Football 5 days to kickoff - The top at each number, jersey #5

[GaUSFBull]

^^ I remember that game and was on the field afterward. They have out little USF signs on a wooden stick and I wrote the score on it and saved it, it's on my office wall at work now. That was an awesome game. Exhilarating rushing the field too.

[GoBulls84]

Alright so I had to steal this from V5 because they said it better than I could, but let me make the case for Fisher:

"Let's just get this out of the way at the beginning. Off the field, Fisher was a serial bad-decision-maker. He was such a train wreck that it finally led to him being removed from the team before the 2004 season, and rightly so. But in his short time on the field, Fisher was concentrated awesome. He wasn't an every-down player by any means, but when he did get on the field, good things usually happened.

The 2003 season was a weird one. It was the Bulls' first year in Conference USA, but halfway through it USF found out it was leaving for the Big East. That led to two absolute blood-lust road games against East Carolina and Memphis, both of whom were livid that USF got the nod over them. (Just to twist the knife even deeper, the Bulls won both games in soul-crushing fashion.) Then-athletic director Lee Roy Selmon accidentally scheduled two teams that wins against them couldn't be used for bowl eligibility, which meant the 7-4 Bulls couldn't go bowling at the end of the season. And we found out quickly that Ronnie Banks, who had the already unenviable task of following Marquel Blackwell as USF's starting quarterback, just wasn't up to the challenge. Fisher was going to take some snaps at quarterback that year anyway, but after TCU broke Banks's brain by knocking him down about 80 times in a single game, Fisher actually started the next week before Pat Julmiste worked his way into the mix.

Fisher was barely 5'9", and there was no way he actually weighed the 190 pounds that the media guide said he did. But he was quick and elusive, he specialized in improvisation, and he could run the option, which turned out to be crucial in a game that might have altered the course of the entire history of the university.

October 4, 2003. Louisville vs. USF in the Bulls' first C-USA home game. 36,000 people showed up, the second-largest crowd in program history at the time. Both teams scored quickly, and then the game settled in. USF had a 14-7 lead going into the final quarter, but the Cardinals struck for two touchdowns in less than two minutes to grab a 21-14 advantage. In the waning moments, though, the Bulls put a drive together and worked their way down to the goal line. (Fisher kept the drive alive with a 15-yard reception on 4th and 6 near midfield.) Then the drive stalled, and USF was faced with a 4th and goal at the 1-yard line with only 13 seconds left.

I was at this game and had snuck into the student section, so this fateful play unfolded right in front of me. Fisher lined up under center for the first time and ran a perfect speed option with Clenton Crossley. Right before he got hit, Fisher pitched to Crossley, who strolled into the end zone to tie the game with 10 seconds to go, leading to total chaos among the students. USF ultimately won the game in the second overtime as the students all rushed the field, and later Mike Tranghese, who was also in attendance, cited it as proof for him that USF wouldn't be in over its head in the Big East. The invite came one month later, and we've all seen the explosion of growth and prosperity (both athletically and for the University as a whole) stemming from that day. So for playing his small role in that pivotal moment for USF, Brian Fisher is a favorite player of mine."

I was just talking about that game yesterday. My mom brought my sister (who was about 16 months at the time) to that game. She was dead asleep before we scored to tie the game at the end of regulation and I'll never forget the look on her face when she was jolted awake by the crowd going crazy. She had this scowl on her face looking around at everybody like "How dare you people wake me up?"

 

#5 is a tough decision but I went with Nate Allen personally

[206BULL]

Kawika already won at 49 and memories of Nate Allen's coming out party at Auburn made this an easier choice then it should have been

[slick1ru2]

Voted Nate Allen but the real shame of this list is AJ Love, what he could have been if not for injury.

[slick1ru2]

The low numbers are tough, the ones offered to the highest production seniors.

Edited August 26, 2014 by slick1ru2

[snarling Bull]

Nate Allen gets my vote.

[deters-]

I really liked Nate Allen, but i gotta go with the guy who helped kick off USF's run of dominate LB's that made us seem like linebacker U. 

[Brad]

Mitchell - Allen showdown

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

Allen. He has a gift. Footballs seem to find him. It is seriously uncanny.

[charsibb]

Forgot about Mitchel winning for #49.

 

Brad, switch my vote to Allen if it makes the difference.