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.