AP and Coaches polls.

[chazmeister]

Elon W 48-9

Auburn L 24-17

UNC W 35-21...will be an interesting game and a preview of things to come with Butch Davis

WVU W 31-28 OT...to throw in some pizazz, I say we win in overtime

FAU W 41-7

UCF W 35-10

Rutgers L 28-14... I really think this is the 2nd toughest game on the schedule after Auburn

UConn W 28-0

Cincy W 30-10...Revenge from last year

Syracuse W 40-7... Domination

Louisville W 42-21... We own them in Tampa

Pitt L 21-20... Tough road game in the cold...

9-3...realistically, there are some tough games and I don't think this is the year we go undefeated, but the year we crack the top 25 and make people aware of the program and get some nice recruiting classes next year.