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USF, Oregon Shared Ups, Downs

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 27, 2007

Updated: 12/27/2007 11:11 pm

EL PASO, Texas - The schools may be located 2,499 miles apart, but the University of South Florida and Oregon both went through eerily similar paths to reach the Sun Bowl.

The Bulls and the Ducks both were ranked No. 2 in the BCS rankings earlier this season with very real aspirations of playing for the national championship.

USF reached No. 2 on Oct. 14, Oregon on Nov. 11.

And both immediately tumbled barely 72 hours after reaching No. 2.

The Bulls and Ducks played nationally televised ESPN Thursday night conference road games. USF visited Rutgers and Oregon played at Arizona. Both the Bulls and Ducks were favored.

And both lost.

USF senior Nick Capogna said everything changed once USF reached No. 2.

"It was crazy," he said. "When we went to Rutgers two years ago, they're laughing at us. They're heckling us, like we were nobodies.

"And this year, they're hyped up and their fans rush the field after they beat us. I never thought in a thousand years two teams would rush the field after beating USF UConn did so nine days later.

"This was the first time I've heard opposing fans chanting 'overrated.' To be honest, it didn't feel good. Our fans used to do it to other teams, but I guess it comes with the territory."

USF's No. 2 ranking earned the Bulls their first Sports Illustrated cover - albeit the right-hand corner: No Bull. South Florida is No. 2! Inside was a full-page feature "Fresh Juice in Florida" with a full-page photo of USF defensive end George Selvie.

But it was all too much. Not only did USF have to overcome the No. 2 jinx - the previous three No. 2 ranked teams each lost after reaching No. 2 - but also the SI cover jinx.

48 Hours Later, A Loss

Less than 48 hours after Sports Illustrated hit the newsstands and even before it reached some subscribers' mailboxes, the Bulls had already lost.

After the 30-27 Rutgers loss, USF lost to UConn and Cincinnati. The three losses were by a total of 15 points.

"The Rutgers game may have carried over a little bit to UConn, having played a Thursday night game and the whole deal," USF coach Jim Leavitt said.

In each of USF's losses, the Bulls had possession in the final minutes with a chance to win or score to force overtime.

"You beat yourselves up as coaches," Leavitt said. "I beat myself up over and over. If I would have done better things, we might have won those games. I don't put it on the players as much as I do myself."

Still, USF sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe takes responsibility.

"If I could take back one play in each game we lost this year, we'd be sitting at 12-0 playing Ohio State in the national championship game," Grothe said. "And I'd like our chances against Ohio State."

If Oregon could take back one play, the Ducks might be in New Orleans for the BCS title game as well. The play came against Arizona State when quarterback Dennis Dixon tore his ACL. Oregon beat ASU, but Dixon went down for good at Arizona.

"You try to play past it, after you see a guy go down, you can't sit and dwell on it," Oregon center Max Unger said. "I can't think about 'what if this,what if that,' although it'd be nice."

Dixon Injury A Crushing Blow

While the Bulls rebounded from their three-game losing streak by closing the regular season with three consecutive victories, without Dixon, the Ducks ended the season with three consecutive losses.

Oregon (8-4) lost to Arizona 34-24, UCLA 16-0 and Oregon State 38-31.

"Once it creeps into your mind, it's what you're thinking about," Oregon rover Patrick Chung said. "Things happen. When they happen, you have to recover from them.

"Once you do it, it's going to go down the drain. Automatically, you're going to think we're not as good of a team. We're a good team."

Leavitt said the Bulls (9-3) showed "incredible character" finishing with victories against Syracuse, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

"I never really lost too much focus personally," Leavitt said. "We played our tail off in those losses and things happen for different reasons, some in our control and some outside of our control.

"I always felt like we could win the next game. I always felt like we could get it done because of the guys and how hard they work and their focus and how much it means to them."

USF senior cornerback Trae Williams said reaching No. 2 was something he won't forget.

"It was great to get to No. 2, it was amazing to be ranked that high," Williams said. "Seeing our team on ESPN pretty much every day. It was a great experience.

"But it didn't work out in our favor. We had three tough losses, but we bounced back at the end. That's all that matters. Finish strong, that's all that matters."

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com.

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