NY Times

[NJ Bull]

Thought you guys would like to know that in todays NY Times there is a headline on page 6 of the sports section entitled " At LSU and South Florida , expectations change overnight ".  The article goes on to talk about the Auburn game and includes a picture of the winning touchdown .  Congrats .

[IHuckItDeep]

nice article.....thanks for the heads up!

[Bullhonkey]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/sports/ncaafootball/10colleges.html?ex=1190001600&en=d5bfb8417429ddb3&ei=5099&partner=TOPIXNEWS

While the football sideshows at Notre Dame and Michigan once again stole headlines across college football, the most definitive statements made this weekend came from down South.

As for South Florida, its overtime victory could actually have been much easier. The Bulls were unable to cash in on five Auburn turnovers, missing field-goal attempts after four of them. Delbert Alvarado finished the game 2 of 6 on field goals, missing three and having another blocked. He did tie the score with 55 seconds remaining with a 19-yard field goal that forced overtime.

Perhaps the most telling comment to come out of the game came from the Auburn junior wide receiver Robert Dunn.

“They are a great team,†Dunn said. “They grinded out the whole game and came at us with everything they had. They were a really fast team.â€Â

And when a player from the SEC, considered the speediest conference in the country, says that a team is fast, he is speaking as someone who knows what fast is. South Florida started its program in 1997. Having access to the state’s seemingly boundless crop of fast and talented recruits was part of the allure of beginning a program in Tampa.

The Bulls have a future all-American at quarterback in Matt Grothe and a defense with N.F.L.-caliber talent at secondary and linebacker.

The victory, which knocked Auburn out of the top 25 rankings, also provided the Big East a signature nonconference victory. The league had been criticized this season for its weak out-of-conference schedule.

“Going into the season, a lot of people thought our best nonconference opponent as a league was U.S.F. going into Auburn,†said Nick Carparelli Jr., the associate commissioner for the conference. “We felt it was a game that U.S.F. could certainly win. It was a big win for the conference. But I do think we’re past the point as a conference where we have to have big wins to validate us.â€Â

The Bulls, who finished 9-4 last season, should contend in the Big East. Their game at home Friday night against West Virginia suddenly has larger national implications.

The Bulls find themselves one spot away from being ranked in the top 25, the tangible result of a definitive statement game Saturday night.