Something to work on

[BoozedUpBull]

Anybody notice that after the Rutgers game (and this article) the press coverage for USF really dropped off?  Coincidence?  I don't think so.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/football/ncaa/archive/2007_10_21_index.html

Five Things We Learned This Weekend

...

3)That USF is not-yet-ready-for-primetime. Last Sunday, I was one of the 11 AP voters to elevate the 11-year-old South Florida Bulls to No. 1 in the AP rankings -- yet even then I could see Thursday night's Rutgers upset coming from 33 miles away (the distance from Manhattan to Piscataway). Just four days after debuting at No. 2 in the BCS standings, the young Bulls would not only be facing the pressure of trying to prove themselves to a nation full of newfound skeptics, but they'd have to do so in a sold-out Thursday night road game against the one team in their conference that's caused them the biggest matchup problems in the past. (Specifically, one matchup: Physical RB Rice, he of the 202-yard day against USF's otherwise unmerciful run defense just a year earlier.) The fact is, USF's D is all about speed -- hence why they've performed so well against West Virginia -- whereas Rice and the Knights are all about power. Sure enough, Rice exploded for 189 yards and Rutgers pulled off a 30-27 win.

So why, might you ask, did I move the Bulls up to No. 1 if I already had such reservations about their ability to beat a 4-2 team? Well for one, as I said last week, we're supposed to vote based on past results, not predictions of the future. I could not have known at the time whether my instinct would prove true, whereas USF's resume at the time was undisputable. And secondly, as I wrote from Thursday night's game, is there really that big a difference between USF losing at Rutgers and LSU losing at Kentucky? Or Oklahoma losing at Colorado? These days, everybody's vulnerable. I happen to share Rice's opinion (expressed in that column) that the week-in, week-out difficulty in the Big East is not dramatically different than the SEC's or Big 12's. Preemptive note to the expected, indignant SEC fans: I am not saying the Big East is a "better" conference than yours; I'm saying that, just like there are almost no "weeks off" in your conference anymore, the Big East's schedule, albeit shorter, is similarly grueling due to that league's depth and balance. (In fact, it's arguably more difficult to run through the Big East undefeated now than it was in its previous configuration, which for the majority of its non-Michael Vick existence was basically Miami and the seven dwarfs).

All of that said, I'd be lying if I didn't say covering my first live USF game was a bit of letdown. While the Rice shredding was not entirely unexpected, the Bulls' offensive line made Rutgers' previously struggling defense look like an NFL team's. QB Matt Grothe, while obviously supremely talented, was far too reckless with the game on the line -- and then, with reporters waiting outside the locker room afterward, refused to conduct a single interview. While I'm told that's not entirely uncommon in MLB clubhouses or NFL locker rooms, in nearly a decade in this business, I've never encountered that from a high-profile college athlete (except in instances where school officials or coaches purposefully shielded the player.) But alas, how could Grothe have known? He and his teammates are completely new to this kind of stuff -- to the point where Thursday night marked the first time in its young history than an opposing team's fans stormed the field after beating USF. The Bulls should certainly hope it's not the last time -- that is, if they're planning on making such big games a regular occurrence.

[crambone]

He's just upset about the lack of an interview with Grothe.  Had Matt talked to him and been a "good sport", then he wouldn't have lashed us so bad.  Losing by 3 points is not what I would call "reckless" and a "letdown".

He's being a good cyber-bully.

[SANJAY]

In all fairness, Mandel has pushing the USF bandwagon for a while.  He talked us up all last offseason and picked us to beat Auburn.

[usfbullcpa]

and did CJL put him on lockdown mode since it has been is MO in the past to limit the access of the press.  After a rip off like that, and the emotions, the last thing you need is someone making good soundbites with really bad timing or taking the questions as criticism.

[USFbulls0208]

I

Hate

Rutgers

[BoozedUpBull]

In all fairness, Mandel has pushing the USF bandwagon for a while.  He talked us up all last offseason and picked us to beat Auburn.

Exactly.  He's been talking us up, right up until he saw us in person.  Apparently, it was a bad experience for him and we dropped off his radar.  It's too bad, because he's one of the most widely read sports writers.

[JoeB]

This is old news.  Turn the page.