Please exercise some self restraint

[Mama_Bull]

I know we are ALL disappointed about our bowl loss, but people should try and remember that 2007 was NOT supposed to be our best year. Our best years were SUPPOSED to be in 2008 and 2009 when we are expected to have a senior laden team. In reality, we actually OVERACHIEVED this year.

The other thing you should keep in mind, is that this is crunch time in recruiting, and a LOT of recruits visit THIS board.

Scout just updated their visit list for USF and it is UNBELIEVABLE.

http://southflorida.scout.com/a.z?s=359&p=9&c=6&yr=2008

Last year, USF had 21 of out 25 players who took an official visit SIGN with us. That percentage is UNHEARD of for ANY team.

So, NOW is the time to put things into LONG term perspective, and temper your comments. NOBODY on here is more unhappy about losing than anybody on the team.

Get a grip! LOL

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

beating Auburn was the only overachievement.

with a more experienced Grothe, outstanding seniors on defense, big time transfers and a 5-star recruit, finishing with a 9-4 record (again), 4-3 in conference play (again) and losing our bowl game is not what most rational fans would consider "overachiement."

good season?  definetely.  overachiement?  not so much.

that said: to all the recruits reading this forum, please sign with us and help make our team better.  ;D

[Mama_Bull]

beating Auburn was the only overachievement.

with a more experienced Grothe, outstanding seniors on defense, big time transfers and a 5-star recruit, finishing with a 9-4 record (again), 4-3 in conference play (again) and losing our bowl game is not what most rational fans would consider "overachiement."

good season?  definetely.  overachiement?  not so much.

that said: to all the recruits reading this forum, please sign with us and help make our team better.  ;D

Well, maybe overachievement was the wrong word. We ended up really where most of us figured we'd be at the beginning of the year. Finishing 9-3 in the regular season and going to a bowl game, was reasonable. A bowl game against a BCS opponent, is a crap shoot. Just ask Oklahoma.  ;D

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

i hear ya Mama.

i'm not mad at the season overall.  we had some good wins, got some national exposure, and maintained our level of success from last year.

but i'm also disappointed by some of the missed opportunities.  i never for a minute bought into the NC talk, or even the #2 ranking, but i did expect us to improve on last year, and we had AMPLE opportunity to do so.

hopefully the recruits on that Scouts list recognize that we are on the cusp of contending nationally, and that their talents and contributions could be the missing piece we need to get there.

:gobulls

[Mama_Bull]

i hear ya Mama.

i'm not mad at the season overall.  we had some good wins, got some national exposure, and maintained our level of success from last year.

but i'm also disappointed by some of the missed opportunities.  i never for a minute bought into the NC talk, or even the #2 ranking, but i did expect us to improve on last year, and we had AMPLE opportunity to do so.

hopefully the recruits on that Scouts list recognize that we are on the cusp of contending nationally, and that their talents and contributions could be the missing piece we need to get there.

:gobulls

Anybody can be a fair weather fan. I know you are NOT one of those. I also was disappointed to WHO we lost, but some of that was us not being used to having a target on our backs, and while we certainly made our share of mistakes, some other things were not in our control. However, the team showed true grit in winning their last three season games rather than throwing in the towel. I am STILL Proud of them.

Oregon had something to prove, as they had lost FOUR bowl games in a row, and didn't want to finish the season with four losses. As for USF, we kept it close for the first half and then things quickly began to go south, just like Oklahoma tonight, and it's not always easy to right the ship. We have more of an excuse than Oklahoma, since they have been on the big stage before. I chalk it up as more of another growing experience for our young team. So, I don't want to be real hard on them, and rake them over the coals. I'm sure recruits will understand that we accomplished a great deal, and with THEIR help will do even more.

[MikeG]

it seems hard to imagine two teams would rush the field after beating USF when you think back to 1997

sure-- we missed out on some of the opportunities. Let's not forget about some of the ones we did grab hold of in the process.

[Guest]

I agree with Mike on this... Who would have thought Rutgers -- last year's Cinderella -- would deem a win over USF worthy of storming the field?

I think USF overachieved this year -- the #2 ranking.  In the end, the whole season was not an overachivement.

Next year, the players and coaches will have a better idea how to handle the pressures of being the favorites... the distractions caused by success. 

To me, that was really the problem this year, very few people in the football program had ever experienced anything like the rise through the first 6 games.  At the USC's, Florida's, Ohio State's of the world -- the older players have all been there, done that.  They can teach the youngsters how to handle it, how to not get distracted by the bright lights.

But our Bulls didn't have that experience to draw upon.  They lost a bit of focus, maybe read too many press clippings, too many classroom ovations.

Next year, they will handle it better.

Remember New Brunswick.  Remember Hartford.  Remember Homecoming,  Remember El Paso.  Use the pain.  Get motivated.  Learn from these lessons that were so hard on the players, the coaches, the fans.

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."  - George Santayana

[MarketingGuy]

Agreed. Good thread.

[Donno]

Exactly...

I would say our program has improved by about 250% over the previous year.  (not saying we improved on the field by 250%)  National Recognition mostly.

This is a meteoric rise for one year!  And I can't imagine what will happen next year if we continued on the same trend... I don't see how we could.

That said the program is on the correct path.  I believe with everything that has happened we as fans and as a team lost perspective.

This type of increase or being happy about the amount of improvement in one year is not SETTLING, if I felt we took a step back I would be the first to say something but we did not.

[The_Reaper]

I agree, we did improve on many things. The things I see for us to work on is consistency, offensive play strategy, tackling, the will to come back after being down, motivation, and most importantly...pride in who we are. This is for players, coaches, and most importantly...us fans.    Reaper