Do you see USF becoming an elite team?

[Guest BasketBull.]

After we beat Auburn's a$$ in a few weeks! --GO BULLS!!!!

[BULLfreak]

After we beat Auburn's a$$ in a few weeks! --GO BULLS!!!!

Preach on my BROTHER BULL

[bullwark]

In my opinion the Bulls have come this far in just 11 years, in nine more years I have no doubts that USF will be an elite team, 2016.

[theman123]

USF is good...no doubt about that. Of 119 Div1a teams, after 11 years USF is a legit top 30 squad.

But do you see USF going to the next level? We're talking national champion/conference dominating level?

And if so, when?

not without drastic upgrade in recruiting

usf is not currently a top 30 team

You are the biggest freakin Idiot

haha

that was pretty funny to me.

[USFDan]

Only if we can elevate our recruiting.  USF hasn't really done anything yet.  Sure we won some big games, but we have never been ranked and never won a conference championship.  We have yet to come close to a top 25 recruiting class.  I know recruiting rankings don't mean much etc., but the more higher ranked guys we get the more that will pan out and the better we will be.  Until recruiting improves we will beat a WVU every once in a while but we will also lose to an Army or UCF more than we might like.

[Griggsy]

i just hope we dont peak early and end up like a texas tech/arizona st/minnesota/NC St type team that always ends up with a winning record and a bowl bid, but doesnt contend for a conference title and/or nat'l title.  However, i think the fact that we are the only program in the Big East located in florida and we have a good coach will give us a chance at being an elite team.  we need to catch up to 3 other teams in our conference.

My take sort of mirrors this. USF is suddenly becoming a trendy team. If we can ride that wave and continue to impress, I think we'll see leaps and bounds in recruiting and, naturally, movement into a perennial top 25 ranking and automatic Big East contending. However, if we disappoint on the hype for a couple of years in a row, I think we'll be relegated to NC State status. ie, an 'almost' elite and it'll be hard to break that image.

Not gonna worry about it too much though, cause im certainly enjoying the attention we're getting right now! Hope our Bulls impress this year!

[nukebull]

i just hope we dont peak early and end up like a texas tech/arizona st/minnesota/NC St type team that always ends up with a winning record and a bowl bid, but doesnt contend for a conference title and/or nat'l title.  However, i think the fact that we are the only program in the Big East located in florida and we have a good coach will give us a chance at being an elite team.  we need to catch up to 3 other teams in our conference.

All those teams you mentioned have been playing football for a long time and have had a streaky existence at best but mostly not good over the long term.

NC state first season 1892

Texas Tech- 1925

Arizona St -1896

Minnesota -1882

USF is so new we just do not know how far up this can go. They have past my expectations by a mile at this point and I have given up trying to guess how high they can go. They are not streaking they are growing into a program. The teams you mention and many others go up and down based on some really good recruits and a down conference. when the 1 or 2 special players leave and the conference comes back they go back down. In the case of Texas Tech they came out and threw the hell out of the ball like Houston with Klingler and then people learned how to beat that offense and shut them down.

To me USF has been able to win with different classes and players; Blackwell won here and Julmiste got us to our first bowl game. They seem to be getting better talent and more depth every year and that is the key.

My fear has and is that young fans or new fans to CFB will be spoiled by the extraordinary success of the Bulls so far and have unrealistic expectations. I remember the first 3 years when our O-line was tiny and looked like smurfs for the most part.

All that being said I wonder if there is an unrealistic expectations with this program; in the general scheme of CFB and historically no team has ever accomplished this much this fast.

[usfgrad84]

We may enter the ranks of the elite (conference champs/top 25 team) this year or next.  To be considered elite, we need to stay there for about 4 or 5 years straight.  We are entering that level.  Can we make it last?

Our recruiting is good enough to get us and keep us to that level now.  It only really started getting to that level within the last year or 2.  It will take at least 3 or 4 more years for with the type of recruits we have started to land to mature and fill out the depth with that level of athlete/football player.  The BCS level recruits we started to land are only RS freshman or Sophomores.  The rest of the elite teams are filled with full classes at every position with those type of recruits.  That's simple common sense.  We have only been a BCS level team for 3 years.  I think we still had kids on the roster last year, that were recruited when we were still 1AA.  You don't throw a switch and magically have all blue chip recruits in every class.

[Sunil]

It takes five or six great years with great recruiting classes to consistently be in the NC hunt. (See Louisville who came from out of nowhere) Plus another big factor is being able to schedule strong out of conference games and WIN THEM.

Given that, I think that 2012 is about the time where we're considered a powerhouse and in the conversation. National Championships are hard to come by, so no telling when that will happen, but I'll guess before 2020. (Methuselah went to UF and they're still only 2 championships up on us) 

[SouthFLBully]

I think you are asking a biased crowd. Aside from Smazza I am sure everyone on this site sees us as an elite team at some point in the near future.  It is only natural for one to have high asperations for thier passion.

GO BULLS!