When the second-ranked University of South Florida Bulls (6-0, 1-0 in the Big East) take on host Rutgers (4-2, 1-1) tonight under the bright lights of primetime television (ESPN, 7:30), they will have a bull?s-eye on their back the size of the state of Florida.
“It?s an amazing turn of events,” said ESPN?s Chris Fowler, host of College GameDay and tonight?s play-by-play man. “The problem for a lot of people is they are USF, not Florida, not LSU, not Oklahoma. Instead of embracing the story, some people are saying, ?Hey, this just doesn?t seem right.? They might not even know where South Florida is located.”
As a proud graduate of the University of South Florida, I feel it is my duty to inform you just who the Bulls are and how they got to the top so fast.
Located in Tampa, USF ? the Harvard of Hillsborough County ? is the ninth-largest university in the country and one of the fastest growing. It has an enrollment of 45,000, and the only colleges in the AP, USA Today and BCS Top 25 polls with larger enrollments are top-ranked Ohio State and Arizona State, Florida and Texas.
USF football began in 1997 as a Division I-A program, and in 10 years under Coach Jim Leavitt, the Bulls have had only three losing seasons. They have been on the fast track from the start.
Leavitt annually was able to upgrade his recruits while keeping some of the best talent in Florida away from Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU and Alabama, not to mention in-state rivals FSU, Florida and Miami. He got the players who were No. 2 on other schools? recruiting lists and told them they could play immediately at USF.
From Day 1 there were marketing plans and recruiting projections on how to build a BCS contender, and they signed a contract with ESPN regional television to help promote the team.
The Bulls started as independents, then joined Conference USA in 2003. With help from an alumni team that included none other than Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, the Bulls were asked to join the Big East in 2005. From a Division I-A independent to a member of a BCS conference in less than seven years was no fluke. It was a well-developed plan.
USF football went from working out of a trailer to a state-of-the-art $30-million athletic facility and office complex. The Bulls play their games at Raymond James Stadium ? the home of the NFL?s Tampa Bay Bucs and the site of three Super Bowls. They have a locker room that is the envy of college football teams everywhere. The players were in place, the facilities were top-notch. All they needed in 2007 was a little luck.
First came this season?s 6-0 record because their strength of schedule has been embraced by the six computers that help determine the BCS standings. Because of all the Top 25 upsets, USF has tumbled up the rankings.
Starting tonight the Bulls play six games in the Big East. Win them all, and they go to a BCS bowl with the national title on the line.
They were built to be a Top 25 program, and they are not going away. Get use to them.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on www.examiner.com.
