BigMatt in the Box

[cophbulls]

BIG MATT IN THE BOX

This is my rookie campaign.

For the six readers who actually muck their way entirely through this column you probably already know this but it’s worth repeating. As with any rookie campaign there are growing pains, mistakes made and most importantly lessons learned.

For instance I learned that in the press box a rookie must act like a grizzled veteran and pretend personal indifference towards the team the rookie is covering. I learned that in the press conferences if you don’t open your mouth someone else will open theirs. I’ve learned that if you don’t get to the press box early there will be no food left. (Seriously, if any other reporters are reading this, relax, the food ain’t all that).

And this past weekend I learned this

- Don’t have your beer-drinking buddies come over to watch a football game where your team is a 30 point underdog and expect to be able to get serious insight on the game.

I should have known I was in trouble when after the tackle on the initial kickoff, buddy#1 exclaims, “Look, eight seconds into the game and USF isn’t losing yet!†Actually it’s a brilliant statement. The speaker gets to poke fun at the poor sap rooting for the big underdog and ending the statement with a ‘yet’ reminds the same poor sap that yes you aren’t losing right now but you will.

And speaking of, remember that first game against Tennessee Tech? That was the 1-AA team that the Bulls struggled mightily against. Remember them? USF had a late interception to seal the victory (and haven't had one since) It was at that moment when all Bulls fans should have known that something was amiss with our beloved Golden Goats. (Goats? Check out the old logo - courtesy of Mrs. Reporter)

Did we heed this warning? Did we even subconsciously prepare ourselves for a possibility of a terrible season? Nope, nary a flicker in the ever present burning flame that is Bull nation. And now we know better don’t we?

We know now that the Bulls are not a bowl-bound team, not even a team in the upper echelon of C-USA. Nope, we now know that the Bulls are the Armys and the East Carolinas of our mind. The team that everyone secretly wishes they could play over and over again.

Of course USF had to give us a tease, not only during the game against Louisville, recovering that fumble and playing fairly well on defense for the first 10 minutes, but also during the early part of the year, beating TCU in 2OT. Those teases hurt, and as Bull nation is painfully acutely aware, only delay the inevitable.

But I digress; Buddy #2 had to throw in his two cents joking about the game being over after the first quarter and USF being down by 14. I indignantly insisted otherwise while opening my third beer of the evening. Back to Buddy #1, “Uh, Mr. Reporter, yes it is. But hey, have we seen Levi yet?†Oh, good job Buddy #1 that leads us right into our weekly topic-

-The penalty count brought to you by #79 Levi Newton.

The most penalized team in the NCAA’s got beat so bad they lost the penalty count also. The Bulls ended up with 7 penalties for 71 yards while Louisville was 8 for 75. But the most exciting news here is that our Levi, Mr. #79 did not get a penalty for the first time this season! Oh we were rooting for your name to be called every time the yellow hanky came out but you eluded the pinstriped executioner every time. Congratulations!

You know it’s bad when you have worked your way through a six-pack and have faced the inevitable of an insane blow-out and can recognize it as such, all with a good third of the game yet to be played. But there I was staring a 41-3 deficit in the face and my “buddies†snickering wildly about the deer in headlights look that was hung on my face.

You have got to love Jim Leavitt though. This guy either is the most in denial individual person I have ever met or one of the worst spin masters in the book. After the game Leavitt had this to say. “It’s just we need to play a lot better football. But I thought we battled a little bit better in the second half.â€Â

Ok let’s break that down:

“It’s just….† 

- I don’t care who you are, when you lose by 32 points throwing up your schools fourth worst loss ever, it is never, ever, ever, “It’s just…†It’s not that simple and I hope Leavitt knows that.

“….we need to play a lot better footballâ€Â

     - Well that’s just great; at least we know which game we are playing. Of course you need to play better football. What kind of statement is that anyways? Do we want to play better horseshoes? Five-card stud? Good Grief. And can he be any more vague? How are we going to play better? Who is going to play better? Is it the players or the coaches? The players or the play? Gimmee sumpin’ Jimmy. We need to find a reason to come buy tickets to that East Carolina game, your salary don’t grow on trees.

“But I thought we battled a little bit better in the second half.â€Â

     - Do I even need to go here? Do you honestly think Louisville played their best players for the whole second half? Do you think they played their second best players the whole second half? Michael Bush, third on the depth chart, led the team in rushing (69) and carries (9). Eight different Cardinals carried the ball and nine different Cardinals caught at least one pass. Compare this to USF’s three ball carriers and three receivers. 60 Cardinal players were in the game for at least one play, USF had 35.

The thing about friends is that they always remind you about the times you were up during the times you were down. “How’s that press box now, rookie?†Buddy #1 chortled. Indeed. Point well taken. I sat there wondering if the press box and RayJay for that matter was going to resemble more of a mausoleum than an arena of competition at the next home game.

Game Balls      Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Offense: Levi Newton, no penalties, no sacks allowed

           Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Defense: Javon Camon, eight unassisted tackles

           

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Matt Richardson is a contributing writer for SouthFloridaBulls.com.  His columns appear regularly throughout the season. You can e-him at cophbulls@southfloridabulls.com

[BullDoug]

Pretty humorous article there Matt.  Gotta assume you pick nonUSF grads to watch the game with.  Gonna havta go with the "UNWISE CHOICE" label on that decision.  When your team is playing the best team on its schedule and having a down yr, you either watch alone or engulf yourself with sympathetic persons of like mind.  Just some wolds of wisdom.  And for your Buddy No. 1 and his opening kickoff comment, either you have grilled him pretty good in the past 'bout his team or he's just a heartless, mean spirited, bastard that's just darn right funny.  Gotta luv friends that just won't let you get complacent with your sports obsessions.  Huh?  Defending your team constantly reminds me of what it must be like to be one of our NE neighbors, Golden Knight/George O'Liar fan.

[Brad]

I think the best message in the story is how Bulls fans set unrealistically high expectations even in the light of concrete evidence things are not that good.  Who could have, after last year, thought we would be significantly better this year?  Answer: About 80% of the people on this board.  

We're about the same (with a weakened defense) as last year, but we all seem to have expected a 9-2 campaign knowing we had no one in the QB position that could get us there and that we lost a lot on defense.  The poll on the front page still shows that fully 59% thought we'd be 8-3 or better. 78% thought 7-4 or better.

What will be the Bulls' final record?

Total votes 347

 11-0 (31)  9%  

 10-1 (20)  6%  

 9-2 (58)  17%  

 8-3 (94)  27%  

 7-4 (65)  19%  

 6-5 (43)  12%  

 5-6 or worse (36)  10%

 

If we got fired for our baseless expectations and our incorrect polling decisions, none of us would likely be here.    

Settle down.  Most of us grew with this team the last 7 years...we got teeth coming in now, and some growing pains, but I am sure there will be another growth spurt not too far down the road.  Sack it up and stay with the program.

[Paisa el Toro]

great article. i think it definitely mirrors my experiences with friends here in Michigan.

Still backing the Bulls from Michigan

Paisa

[Omniscientbull]

Bulliever - I don't think 8-3 was an unreasonable expectation.  Most of us trusted that our QB coach would have developed PJ much more than he has.  With better QB play we would be sitting at 4-2 right now instead of 2-4.  We'd have a very realistic possibility of finishing 8-3 if that were the case.

9-2 or 10-1 would definately be on the overly optimistic side of the equation.

[WoolyBully]

Gotta agree. 8-3, 7-4 hog the bulk of the votes. That wouldn't necessarily be an improvement (overall) from last year, given the schedule, but I'm willing to bet nobody on this board ever, for one split-second, ever considered losing to Army.

Unrealistic....hmmmm. I dunno. Shocked at the apparent dropoff. I'd say yep.

If we got fired for our baseless expectations and our incorrect polling decisions, none of us would likely be here.    

Un uh. We'd have phenomenal severance packages and - coupled with our newly acquired off time - spend even more time on the board!!!

"Never underestimate the power of a baseless expectation and flawed polling decisions."

-C. Michael Armstrong, AT&T

[BullDoug]

...but I'm willing to bet nobody on this board ever, for one split-second, ever considered losing to Army.  

I'm sure there are a few Cincinnatti fans who thunk the same.  That's the same Cincinnatti team that just beat Memphis pretty handily if I might say so myself.  And Memphis is a team, that a good size minority on this MB, thought/thinks can come into RayJay and take a W back to TN.

BTW, predicting 8-3/7-4 seasons should not be thrown up or held against any member of this board.  None of the predictions where made unbiasedly in the first place.  All were made with optimistic assumptions & desires.  I personally thought 4-7 was not that far away from 7-4 and it really isn't in the world of football.  All it takes is some well placed injuries and ill timed turn overs which our FootBulls seem to be experiencing.  

[dabull80]

You are so right BullDoug, the margin between 7-4 and 4-7 is very slim.  Great article BigMatt in the Box.  Enjoyed reading it.

[CyberBull]

Well.....I never thought we would win more than 6 games this year. I said this last year b/c Banks was terrible and PJ didn't flash enough potential like Blackwell did during his rookie campaign to make us optimistic about the future.

Next year is not going to be any better. The schedule get tougher and we will have to play at least three games in the cold weather venues of the Big East. We are graduating some good OL people and we will probably be breaking in a rookie QB.

Denson is the wild card but if we change offenses with a new offensive coaches all bets are off.

CJL has some serious recruiting to do the next two years on the offensive side of the ball.

......

Hey BigMatt: good job on the story, although I won't laugh too loud at Javon Camon being a player of the game nominee. I bet you he had more missed tackles than tackles made.  ;D

[bulls96go]

great stoary

i have a crew at my office jabbing me all week

i posted usf with the #1 defense a couple weeks back so i guess i deserve what i am getting...but they were intrested enough to watch.

i was an 8-3 guy army was a win in my book