I’m one of those USF fans (as well as an alum and a former media relations manager) who feels blind-sided by what has happened to the football program. The rap against founding head coach Jim Leavitt was that, however successful, he couldn’t get USF to the next level, which was winning a league championship and going to a BCS bowl. It certifiably wasn’t happening. But under Skip Holtz–and now three games into the Willie Taggart era–the program has embarrassingly devolved. Imagine, it was barely two years (Sept. 3, 2011) ago that the Bulls upset Notre Dame–NOTRE DAME!–in Touchdown Jesus, Ind., and have gone 7-19 since.
And after an 0-3 start that includes RayJay losses to the likes of McNeese State and Florida Atlantic–and Miami looming next–the Bulls are looking at a likely third consecutive losing season.
Plus, back on the schedule is the University of Central Florida, the school that USF wouldn’t deign to play after their four-year contract expired, but now is a fellow member of the new American Athletic Conference. While winless USF was losing to FAU last week, undefeated UCF was knocking off Penn State. The Bulls and Knights meet in late November in Orlando.
And the school that once felt it was slumming to play UCF could likely find itself the second-best team in the I-4 Corridor.