Bullish Outlook on Challenge

[Jim Johnson]

From the Hartford Courant...

Bullish Outlook On Challenge

South Florida Ready To Take On Auburn

By DESMOND CONNER | Courant Staff Writer

    September 4, 2007

There may still be some dangling doubters out there when it comes to the Big East's legitimacy and strength in football. But South Florida can severely weaken whatever argument they still have with a resounding road victory Saturday.

In a prime-time (9 p.m.) game on ESPN2, the Bulls can show 18th-ranked Auburn and the rest of the world just how far they've come.

Since leaving Conference USA, the Bulls have been on a steady rise, going to bowls each of their two Big East seasons.

They are still behind in the Florida football popularity contest, trailing Florida, Florida State and Miami, but the gap appears to be closing.

An upset in what will be one of the featured games this week is not impossible, folks. And it would be nothing close to the level of what Appalachian State pulled on Michigan Saturday.

The Bulls, seven-point underdogs, have been charging for a while. This Saturday, Auburn (which beat Kansas State Saturday) will play matador in a game Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, rest assured, will have his team ready for.

"Auburn's an awfully good football team, everybody knows that," Leavitt said Monday. "They're a typical SEC team, one of the top teams in the country. We're going to have to play extremely well to have a chance to win."

Leavitt, the only coach USF has had since it started playing football in 1997, improved to 71-43 when the Bulls handled Division I-AA Elon 28-13 Saturday.

The Bulls have had just two losing seasons and tied the school record for wins in a season with nine in 2006. Their rise has mainly been due to good coaching - which the self-deprecating Leavitt would probably doubt - and the caliber of players the program is now bringing in, which he can't.

The Bulls are making inroads in one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the country - Florida.

We already know how good sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe (Lakeland) is. Last year, he led the Big East in total offense - 3,198 yards, 2,576 in the air - and ran away with rookie of the year.

Freshman running back Mike Ford (Sarasota), a former Alabama recruit who changed his mind after Mike Shula's firing, showed potential against Elon, running for 83 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore defensive end George Selvie (Pensacola) set a team record with six tackles for losses and tied a another with four sacks .

Leavitt was quick to point out Elon is no Auburn, or no Big East team. But, at the very least, expect the Bulls to fight to the finish Saturday.

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[Griggsy]

Good find, thanks for posting. Hope we turn some heads Saturday

[mutt]

Really, this game could make our whole season...