Running of the Bulls

Do you remember that great game the University of South Florida played back in '96? Of course you don't because they didn't have a football team then. They first took the field as a 1-AA team in '97, my Jr year, and didn't play 1-A till '01. But as of today they are the #2 team in the land, thanks in large part to poor showings by LSU and Cal. Ohio State ranks #1 in the BCS standings, but we all know that the Buckeyes can't finish, and so for all intents and purposes the USF Bulls are #1. That's U-S-F, not F-S-U, as was the case back before South Florida had a team.

That's just one of the many things that doesn't make sense here. First, the University of SOUTH Florida is in Tampa, which can only be described as South Florida if you are in Jacksonville. The University of Central Florida is in Orlando, which is Central-Central, but Tampa is West-Central. What it is not is south, but they say they got their name because at the time of their founding, they were the furthest south of all the State schools. That was 1956, by the way a full 7 years before Central Florida kicked it's doors open, so that name was on the table, but they didn't take it.

How can such a young school, with an even younger football program be ranked #2? And, how can a school who's most famous alumni are Gallagher and Hulk Hogan be such a draw? Have you been to Tampa? All they do is churn out football players and hot little beach chicks down there, how could they not be successful? XL, Inky and I could buy a strip mall in Pensacola and call it the University of East Florida and we would have a top 25 football team in less than a decade.

There are only but so many great players in Florida (and Jersey) high schools to go around, so perhaps the drop off at Miami and FSU has driven a few great young players to Tampa. Either way, if the Bulls continue their run by downing Rutgers, UConn, Syracuse and Pitt on the road, and Cincinnati and Louisville at home they could be playing for a national title just 11 years after starting their program. I don't think it would happen, but it would be fun to watch.