I know it is hard to believe but there is a HUGE bright side.....

[Economics_Nerd82]

Maybe we should all show our pride through our wallet... donate $8 to athletics (or towards a dinning hall). Just an idea.

[IncrediBULL]

IncrdiBULL,

Are you a fellow social worker?  that was an awesome analysis from a strengths based perspective!

GO BULLS!!!   FINISH STRONG!!!

No, not a social worker but a bulls fan.  Very involved in the alumni association in the past too - so I take our Bulls very seriously (as does just about everyone on this board)

It is easy to get caught up in this loss and the negative.  But, so far USF and the Bulls this season have exceed the wildest dreams I had (and the rest of this board had). Go back and look at the pre-football season posts and most said we would end up, maybe in the top 25 or 30.  I do not recall any post saying we would be number 2, have lots of televised coverage, and mentioned in the same sentence as teh NC....

I just don't want the coaches, players to get let down.  Lets win out and prove we were near a ranking we deserved to be at.  Lets get the BE championship, and a BCS bowl, and lets win that too.  Then people will realize that we were not a fluke, although maybe last night was a fluke.  Go Bulls - you are awesome.

[IncrediBULL]

Maybe we should all show our pride through our wallet... donate $8 to athletics (or towards a dinning hall). Just an idea.

I like this idea.  What could we do around donations this season for every game we win as we continue the remainder of the season?  Bulliever, could we get some kind of campaign going on the board?????

[HOTMello2005]

How about a H.O.T. travel fund???!

[Triple B]

I wouldn't call it a bright side but USF still has goals we would had never dreamed of a month ago -- Big East championship, major bowl invitation, Top 10 final ranking, that sort of thing.

I think your first two goals were definitely on the radar a month ago. The Top 10 finish, though, was something that I would never have dreamed of, however.

[SouthFLoridaMike]

No sweat, it was a great ride...and the positives are still waaaay better than the negatives.

It is a great ride. No one knew who we were 2 months ago and now everyone does. Don't count out a BCS bowl either.

[cptkid570]

Before last night's game, I was still hoping for a 9 - 3 or 10 - 2 season and thought that would be a GREAT season.

Eventhough our goals are now to win the Big East, I'd like to see us at least get 2nd place in the Big East and play in the Gator bowl.  That's an easy destination and we could all travel to Jacksonville for that one.

[BaltoBull]

No we didn't win, but it shows we didn't belong at number 2.  At the beginning of the season, manyof didn't think we'd crack the top 25 this year, and we actually did that early in the season.   Due to fate and a lot of other things we quickly crept into the #2 slot before we began our difficult BE schedule against teams in or recently in the top 25...

So the positives (and the list is long) includes...

• We were in the top 5 and had the who college football world talking about us
  We are going to be in SI
  We have had numerous ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU games - lots of national coverage more than any of our other FL brethren
  Instead of being 4th in the BE, we still have a shot at winning the BE
  We are bowl eligible for the third year and will go to a bowl
  We could go 11 - 1 in regular season, possibly 12 -1 in a bowl
  We will, if we continue winning, end up in the top 25 for the first time ever and in the year we first broke the top 25 (I remember the gators breaking into the top five in the 80's only to suddenly fall out of it for various reasons).
  We will get some great recruits in the coming years as a result of our success on the field THIS year so far, possibly stealing rom UF, FSU, UM, etc...
  We have sold out two games and maybe more and have Tampa Bay rallying around this team, finally.
  USF closet fans have come out of the woodwork
  Leavitt and the coaches will probably finally get the increase they wanted
  Since we won't go to the NC, maybe leavitt wont get a $4M offer elsewhere
  USF Merchandising is at an all time high, with gear flying off of shelfs  - which will continue
  We actually believed along with others in the Bulls and their ability to go all the way
  
• 
  

So, while I am dissapointed with the outcome last night, I still love the bulls and think it has been a terrific season to date.  If you have other items to add to the list, feel free. 

Great post IncrediBull - this is in line with what I was thinking as well. The preseason polls weren't giving us much of a chance in the BE this year and now I think we are a legitimate contender for the Conference Championship.

Go Bulls!

[SouthernBull]

I completely agree..... Last night hit real hard.. but I woke up today still as proud as ever of USF's accomplishments this year.  but I still want that BE Title!

[IncrediBULL]

Ive posted many times the following statement "just win and everything else will take care of itself".. 

If we want to prove we are good, we have to win.

If we lose more games, we will prove it was a fluke. 

This is where we show what this team is made of.  I still think this season can end on a really positive note, beyond my wildest imagination back in August..... 

Go Bulls...