Post by cviller on Sept 24, 2007 10:49:28 GMT -5
Tony Caridi
What a week it’s going to be in the world of Mountaineer football. In case you haven’t tuned in yet, West Virginia’s Friday night visit to South Florida will be the equivalent of the Super Bowl, World Series, and the Final Four all wrapped into one neat package.
Moments after the Bulls victory over North Carolina on Saturday, the public address announcer at Raymond James Stadium let it be known that 12,000 student tickets for Friday’s game would become available beginning at 6 a.m. Monday. The mere thought of that announcement would have been categorized as the rant of a lunatic just a few years ago.
Columnist John Romano of the Saint Petersburg Times did a wonderful job of putting it all into perspective in his column on Sunday: “The learning curve has been sharp for USF. The Bulls have gone from zero to sexy in no time at all. Eleven years ago, they did not exist, 11 months ago they had never won a bowl game, 11 days ago they had never been ranked. Now, they have a chance to change the national championship picture and forever change their perception.”
Here’s another way to frame this up. Over the last several years, South Florida’s football program and a mob hit man had a lot in common. You knew they were around, but you just didn’t know when they were going to squeeze off a shot and whack somebody.
The Pitt Panthers were the first to get the Luca Brazi treatment. USF headed into Pittsburgh during its days as a 1-AA member and beat Pitt to record the school’s first ever win over a Division 1-A school.
Three season’s ago, South Florida ambushed nationally ranked Louisville. Who will forget USF’s triumph over West Virginia last season? How about the win at Auburn earlier this month?
Make no mistake, South Florida is one of the great stories in college football over the last decade. What the Bulls have accomplished in 11 years would be the envy of many programs that have been playing the game for decades.
However, it should be noted that the rarified air that South Florida is about to enter is not for the faint of lung or heart. It’s one thing to sneak up on somebody and pull off an upset, it’s an entirely different proposition to defeat someone who not only respects you, but also has revenge as motivation. Such is the case with West Virginia’s visit on Friday night. The Mountaineers have been carrying their loss to South Florida around for a year. The magnitude of that defeat has never left them. When the opening kick-off sails into the air at Raymond James, South Florida will get West Virginia’s ultimate shot.
If the Bulls can beat WVU, then they will be “Made Men” in the world of college football. Keep in mind, however, that one season after stunning Louisville 45-14, the Cardinals exacted revenge last season by slapping the Bulls 31-8. That’s a classic example of what can happen when you have the full attention and respect of your opponent. It’s one thing to sucker punch somebody, it’s another to stare into their eyes and say, “You talking to me?”
Forget that West Virginia will be listed as the favorite this week in Vegas. By the time West Virginia’s charter flight touches down in Tampa, Rich Rodriguez will have his team convinced that they’re not only the underdog, but that South Florida’s players think Country Roads is a song sung only by Girl Scouts.
This is what college football is all about: Great excitement, great intrigue, and two very good teams lining up face-to-face to find out whose better. Who would have thought it could be happening in the Big East, with South Florida, so soon after the league’s apparent implosion?
This is good. In fact, this is very good. Sit back and soak it all up, it truly will be an enjoyable and historic week in the Big East. May the best team win.
