South Florida Ends Spiral and Jumps Into BCS

Bashed by the Bearcats and pounded by the Panthers, the South Florida football team was in a downward spiral.

After it's usual 5-0 start, it looked for all intents and purposes like yet another unexplained downward turn into Big East oblivion. It happened in 2007 and again in 2008 and it looked like the bad dream would resurface this season.

Then last Friday, on national television, USF quarterback B.J. Daniels picked up his team with his arm and his legs. He piled up 336 yards total offense, outdid West Virginia's team total and got his team out of the depths of a downward spiral with a 30-19 win.

It was complete and convincing. While Daniels ran the offense, the defense had an incredible outing. Mountaineer running back extraordinaire Noel Devine was battered and bruised and ended with just 42 yards on the night.

So impressive were the Bulls that they bounced right into the BCS standings this week, getting their horns in the door at No. 25.

Coach Jim Leavitt took the blame for Daniels' problems at Pitt. "I handcuffed him in the Pitt game. I didn't let him go out there and play," Leavitt admitted. Leavitt, a defensive-minded guy, said he was tired of interceptions.

Against the Mountaineers, Daniels got back to his form in the FSU game. He was simply unstoppable, West Virginia had no answer.

Linebacker Kion Wilson was all over the field with 12 tackles and was this week's Big East Defensive Player of the Week.

The Bulls can settle back, get a bit of a rest with a bye week and get ready for a Thursday night game at Rutgers.

Thursday nights have not been kind to the Bulls and games at Rutgers have been equally unkind.

They'll have to find a way to solve that.

They solved the West Virginia puzzle.

It stopped the bleeding and that is what this team really needed.

South Florida At Pitt: Dion Meets Kion

First things first. When South Florida takes to Heinz Field on Saturday to face Pittsburgh, this is simply a "must win" for the Bulls.

It's a must win because they fell flat on their collective faces last Thursday at home when they had a chance for a statement win against unbeaten Cincinnati.

Even with Bearcat quarterback Tony Pike out of the game by the third quarter, the Bulls were seemingly helpless to stop backup Zach Collaros. The result was an embarrassing 34-17 loss and a poor start to a difficult stretch of October Big East games.

Pitt is unbeaten in the Big East, 3-0 and brings a balanced attack that features a spectacular freshman named Dion Lewis. He's explosive to say the least. He's the second leading rusher in the nation with 918 yards. He's already drawing comparisons to Pitt great Tony Dorsett.

One of the men charged with stopping Dion is Kion. Kion Wilson. Wilson is the Bulls' middle linebacker and he'll need help from the entire defense to keep the 5-9 Lewis from running all over the Bulls.

You can talk about matchups and statistics all you want but this game is basically a Big East title elimination game for South Florida. After the Cincinnati loss, it is doubtful a two-loss team can win the conference crown and claim the BCS berth that goes with it.

South Florida has fallen from the rankings and Pitt jumped in at the 20th spot in the AP poll.

So will USF continue as it has in the past? The Bulls have started 5-0 the past three seasons, only to falter immediately afterward.

The answers come on Saturday and the Bulls better get a grip on Lewis, otherwise it will be a long afternoon in Pittsburgh.

Bragging Backfires On USF Athletics

The last time we heard about the University of South Florida putting up billboards, some genius in the sports marketing office decided to brag about the 17-7 victory over Florida State.

"Welcome To The Big Four, Bulls Fans," the billboard proudly proclaimed.

The Bulls were flying high and the suits in the athletic department were quite full of themselves, which prompted coach Jim Leavitt to be more than a little miffed.

Bragging is a two-way street.

Those 5-0 Bulls suddenly became the 5-1 Bulls when they were devoured on national television last Thursday night by Cincinnati, 34-17.

That loud thump you heard was the program crashing back to earth.

Some anti-USF fan decided it was a great time to rub some salt into the wounds.

"Welcome To The "Little Four" Bulls fans" said the new sign on an interstate bulletin board.

The sign proclaimed USF to be back in the company of Florida Atlantic, Florida International and Central Florida.

It was something to make USF and it fans cringe.

Of course, USF can make it all better next Saturday, but it will have to go on the road against a very tough Big East opponent, the Pittsburgh Panthers. Yes those 5-1 Panthers who jumped into the Top 20 this week, those Panthers who are 3-0 in the Big East.

Tough opponent, big game on the road.

And no one's bragging over at USF.

Bearcats, Thursdays, Cruel To South Florida

Thursday, Thursday, can't trust that day....
Thursday, Thursday, sometimes it just turns out that way....

(with apologies to the Mamas and Papas)

It was all there for the South Florida Bulls Thursday night.

They had the home crowd of nearly 64,000 that they were hoping for.

They had a defense that appeared determined to put the clamps on Cincinnati's all-star quarterback, Tony Pike.

They got off to a great start.

Then it all went south, like it has on other October Thursdays.

Yes, South Florida was beaten 34-17 by the Top Ten Cincinnati Bearcats. Yes, in the end, it wasn't close. And yes, Thursdays spell bad news for South Florida.

For three straight seasons, Jim Leavitt's teams have been 5-0 going into a Thursday night game. And for three straight years, they've had their hearts and hopes broken on that fateful weekday night.

Thursday, Thursday, can't trust that day. Especially if you wear a South Florida football uniform.

When the Bulls look back at this crucial loss, they'll see that it was theirs for the taking. They had come up with a marvelous game plan to stop Pike, disrupt him, chase him and finally, knock him out of the game.

But they couldn't handle an Pike's mysterious backup -- a fellow named Zach Collaros. Collaros is a kid from Steubenville, Ohio, who was recruited to Cincy by Joe Tresey. Oh yes, that Joe Tresey who is now the USF defensive coordinator.

All Collaros did before a national audience on ESPN was run for a 75-yard touchdown early in the third quarter that turned the tide for the Bearcats and propelled them to their sixth straight win and put them on top of the Big East at 2-0 with Pittsburgh.

For USF, it was missed opportunities, penalty sins and an overall performance in the second half that helped Cincinnati nail this one.

"We didn't play good enough to win," is how coach Jim Leavitt summed it up.

He hit the nail on the head.

When you rack up 112 penalty yards, most likely a crucial win will not happen.

Quarterback B.J. Daniels was great in the first quarter, very ordinary the rest of the way.

The defense, after getting rid of Pike, found the "be careful what you wish for" axiom to be incredibly true.

As Pike nursed a possible sprain of his left wrist, Collaros was running, passing and directing his team to victory.

"He's a winner," Brian Kelly said of his second qb afterwards.

Collaros was that and more.

And USF is now left to pick up the pieces and figure out a way to get a road win next Saturday at Pittsburgh. The Bulls are 5-1, 1-1 in the Big East and severely deflated.

Deflated again on a Thursday.

Thursday, Thursday.

Sometimes it just turns out that way.

South Florida-Cincy Battle In Prime Time

The Big East LOVES to have center stage.

The conference that has too many basketball teams and too few football teams puts its two big guns on display Thursday night before a national television audience on ESPN.

The Cincinnati Bearcats, unbeaten at 5-0 and ranked 8th in the AP, 9th in the USA Today polls, comes to Raymond James Stadium to tangle with South Florida, also unbeaten at 5-0 and newly-entered into the polls at 21st.

Something's gotta give.

Tony Pike leads a powerful Bearcat offense that scores points like a basketball team. Pike's prowess and performances in those wins have vaulted him into the Heisman conversation.

Buildup?

Pike's favorite receiver, Mardy Gilyard, a Florida native, already took care of that.

"The coaches, they're all licking their chops. They can't wait to play Coach Tresey down there," Gilyard said.

Coach Tresey is Joe Tresey, the USF defensive coordinator who was Cincinnati DC last season.

He parted ways with Brian Kelly and found a new home at USF.

Gilyard, who lives in Bunnell, there a little trash talk at boyhood pal Chris Robinson, who is a starting linebacker at USF. "I've been calling him for two weeks and he ain't been picking up his phone. "I guess he don't want to fight with me because he knows I'm going to talk junk to him," Gilyard said in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer.

USF typically doesn't say much before games but middle linebacker Kion Wilson did have one big pre-game thought:

"I don't feel their guys have been challenged up front like we are going to do on Thursday. They haven't been hit and physically abused yet. That's what we plan on going out there and doing."

Wilson's warning is a fair one. These Bulls hit hard and pack power on defense.

Just ask Florida State.

USF-Cincinnati: Big East Game Of The Year?

Let's call it what it truly is.

South Florida vs. Cincinnati is the Big East Game of the Year.

It is THE game.

And here's one more: It will be the most IMPORTANT football game played in Raymond James Stadium this year.

Sorry Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

You've got 5-0 USF vs. 5-0 Cincinnati. National telecast on ESPN Thursday night. Huge crowd expected. This is USF's chance to outdraw any remaining Tampa Bay Buccaneer home games. And appropriately, USF is going all out this week -- breakfast with the Bulls, lunch with the Bulls, dinner with the Bulls, send the cheerleaders, send Rocky, send anyone in green and gold.

They're shooting for 60,000-plus attendance on Thursday.

"Paint the town green," is USF campaign this week and they have the stage to themselves. The Buccaneers are a lousy 0-5 and there's nothing but griping from Buccaneer nation.

On the other hand, USF is at a familiar October place, ranked in the AP and USA Today polls at No. 21 while Cincinnati is a lofty eighth in the AP, ninth in the USA Today.

All indications are that these are the two best teams in the Big East.

It's a national center stage.

South Florida's Leavitt Irked By Billboard

South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt is mad.

He's unhappy. He's irked, he's irritated.

So what's new?

This time, it's not the Tampa media, it's not his players or his staff. He's not really happy with his athletic department's marketing gurus.

While USF has this week to prepare for next Thursday's HUGE home game with Big East power Cincinnati, the marketing folks decided they'd brag in a big way.

The big way was a billboard at a major Tampa interstate location declaring USF's entry into what it proclaimed as Florida's "Big Four." The billboard displayed the logos of the University of Florida, Florida State and Miami and added USF.

Basically, it was welcoming itself to the newly-created "Big Four." Created by USF.

It comes after the 17-7 win in the school's first-ever football game with Florida State.

"I don't want anyone to ever think that here I'm the guy having anything to do with that," Leavitt said, obviously frosted that he knew nothing about it before it went up. "That bothers me. I don't want people to sit there and think we're all about that because we're not. We're a program that's trying to compete -- we're a program trying to build."

USF associate athletic director Bill McGillis, the man in charge of marketing called the billboard, "a feel-good message for the fans...."

But there was no feel-good about it for Leavitt.

"Let other people talk about that over coffee," he proclaimed.

"That's not me."

South Florida: Life Is Good At 5-0

South Florida did what it was supposed to do on Saturday -- it disposed of Syracuse in the Big East opener for both schools.

The 34-20 victory for USF was sparked by seven turnovers. You read it right -- SEVEN.

The defense made it easier for the Bulls and now life is good at 5-0.

Still, there will be skeptics.

They've seen this before: fast starts, collapses later on.

The Bulls are getting their due. They made their 2009 debut in the polls, checking in a 23rd in the AP, 24th in USA Today.

Nate Allen, leader of the defense at his safety position, is the Big East Defensive Player of the Week, he's the Walter Camp Foundation Defensive Player of the Week, enough kudos to go around.

But it was back to work Monday as there is a firestorm on the horizon.

It's the Cincinnati firestorm. The Bearcats, also 5-0, are now the standard bearers for the Big East, checking in at a lofty 8th in the AP and 10th in the USA Today poll.

They'll be at least that high come Thursday night, October 15, when these two, USF and Cincinnati, duke it out to become the odds-on Big East favorite for the Orange Bowl.

Both have a lot of time to prepare with open dates on Saturday.

Plenty of opportunity to work on those game plans.

But for now, there's the recognition that goes with five straight wins.

Recognition is one thing.

Six and zero is another.

South Florida Heads For October(slug)fest

We've seen it before and now we have another fast start for the University of South Florida football team. Four straight wins, four and oh-my, now it's time for the Big East.

The month of October will make or break this 2009 edition of the Bulls. The next 30 or so days will determine their fate, determine if they are contenders or pretenders for the Big East title and the BCS bowl berth that accompanies it.

Good new is they get somewhat of a warm up on Saturday. A warm up, perhaps. Syracuse is in the process of re-inventing itself, led by born-again quarterback Greg Paulus, the former Dukie, the former point guard for Coach K.

This game in the Carrier Dome will test South Florida, but with its depth and new-found star quarterback -- B.J. Daniels -- the Bulls should find a way to win.

Victory in the Carrier Dome is mandatory because matters only get tougher from there.

There's a Thursday night date on national television with the unbeaten and pass-happy Cincinnati Bearcats, who have climbed into the top 10 with quarterback Tony Pike suddenly in the Heisman conversations.

That October 15th slug fest at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa has shoot-out written all over it, but first these Bulls need to take care of business and squeeze a win from the Orange.

The Bulls need to avoid the age-old letdown. They are basking in the glory of their 17-7 conquest of Florida State last week in Tallahassee. It was a decisive, impressive win that has their fans making the statement that FSU has been ousted from the state's "Big Three" and that the Bulls have stepped into that slot with Florida and Miami.

"It's what we talked about through spring football and summer camp," said Daniels, who was a puzzle that FSU could not solve. Daniels showed the rest of the league that perhaps it was no big deal that Matt Grothe was lost for the season.

Daniels presents a whole different set of problems. He's bigger, faster, stronger and has a better throwing arm than Grothe.

Yikes.

With that in mind, it was the defense that paved the way at Florida State. A star was born after 60 minutes. His name is Jason Pierre-Paul, the son of Haitian immigrants, who made the league stand up and take notice. Forget George Selvie, you better watch out for this 6-7, 260-pound fury on the opposite end, a bigger guy with long arms who might be every bit as good as Selvie, if not better.

FSU assistants have already declared the junior from Deerfield Beach High, a first-round pick in the NFL draft.

Pierre-Paul, the Big East Defensive Player of the Week, is unimpressed with his accolades. "I have to get better," he said.

Better?

That could be really bad news for Syracuse and Paulus.

Still, this is October. This is THE month for the Bulls.

Syracuse, Cincinnati then a visit to Pittsburgh on the 24th then home against West Virginia for a Friday night pre-Halloween game on the 30th.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is the Big East Gauntlet.

The Bearcats, the Panthers and the Mountaineers are the top contenders in the Big East.

USF needs to win, it needs to prove something.

It needs to avoid the sins of the past, the fast start, then the belly flop.

And they need to get rolling on Saturday.

First things first.

USF Stuns Florida State With Bullish Effort

Florida State University never saw this one coming.

The Seminoles were confident they'd handle upstart South Florida in the friendly confines of Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.

FSU never saw first-time starter B.J. Daniels coming. Likewise, the Seminoles never saw the South Florida defense coming, and that was a mistake.

The South Florida Bulls, playing FSU for the first time ever, stunned the 18th-ranked Seminoles in every facet of the game and reshuffled the state's football power structure with a 17-7 victory.

Daniels, who played at Tallahassee's Lincoln High, was not the recruit who got away from FSU, he was the player who received no interest from the Seminoles. He got their attention in a BIG way Saturday.

The shifty replacement for former starter Matt Grothe, put a super-human effort into the offense. He ran for 126 yards, and was the first quarterback to do that to a Seminole defense in 23 years.

He passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second quarter, to pave the way for this historic USF victory. One of those strikes was a beauty of a 73-yarder to freshman Sterling Griffin.

While FSU struggled with Daniels' dazzling skills, the Bulls defense proved too much for the Florida State offense.

The Bulls put together a carefully orchestrated game plan by coordinator Joe Tresey and that plan slapped FSU's ground game into the Doak Campbell turf. The 'Noles managed a pathetic 15 yards rushing on the afternoon.

USF front four kept the heat on FSU quarterback Christian Ponder all afternoon. He was sacked five times, including once by Jason Pierre-Paul that knocked the ball loose for a recovery by George Selvie at the FSU 13 and set up a short field goal by Eric Schwartz that put the game out of reach.

Daniels was simply amazing in his starting debut, but refused to take credit.

"It's not about me," he said in a soft voice.

"It's about the USF Bulls."

And on this exciting afternoon for USF Nation, it was about the Bulls.

"It was just an incredible effort," coach Jim Leavitt said. "They finished the game. They won under tough circumstances."

The Bulls did that and more.

They out-hit FSU. They out-played FSU.

They simply out-everythinged the Seminoles.

It was simply historic for the 4-0 Bulls.

South Florida Pins Its Hopes On Daniels

Meet Bruce Edward Daniels, known in University of South Florida football circles as B.J.

He is fast, blazing fast, elusive, shifty, powerful and has a heck of an arm for throwing the football.

He is perhaps a reincarnation of an incredible college football player who once graced the field of the old Tampa Stadium. His style of plays bears remarkable resemblance to a former University of Tampa and NFL great.

Travel back 35 years in Tampa football history, if you will. The year was 1974 and it was the senior season for the remarkable Freddie Solomon, dynamic quarterback for the UT Spartans.

We simply referred to him as "The Fabulous One." He was Fabulous Freddie Solomon, speedster extraordinaire.

He filled that old Tampa Stadium, the old Sombrero. The Spartans would draw more than 45,000. Just about everyone wanted to see Fabulous Freddie.

Freddie had UNREAL speed. He was probably a 4.3-second 40 guy IN PADS. His moves were beyond description. His performances would have perhaps made him a Heisman contender at a higher profile school.

Still, Freddie had great success, chosen in the second round of the 1975 draft by the Miami Dolphins where he became a solid wide receiver. He moved to the 49ers where he won Super Bowl rings.

Fast forward to the USF practice fields.

Daniels reminds one of Freddie. He is super-elusive, has killer speed and confidence. He will need every bit of that and more as he has the mountainous task of leading the Bulls' offense against Florida State Saturday in Doak Campbell Stadium.

It's a homecoming for Daniels, a product of Leon High in Tally-town.

Daniels has a quiet manner about him. He is respectful, not brash and has a look in his eye of a confident young man, a soft-speaking assassin, perhaps.

His mettle will be tested by FSU's defense. Daniels will need all his talents and a lot of help from his teammates.

USF offensive coordinator Mike Canales won't hold back with his play calling. "B.J. Daniels is special," he said often during spring practice. Watch Canales looking at Daniels and he can see a gleam in the coach's eye.

Daniels is the real deal but must now replace the most prolific offensive player in the history of the Big East Conference, Matt Grothe, who saw his career end last Saturday night when he was tackled awkwardly and torn an ACL.

This South Florida offense now belongs to Daniels, who has been encouraged and coached hard by the staff and Grothe this week. "They can call me Coach Grothe," Matt said.

Put simply, this is USF's biggest opportunity ever as far as status in the state is concerned. FSU has two national championships and years of success under Bobby Bowden.

But these Seminoles showed their vulnerability when they lost their opener to Miami then again against Jacksonville State, a game they perhaps should have lost.

But now all eyes are on USF, a program that longs for recognition.

And the Bulls go into this battle with Daniels, who perhaps few outside the program will recognize.

But those of us who saw Fabulous Freddie Solomon can look back and remember what he did to opponents and perhaps, just perhaps, B.J. will have a little bit of Freddie in him on Saturday.

He'll need it.

USF needs it.

This is big-time for the Bulls. Very big time.

And they know it.

South Florida Loses Grothe For The Season

It was Jim Leavitt's worst fear.

The Sunday MRI on the left knee of all-everything quarterback Matt Grothe spelled it out in shocking manner:

Torn anterior cruciate ligament.

The 2009 season for the all-time leader in Big East offensive yardage crashed and burned.

And the news ushers in the week that all USF players had marked and circled. This is FSU week. The Bulls make their first-ever trip to Tallahassee for a Saturday game that will let them know how they've progressed in the state's football hierarchy.

This was the game Grothe wanted, but now he'll spectate.

He'll watch his understudy -- B.J. Daniels -- take the helm. He'll watch Daniels perform in the town where he went to high school, against a team he knows well.

But in football, life goes on. The game must go on.

Leavitt, USF's only coach in program history, was subdued after his team's 59-0 thrashing of Charleston Southern Saturday night. "I have kind of a broken heart," Leavitt said. And that's when he thought Grothe might eventually return, thinking the injury was a sprain.

Now it's B.J.'s team, his offense. "B.J.'s the guy," Leavitt said.

Yes, B.J. is the guy.

And he's the guy who will lead this team at Doak Campbell on Saturday.

Just a routine debut.

South Florida's Expected Win Produces Unexpected Loss

The University of South Florida was supposed to be the stuffing out of Charleston Southern on Saturday night and it did, 59-0.

The Bulls were supposed to get out of that contest without any serious injuries and turn their sights toward bigger prizes, FSU and the Big East.

They didn't.

Fate dealt the Bulls a real whammy when all-everything quarterback Matt Grothe, the all-time offensive leader in the Big East, was tackled, bent backwards in an awkward position and suffered a sprained left knee with three minutes left in the half and his team ahead 28-0.

At that point, Grothe had his offense clicking, he was simply Grothe doing what Grothe does, rolling up nearly 150 yards passing in less than 30 minutes of play.

What happened hushed the crowd of around 30,000 at Raymond James Stadium. Surely it hushed every player, every coach.

Grothe was out, backup B.J. Daniels was in.

Daniels has been described by his offensive coordinator, Mike Canales, as "a very, very special player."

He is.

All Daniels did was step in and immediately pick up where Grothe left off. The Buccaneer defense had no answer or him. He racked up 149 yards passing efficiently, he hit 10-of-13 then showed his speed and elusiveness when he ran for 105 yards.

Put simply, Daniels has talent galore. He wears jersey No. 7 because he fancied the moves and athleticism of Michael Vick when Vick played for the Falcons.

By the time the bashing of the Buccaneers was complete, USF had burned up 547 yards total offense and equaled it biggest shutout win in school history.

The players know what Daniels can do and Daniels, likewise, knows what he can do on a football field.

"I did my best not to let the team down, not to let Matt down," Daniels said after his performance.

He didn't let anyone down.

Most likely he'll be the starter when he returns to his home town next week, Tallahassee, where he starred at Lincoln High.

He'll have to lead his team against an FSU squad that shocked and stomped on No. 7 BYU on Saturday night in Provo, Utah, 54-28.

"We did what we're supposed to do," Jim Leavitt said after the team's third straight win of the 2009 season. "We played with more passion, more poise and more focus."

As for the loss of his star quarterback, you could hear the disappointment in Leavitt's voice:

"The win was a double-edge sword. I'd give it up to have not lost Matt but we won't know until he has an MRI. He's incredible, he's special. We knew B.J. is a good player and he'd play well. Right now B.J. is the guy. I have kind of a broken heart. We'll hope for the best."

USF Bulls Need a Huge Win

It is totally time Jim Leavitt's University of South Florida Bulls to quit messing around and get serious about this 2009 football season.

It's time for them to get serious and trample the last of three "warm up" opponents before things begin to heat up.

Here's the deal: a giant cupcake of a team -- Charleston Southern, will place itself in the USF line of fire Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bulls need to unload on the Buccaneers, no, not the Pewter Pirates of Raheem Morris, but these Charleston Southern Buccaneers, the 1-AA Buccaneers. USF can't even count this game towards bowl eligibility so the Bulls better show up and fine tune their game.

Matt Grothe, leader of the Bulls and now the all-time leader of offense in Big East football understands.

"We would like to come out," says Grothe, "set the tone early, score some points early and get our defense going. And then we need to move on to bigger and better things."

The bigger of those things is a trip to Tallahassee next Saturday and a game against Florida State. It's on everyone's mind that wears green and gold. It is a huge game for USF with the end result weighing big-time in the state's football pecking order.

But first things first.

Leavitt knows that and has appropriately fed everyone a solid dose of "coach-speak."

"Charleston Southern is very, very capable, very talented, they have size, speed and great athleticism. They had 18 first downs against Florida's defense. We gotta play good football, we need to play better as we get close to the Big East."

For all that size, speed and athleticism, the Buccaneers were crushed by Florida then bullied by Wofford last week.

This is a "clean-up" game for the Bulls. They have a number of facets of their game that need cleaning-up.

The defense needs to show it can stop a running game. There is a strong need to do away with turnover and penalty yards, all those things that can spell defeat when the Bulls move on to take on the bigger boys of Division 1-A.

This is the last of their three "warm-up" games and they have needed them. In the previous two, areas of concern have popped up and need to be addressed.

So USF needs to bring out something other than its C-plus or B-minus game.

The Bulls need to look sharp. They need to play sharp.

And they need to chomp down on and devour this cupcake.

South Florida Win Reveals More Weaknesses

When a team aspires to win the Big East football title, as the University of South Florida does, you take advantage of what are considered "lesser" teams on your football schedule.

You take those "lesser" teams to task, score early and often, pin them down defensively and generally make mince-meat out of them.

That's what Tennessee did to Western Kentucky last week, in a 63-7 Orange landslide.

USF had its shot at the Hilltoppers Saturday night in Bowling Green with terribly unimpressive results.

Sure USF came out with a 35-14 win. Sure Matt Grothe emerged as the new record holder for Big East total offensive yardage. Sure the Bulls are 2-0.

But at the same time, this victory showed more weaknesses than strengths.

When you're the highest paid coach in the Big East, as Jim Leavitt is, your teams are supposed to be prepared and accordingly stomp all over a team like Western Kentucky, a first-year entry into Division 1-A.

The Bulls were supposed to beat the Hill out of the Hilltoppers, but didn't.

They were supposed to shut down these good ole boys from Western, but didn't.

Instead, USF let the Hilltoppers take an early 3-0 lead and hang around through the third quarter, and that won't cut it when the competition heats up in a few weeks.

"Our special teams were not good tonight," Leavitt said right after his team got its second win.

That was an understatement. Two fumbled punt returns, two missed field goals (40, 49) by Delbert Alvarado, another interception thrown by Grothe, nine penalties for 85 yards, and well, you get the picture.

"I wanna play good football," said Leavitt. "We have to get better, we're gonna play much better teams. We're trying to get ready for the Big East."

If that's the case, this USF team has a long way to go. It simply cannot have some quarterback named Brandon Smith running all over the defense for 125 yards. Tennessee allowed this team only 89 yards total offense.

Huge difference.

But it wasn't ALL bad for USF. The Bulls did manage to find a 100-yard rusher for the first time in 16 games. Stocky Mo Plancher toted the ball 18 times for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of those TDs were set up by splash plays from receiver Carlton Mitchell. Of the four balls he caught, one went for 50-yards, the other 65.

The Bulls need more of that, a lot more.

Grothe was not great by Grothe standards. Sure he wound up with 261 total yards to pass the great West Virginia star Pat White in the Big East total yardage category. But he was only 13 of 22 in the air with an interception and he has to be better than that against this calibre of competition.

Fortunately for the Bulls, this was supposed to be nothing more than a piece of cake, dessert on the Bulls football menu.

Unfortunately, the Bulls aren't great dessert-eaters. They sometimes choke on the crumbs.

They didn't gobble this one down properly and still have a LOT of work to do.

They get hold of another patsy next Saturday, the guys from Charleston Southern, yes that Charleston Southern that served as the scarificial lamb in the Gators' Swamp two weeks ago.

Another cupcake, another piece of dessert.

The Bulls need to start getting it right and get it right in a hurry.

This sort of performance won't due.

Leavitt knows so.

And he said so.

Expect A Big Night From The Bulls

We'll make the call right now, today.

USF will man-handle the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Saturday night in Bowling Green, Ky.

The reasons are simple: USF is flat out better, is an advanced program compared to Western and watched film of Tennessee flat-out tearing up the Hilltoppers in Knoxville last week.

Defensive coordinator Joe Tresey watched Monte Kiffin's new defense swarm to the ball, squash Hilltopper backs and receivers left and right on a day that saw Western held to 83 yards total offense.

It will be a record-setting night for USF quarterback Matt Grothe. Barring any catastrophic event, Grothe will become the all-time offensive yardage leader in Big East history. He needs less than 100 yards to pass Pat White's record.

Look for USF offensive coordinator Mike Canales to keep most of his playbook under wraps. He said he would and did against Wofford. USF was very vanilla and look for running back Mo Plancher to get the football early and often.

USF showed no vertical passing game last week. Canales was content to have Grothe short-pass his way around Wofford.

USF has been where Western is going. The Hilltoppers are the newest member of the 120-team of the crew known as FBS teams -- Football Bowl Subddivision -- that's division 1-A to most of us.

Talent-wise, USF simply has too many horses on defense as well. Biggest problem for the Bulls is that they have too many talented defensive ends. Their only vacancy comes due to the broken arm suffered last week by strong safety Jerrell Young. Most likely he'll be replaced by committee.

But on Saturday night, this USF team will continue its series of "warm up" games as it tries to get better, find its groove and know that two weeks from now, the huge test against FSU lurks.

But this week, its all Hilltoppers, all the time.

Look for the Bulls to dominate.

They should win easily.

No excuses.

USF Gets Double Scouting Report

It was simply a great opportunity to scout four "name" opponents on the South Florida schedule Monday.

There was Cincinnati playing at Rutgers and Miami at Florida State.

Given USF's performance against Wofford and the two games mentioned above, this quick, simple assessment:

USF isn't ready for either Miami or FSU. USF is not ready for Cincinnati.

USF is ready for Rutgers.

Cincinnati moved into the favorite's spot in the Big East with an incredible 45-15 wipeout of Rutgers. It was a shocking sight for Rutgers fans, who showed up in mass, 55,000-plus. They saw quarterback Tony Pike dismantle the Scarlet Knights, easily.

Miami and Florida State might have been the best college game of the weekend. USF goes to Tallahassee on Sept. 26 and the Bulls hopefully watched that game and saw that FSU's defense is very vulnerable. If that game showed anything, it's that both FSU and Miami have huge questions with their defensive units.

USF Coach Jim Leavitt voted his team out of the top 25 while Cincinnati, on the strength of its win, jumped to No. 23 in the AP Poll, Miami took the 20th spot.

Good news for the Bulls is that they have two more "warm up" games before taking the bus to Tallahassee.

And that's exactly what Leavitt needs.

USF Was Decent But There's Work To Do

"I'm going to tell Doug Woolard (USF athletic director), 'please, let's not schedule anybody like this again. They play very hard, they believe in their system..."

Bulls coach Jim Leavitt after his team's 40-7 win over Wofford




It could have been better, but it could have been worse.

Wasn't great but wasn't bad, nonetheless it was a win and they'll take it.

"We have a lot of work to do -- there were some flashes there," Leavitt said after taking the home-opener in front of a decent crowd of 40,000-plus at Raymond James, despite weather threats that delayed the opening kickoff 30 minutes and the fact that it was, well, Wofford.

Leavitt was right, his Bulls do have work to do but time is on their side.

Saturday they travel to play Western Kentucky in Bowling Green in the Hilltoppers' newly-renovated Smith Stadium.

USF should be able to notch a second win. The Hilltoppers took a terrible bashing at the hands of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday. Monte Kiffin's defense literally took them to the woodshed. Try 83 yards total offense, 49 passing and 34 rushing. What that output got Western was a 63-7 beat down that saw the Vols amass 657 yards total offense.

The Bulls may not be a strong at Tennessee, but they should do well.

Quarterback Matt Grothe functioned well against Wofford, using the short passing game to move his team. He chalked up 155 yards in the air, 44 on the ground and will become the Big East's all-time offensive leader next Saturday, no doubt.

After the fact, Leavitt admitted that perhaps there are bigger games in the back of his mind:

"We didn't work on Wofford as much as we should have. Joe (Tresey, USF defensive coordinator), his defense got turnovers. The defense did a great job, we shut them out for three quarters."

Leavitt said his new and youthful offensive line was "pretty impressive," and it was.

Freshman Kayvon Webster played the entire game in the defensive secondary and fellow frosh Lindsey Lamar caught everyone's eye with his speed on offense, quick moves and a touchdown.

In all, the only negative for the Bulls was strong safety Jerrell Young's broken arm. It will force Tresey to look at a number of options to replace him.

Still, "warmup game" number two awaits the Bulls.

Just call it the second appetizer.

USF Ready To Open With An Appetizer

The new, improved Jim Leavitt says his team needs to play.

His University of South Florida football team is in the "launch" mode, sitting in the gantry, ready to take off in search of bigger and better things.

This 2009 college football season brings opportunity for the Bulls, but they're going to take their time and start out with a few appetizers before they start thinking about the serious entrees.

The Bulls will put their horns into a cute little Terrier of a team called Wofford on Saturday night in Raymond James Stadium.

It should be a chance for Leavitt to see how effective his team can be against a 1-AA opponent.

Sure Wofford is a good little team. It dwells in the Southern Conference with teams like Charleston Southern, Georgia Southern, Elon and the Citadel and sure, App State, the sometimes giant-killer.

Sure, Wofford won nine games last year, but this is USF in its big back yard, Raymond James Stadium and this is USF, with All-America defensive end George Selvie and the the man who would be king of Big East offense -- quarterback Matt Grothe.

USF simply has too much talent to not slap Wofford around in this 2009 opener.

Yes, Leavitt's team needs to play. It needs to find out how well the machine runs.

And it needs to find out how fast it can eat an appetizer.

USF Football: High Hopes, Low Expectations

The University of South Florida has been a tease of a football team.

The Bulls have been a popular pick, a logical pick to make major in-roads in the Big East Conference the past three seasons.

Those three seasons have yielded an uneventful, under-achieving 10-11 conference record.

Expectations for the Big East as a conference are low. The preseason poll that proclaimed the University of Florida a near-unanimous preseason No.1, ignored all the Big East teams.

USF was picked somewhere in the middle of that no-name pack.

And perhaps that's a good thing for the Bulls.

They can prepare themselves for this 2009 campaign without ballyhoo.

Summer camp has been a secret summit for head coach Jim Leavitt and his team. Leavitt banned the media and has been forced to deal with a number of preseason setbacks including the suspension of running back Mike Ford for two games and the knee injury to another runner, Jamar Taylor. Taylor will miss eight weeks but could return after that.

Fortunately for USF, this team is built around two players who are perhaps the best-known commodities in Big East football -- quarterback Matt Grothe and All-America defensive end George Selvie.

Before the season is over, Grothe will hold most of the offensive records in the Big East and Selvie hopes to bounce back after an injury-plagued 2008 season. Both players have been held out of scrimmages, Grothe with a nagging hamstring and Selvie, with his heavily-taped bum ankle.

But there are two other names who will be just as important as Grothe and Selvie.

They are Mike Canales and Joe Tresey. Canales is the team's new offensive coordinator, Tresey comes from 2008 Big East champ Cincinnati to handle the defense.

They are the ones who will impact this USF team as much as any player.

Canales is future head-coach material. He is poised, polished and a player's coach.

Tresey has been where this team wants to go -- to the Orange Bowl. Tresey comes from the Woody Hayes camp of old-school toughness.

Both Canales and Tresey may provide the upgrades this team has needed. Canales is certainly an upgrade from previous o-coordinator Greg Gregory, who Leavitt dumped from the staff after Gregory inquired about a position job at the University of Florida. Tresey fell into Leavitt's lap and may be what the Bulls need. He's a specialist with defensive backs and that was USF's major weakness last year.

USF, like many programs, will ease into its schedule with games against Wofford, Western Kentucky and Charleston Southern.

If the Bulls are not 3-0 when they venture to Tallahassee to play Florida State on September 26, something will have gone horribly wrong.

Twelve days to the September 5 opener at home against Wofford, a team that does not have the talented roster USF holds.

Summer camp is over, the season beckons and this time around, USF can go about its business without the national fanfare.

Leavitt has admitted that in past seasons, "We just haven't got it done."

Twelve days from now he'll get another chance to get it done.

It's a milestone year with no clear-cut favorite in the Big East, a milestone year with games against Florida State and Miami.

For this USF team, it's simply a matter of grand opportunities.

And that's something the program wants more than anything.