is the luster of usf's football program gone

[flsportsfan83]

no, but it has to compete with other shiny objects in the athletic department (basketball, soccer, softball)

Football could go winless 3 years in a row, and Softball and Soccer could win 3 straight National Titles and Football would still be 10,000 x's more peopular than Softball or Soccer.

Edited July 4, 2012 by flsportsfan83

[Who'sYourData?]

One of the main reasons that LL moved to WR in the first place was due to the extreme lack of bodies at the position when this regime took over. It makes sense he would find his way back to RB now that the depth issue at WR has been resolved.

[WoolyBully]

Lost its luster? Hmmmm....well, like anything else, there are expectations, some well managed, and some not so much. When the program was new, there was considerable enthusiasm and the future looked good, as there were identifiable benchmarks like going to IA, getting into a conference, getting into a BCS conference, etc. There was time when just going to a bowl game - regardless of the venue - was just great. Now, not so much. Whether it comes from unrealistic expectations or it's the effect of being a fan, the clock appears to be running out on opportunities to make it to the next rung. With the pending demise of the BCS, it's now or never to win the BE. Once the playoff system is instituted, and I fully expect to see it expanded out to eight teams sooner rather than later, the only chance USF has of getting to that level is going to be finishing highly ranked. And if past performance is indicative of future returns, that doesn't appear too likely. This may not be so much the fault of USF, so much as it is a byproduct of the changing landscape of college football. The segregation between the haves and have-nots is firming up. I don't see USF as being attractive to any of the mega-conferences, so maybe it's not a case of 'losing its luster' so much as being a victim to the way things are shaking out, with little we can do about it, and not being a part of the conversation. Yes, just winning cures everything however the annual conference-play-slide is no longer a shock. Then again, a lot of this could just be the disappointment of coming off a losing season. The program may not have "lost its luster", but I think there is an overall sense that our success-trajectory is not as steep as we had originally envisioned.

[BullFan98]

Lost its luster? Hmmmm....well, like anything else, there are expectations, some well managed, and some not so much. When the program was new, there was considerable enthusiasm and the future looked good, as there were identifiable benchmarks like going to IA, getting into a conference, getting into a BCS conference, etc. There was time when just going to a bowl game - regardless of the venue - was just great. Now, not so much. Whether it comes from unrealistic expectations or it's the effect of being a fan, the clock appears to be running out on opportunities to make it to the next rung. With the pending demise of the BCS, it's now or never to win the BE. Once the playoff system is instituted, and I fully expect to see it expanded out to eight teams sooner rather than later, the only chance USF has of getting to that level is going to be finishing highly ranked. And if past performance is indicative of future returns, that doesn't appear too likely. This may not be so much the fault of USF, so much as it is a byproduct of the changing landscape of college football. The segregation between the haves and have-nots is firming up. I don't see USF as being attractive to any of the mega-conferences, so maybe it's not a case of 'losing its luster' so much as being a victim to the way things are shaking out, with little we can do about it, and not being a part of the conversation. Yes, just winning cures everything however the annual conference-play-slide is no longer a shock. Then again, a lot of this could just be the disappointment of coming off a losing season. The program may not have "lost its luster", but I think there is an overall sense that our success-trajectory is not as steep as we had originally envisioned.

Well stated.

[Skingraft]

That losing season has us all butt hurt.....

[Who'sYourData?]

Lost its luster? Hmmmm....well, like anything else, there are expectations, some well managed, and some not so much. When the program was new, there was considerable enthusiasm and the future looked good, as there were identifiable benchmarks like going to IA, getting into a conference, getting into a BCS conference, etc. There was time when just going to a bowl game - regardless of the venue - was just great. Now, not so much. Whether it comes from unrealistic expectations or it's the effect of being a fan, the clock appears to be running out on opportunities to make it to the next rung. With the pending demise of the BCS, it's now or never to win the BE. Once the playoff system is instituted, and I fully expect to see it expanded out to eight teams sooner rather than later, the only chance USF has of getting to that level is going to be finishing highly ranked. And if past performance is indicative of future returns, that doesn't appear too likely. This may not be so much the fault of USF, so much as it is a byproduct of the changing landscape of college football. The segregation between the haves and have-nots is firming up. I don't see USF as being attractive to any of the mega-conferences, so maybe it's not a case of 'losing its luster' so much as being a victim to the way things are shaking out, with little we can do about it, and not being a part of the conversation. Yes, just winning cures everything however the annual conference-play-slide is no longer a shock. Then again, a lot of this could just be the disappointment of coming off a losing season. The program may not have "lost its luster", but I think there is an overall sense that our success-trajectory is not as steep as we had originally envisioned.

Talk about pessimistic. Boise State is in freakin' Idaho. Little money, a TV market no one wants and one of the lowest conferences in the nation. And they made themselves a national brand. Granted, not at the top yet, but look how far they have come.

USF is one of the largest universities in the nation in one of the top TV markets in a much better conference. An undefeated season or two and we'll be talked about continuously.

If the big conferences keep expanding, USF is in the mix. If the big conferences don't expand, USF won't disappear. Big East football won't disappear. All it takes is one magical season to get into the conversation.

It was ridiculous to think that our rise to #2 was sustainable. We did not have nearly the depth of talent. We had a couple of seasons where the right players turned out well and we managed to stay healthy long enough to pull out some early upsets. Go back through our recruiting seasons on year at a time and it will incredibly obvious that this team is far more talented from top to bottom than the team was four or five years ago. That will begin to show, and one year soon the right combination of players and lack of injuries and we'll have a 10 or 11 win season and be right in the thick of the national conversation again.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

[MonsterBullMCMXC]

That losing season has us all butt hurt.....

Praise Jesus someone actually knows whats going on. I wouldn't say the football program has lost its luster, its just that a lot of people have fallen off the bandwagon. Just let next season come around and if we beat FSU, expect that luster to return in full force. Heck, we'll be talkin about a NC run by then. Remember, land with your knees bent when you jump off the bandwagon, don't wanna hurt yourself.

[bulls phanatic]

I wouldn't say we have lost it's luster, be we have tailed off a bit in regards to how quickly we are progressing. With that being said, we need to take the next step in win a BE championship. Once we get back in the right direction I think media/analysts may jump back on. We will get there. It's just a matter of when

[Bull Martin]

We've got two years to make something happen. If it doesn't happen by the end of the BCS era, I don't see it happening.

The luster's not gone, but the varnish is fading. It needs to get buffed up the next two years or it'll be gone.

The playoff expanding to 8 teams will likely fix the problem of being in a lower tier conference. I hope it happens rather quickly (I think it will), but until it's a certainty, we're in trouble.

[jasonb56]

I don't think USF has lost it's luster, just that the sun isn't shining on us right now... like what's being said on threads above, winning will help more then anything else!!

We need to make ourselves relevant by winning and causing issue for those schools "above" us. If we can make it happen, and rise above all this BS that goes on in College Football, we will land on our feet.

Lets go out and win the BE (what's left of it) and make a statement! Go Bulls!! (please inject Braveheart, Remember the Titans or Rudy moment for added emphasis)