Let's take a breather and get some perspective

[Guest BasketBull.]

Okay, first things first, this year blows chunks. We lost Matt, found B.J. and won at Florida State but that's about all. Yeah, we were ranked but that didn't last too long. Anyway, it's not a "losing season" but it is certainly not what we would normally expect from our Bulls.

Time for some perspective:

1) All the coaching changes in the off season hurt. I think this team's on the field performance this years has shown the inconsistencies of a new staff and players still learning a new system (adjustments with new staff and new ideas).

2) We don't have enough depth. We have talent but just not enough at all positions to compensate for our weaknesses.

3) Are we ready to contend for the Big East and head to a BCS bowl? Nope. But we aren't that far away.

4) Have we arrived on the doorstep of respectability? Sure. We are playing to a national audience all the time now; people know our name. We aren't LSU but we are NOT UCF.

What's the bottom line?

I think patience is the key right now. Some things don't happen overnight. We need more talent; we need the coaching staff to gel; and we need to change the way we play USF football. I think that old stuff needs to be thrown out, especially on offense.

As fans we do deserve to be disappointed but it's not fire-this-person-fire-that-person time. That's just silly. I think if there is one program that deserves our forgiveness or whatever we want to call it, it's the football program. The USF football program as a whole has exceeded my expectations from day one -beyond my wildest dreams. Now, I can afford to give it time to grow and to move to the next level (a BCS Bowl team).

But, if you want a National Champion or that type of team, then move your allegiance to that team two hours north of USF on I-75...

Me, I'm always proud to be a USF Bull and I'm willing to wait and be patient -hell, I've waited since 1992 for men's basketball to get off its proverbial back. 

GO BULLS!

--Peace out from Vietnam!

[BULLO12]

Okay, first things first, this year blows chunks. We lost Matt, found B.J. and won at Florida State but that's about all. Yeah, we were ranked but that didn't last too long. Anyway, it's not a "losing season" but it is certainly not what we would normally expect from our Bulls.

Time for some perspective:

1) All the coaching changes in the off season hurt. I think this team's on the field performance this years has shown the inconsistencies of a new staff and players still learning a new system (adjustments with new staff and new ideas).

2) We don't have enough depth. We have talent but just not enough at all positions to compensate for our weaknesses.

3) Are we ready to contend for the Big East and head to a BCS bowl? Nope. But we aren't that far away.

4) Have we arrived on the doorstep of respectability? Sure. We are playing to a national audience all the time now; people know our name. We aren't LSU but we are NOT UCF.

What's the bottom line?

I think patience is the key right now. Some things don't happen overnight. We need more talent; we need the coaching staff to gel; and we need to change the way we play USF football. I think that old stuff needs to be thrown out, especially on offense.

As fans we do deserve to be disappointed but it's not fire-this-person-fire-that-person time. That's just silly. I think if there is one program that deserves our forgiveness or whatever we want to call it, it's the football program. The USF football program as a whole has exceeded my expectations from day one -beyond my wildest dreams. Now, I can afford to give it time to grow and to move to the next level (a BCS Bowl team).

But, if you want a National Champion or that type of team, then move your allegiance to that team two hours north of USF on I-75...

Me, I'm always proud to be a USF Bull and I'm willing to wait and be patient -hell, I've waited since 1992 for men's basketball to get off its proverbial back. 

GO BULLS!

--Peace out from Vietnam!

Yes it is a losing season.  Our conference paly is what coun ts toward getting a decent bowl game or playing in the StPete Bowl for Magic Jack connections.  Going 4-0 in non conference play is total BULLSHITE.

[bullsbucsboltsrays]

But, if you want a National Champion or that type of team, then move your allegiance to that team two hours north of USF on I-75...

Me, I'm always proud to be a USF Bull and I'm willing to wait and be patient -hell, I've waited since 1992 for men's basketball to get off its proverbial back. 

GO BULLS!

--Peace out from Vietnam!

no one is asking for a national championship.. people are asking for conference titles, even CJL-- i don't think that's out of the realm of possibilities at this point.

i find it ironic that you say we need more talent.  we obviously have enough talent to beat FSU at their house.  while i didn't expect a win today, i expected it to be a closer game than what it was.. it's disheartening to see the lack of effort, so we have to question the coaching staff.

finally, while i agree we need talent and depth, we can make the same argument about every other team in the big east.  how many times have we finished higher in the recruiting rankings than Cincy?  and look at where they are and where we are.

the recruiting/talent argument is getting a little tiring and old.  we had a 4-star dual-threat QB out there, a 4-star RB who set state of fla single-season rushing records (ford), and a star Juco DE lining up opposite of selvie, to name a few.  we have the talent, i will credit CJL for that, we aren't developing them.

[CousinRicky]

I agree with you partially.  I've only been a fan since 2002.  I just see the same problems over and over again.  Actually the team has regressed offensively.  Maybe the competition is just better.  Penalties are always an issue.  We really have no choice other than to be patient.  The alternative is to stop being a fan.  But if things don't change in the next 2 - 3 years (by change i mean contend for a BE title) it will be time to move on coaching wise. 

For someone that has been a fan from the beginning, I'm sure you can say they've exceeded your expectations.  But for someone like me, I don't know if they are barely meeting my expectations.  Better than .500 in Big East is one of my expectations.  Love my Bulls but hate seeing crap performances like RU, Pitt and today.

[Guest hm101]

i would like to see a game plan.

i would like to see us put up a fight.

i would like to see last weeks mistakes corrected.

i would like to see last YEARS mistakes corrected.

no one is demanding a national championship. but i think our coaches standards are too low if they are OK with this year, and fans' standards are too low if we are ok with this type of performance.

[usfgrad84]

Not sure anyone around here has ever really asked to be competing for National Championships.  We should be at least competing for for BE championships at this point.  This year we haven't even been competitive in our losses.

Quite honestly, I don't really see where depth was an issue this year at all in any of our losses.  Maybe on the OL, but wasn't it our starters that got blown out from the beginning against Rutgers, Pitt and today?  I'm not sure if Grothe truly would have made a difference against Pitt, Rutgers or today.  When the defense can't stop the other team's offense on the opening drives The QB doesn't make a difference.

Same thing about being not far away.  If we had lost because BJ had thrown an INT to lose the game coming down the stretch that's one thing, but I am not encouraged by anything that the offense has done all year long.  I am impressed with BJ as an athlete, but he needs some sort of supporting cast around him otherwise you aren't winning consistently at this level.

Also, I think we have lost any respectability we had earned a few years ago.  The announcers were laughing at us at the Rutgers game.  I would say when ESPN found it more interesting to show a 12 year old kid playing air guitar and then today to just drop the broadcast altogether in the third quarter it is not a sign of respectability.  Outside of Tampa, Tallahasse and maybe south Florida (for recruiting purposes) no one really cares too much that we beat FSU.  Honestly, do you care that Mississippi State beat Ole Miss today?  Outside of the areas I mentioned, that game has about the same meaning than us beating the Seminoles.  I am not really sure beating them will gain us any recruiting wins anyway.

As bullsbucsbolts rays says, a lot of these arguments are getting old.  They were cute stories 3 years ago.  It's time to start competing again and start winning.

[bulls96go]

do not throw the baby out with the bath water!

5 consecutive seasons bowl eligible.

3 consecutive 5-0 starts

steadily improving recruiting

"big wins" almost every season

[bullsbucsboltsrays]

As bullsbucsbolts rays says, a lot of these arguments are getting old.  They were cute stories 3 years ago.  It's time to start competing again and start winning.

a lot of people on here get on me for saying that what i'm saying is, 'the same ol' crap'...

well, i wouldn't be saying the same ol' crap if i wasn't SEEING the same ol' crap on the field and HEARING the same ol' crap excuses.

[widerberg]

I just don't understand why whenever someone questions our obvious lack of evolution as a football team (as evidenced by our previous three seasons' performances in particular), several people always chime in with "What, are you looking for a national championship team?" I don't recall ever reading any post from anyone on here demanding or expecting the Bulls to win the NC. Granted, I've not been online every minute of every day, but in the time I've been a member, and in the years of lurking prior to that, I honestly don't recall ever reading anyone seriously demanding that we spin into an NC-caliber team in a season or two or ten. So why is this constantly thrown out there whenever more than a handful of people start expressing displeasure with our performance and direction? What's the point? There can only be 1 national champion (well, okay, maybe 2) per year, and you don't necessarily hear every other team calling for their coach's head when they don't get that one consensus spot. BUT, when a team is consistently inconsistent, undisciplined, under-achieving, and lacks any kind of identifiable character or style, then, yeah, that's when you start hearing calls for the coach's head. And deservedly so.

Our coach has stated publicly that the goal every year is to win the BE. We have not. We haven't come close. Others in the conference who came in at the same time we did have won it outright or shared it. We have not. Those are facts and they are indisputable.

There also seems to be an obvious disconnect somewhere within the program. Granted not everyone that's recruited ends up playing, but the argument to rationalize our performance in the past has been "we're working with 1AA recruits, Indie recruits, CUSA recruits, etc." Well, we now have a full cycle of Big East recruits and we're still not doing much. Why?

I totally expected to lose today, but not in the manner that we did. That was just pathetic. Five minutes of good play in the 3rd quarter and the rest was abysmal. Where's the pride, the fire, the energy from anyone on the team? Yeah, these are kids playing a game, but you know what, they were recruited to play Big East football and get a "free" education. They're supposed to be able to do the job. They signed up to do the job. If they don't want the job, there are lots of other kids out there that do. As others above have said, maybe we're recruiting the wrong kids. But, again, this falls on the coaches.

Beyond that, I think a large part of this problem is USF itself. We were starstruck by the limited success that Leavitt gave us, and we had nothing to compare it to except maybe a mediocre basketball history, and we gave Leavitt the keys to the castle. Why oh why did we lock ourselves in for so long? What an idiotic move. And since we don't have the dosh of UF or FSU, now we're stuck as a program until his contract expires and we can shop for a new direction. It's not about Leavitt being a bad person, it's all about what he's doing here obviously not working anymore. Or at this level. It doesn't even matter which.

As others have said, we excel when we play lesser teams or catch better teams out on an off night. That's not how you win championships, of any kind. Leavitt could have almost certainly coached us to a bunch of CUSA titles, but I don't think we'll be getting to the BE title with him.

The only perspective that makes sense to me is to look at what we've achieved. Have we achieved what most fans want? No. Have we achieved what our head coach has publicly stated he wants? No. There you go.

[IHuckItDeep]

all of you....stop it