USA Today: USF Bullish on Winning
August 21, 2007 | Football
Courtesty USAToday.com
South Florida coach Jim Leavitt pays little attention to preseason prognostications that call his Bulls a sleeper pick in the BIG EAST.
"I don't like to give us too many accolades because I don't feel like we've gotten there," says the only coach in South Florida history as he embarks on his 11th season at the Tampa school. "I feel like we're kind of hanging around."
But the Bulls have proved in their decade of existence that they can hang with the best. Few start-up programs have achieved as much in so short a period. As recently as 1998, the Bulls were competing against Slippery Rock and Valparaiso. By 2005, they were opening at Penn State. The past two years have resulted in bowl invitations, and this season's schedule includes a trip to Auburn.
Moreover, USF is winning.
Consider: In 1996, when current NFL star Donovan McNabb was a sophomore at Syracuse, USF had not yet started competing in football. In the past two years, the Bulls beat McNabb's old team by a combined score of 54-10.
There's little doubt the move to the Big East two years ago bolstered the program, giving the Bulls a high-profile platform and a shot every year at competing for a BCS bowl.
But they've also done a good job of taking advantage of it. USF has beaten Big East heavyweights Louisville and West Virginia in its first two years in the league and last season earned its first bowl victory, knocking off East Carolina in the PapaJohn's.com Bowl to finish a 9-4 season.
With season tickets for home games at Raymond James Stadium approaching 19,000 in an area where many fans grew up rooting for Florida or Florida State, the buzz around the program is building.
"I live about 25 miles from the campus," says sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe. "And now I see a hundred times more USF bumper stickers and T-shirts than I used to."
With more than 41,000 students, USF is the biggest school in the Big East, and in football-mad Florida that means there will be plenty of alumni around to enjoy future success, buy tickets and make contributions.
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