The University of South Florida (USF) Bulls football team was ranked #2 on Sunday in the first week of the BCS after beating the University of Central Florida 64-12. Most NCAAF Week 7 predictions had USF winning, but not by such a large margin. Those who predicted a UCF win predicted a huge upset over the USF Bulls. After all, the UCF Warriors came within 3 points of beating the Texas Longhorns earlier in the season. What USF’s detractors didn’t expect, however, is that USF beats two top-20 ranked teams, including Auburn, who beat the top-ten ranked Florida Gators.
Jim Leavitt has been the coach of the USF Bulls since the team’s inception in 1996. They did not have games that first season, Leavitt spent that year conditioning the team and taking them to the inaugural season in 1997. The team spent perseverance through difficult practices. The tough Florida Heat paid for the team’s first season as an I-AA team. The first game resulted in a win over Kentucky-Wesleyan by a score of 80-3. The scores were maintained, and in about 4 years, USF moved the Bulls to I-A football. From there, USF ran as a football team each season. In 2003, the team received an invitation to the Big East Conference, which includes the likes of Syracuse, Georgetown, Rutgers, Notre Dame< /a>, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati – all teams with history and tradition that USF did not endure. But what the USF football program does have is strength and consistency, along with a coach who is quickly making a name for himself in a state that already has more than the average number of big-time football teams and legendary coaches.
If the 2007 BCS CHAMPIONSHIP game was played this, the 7th week of the season, it would be USF against Ohio State. in the game. Ohio State this week # ranked first, one place ahead of USF, but what did Ohio State do to earn the title? Ohio State defeated Youngstown State, Poson, Washington, Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, and Kent State; none of which are ranked in the top 25. USF Bulls, again Elon, Auburn (ranked #17 in the game at the time), Carolina North, West Virginia (ranked #5 at the time of the game), Florida Atlantic, and the University of Central Florida, earning them their #2 team rankings in the country. USF will face Rutgers on Thursday for a game that many predict will be USF’s last true test of endurance. This is a game that, even the doubters will have to admit, if USF wins, they truly earned their BCS ranking.
USF fans are excited about the prospect of a BCS championship bid. Raymond James Stadium, home of USF champions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a sold-out record for everyone. Bulls win home games since Auburn. Students line up for the few precious student tickets that are available. Lies tickets have also made their rounds in the last two games, after thieves realized the demand for tickets in this record season Pressed the supply. Although interesting, the students boasted that the illegal activities meant they, like so many other Florida teams before them, had reached the big time.
