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Making Bull-ievers Out Of Naysayers

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

The University of South Florida's 21-13 victory over Big East Conference favorite West Virginia at sold-out Raymond James Stadium Friday night had the feel of a Super Bowl. It was pulsating and unforgettable.

Bob Hertzel, a columnist for the Times West Virginian, summed up the hometown's ecstasy perfectly: 'Their newfound darlings ... had indeed knocked off the nation's No. 5 team ... and done so by beating them in everything but the post-game rush to the team bus. They had dazzled the Mountaineers with their speed, punished them with their physicality and buried them under an avalanche of crowd noise.'

The biggest victory in USF's 11-year gridiron history rightly propelled the Bulls to sixth in The Associated Press top 25 poll released Sunday, their highest ranking ever. It now is the highest-ranked team in the state, at least in the AP. USF is ahead of ninth-ranked Florida, which fell Saturday to the same Auburn team the Bulls, now 4-0, beat Sept. 8.
Head coach Jim Leavitt doesn't want to discuss the rankings, and that's fine. There are eight regular-season games left, and many challenges to overcome. But for Bulls' fans, it's OK to exult. For years, USF was known as a commuter school that offered a quality education but not the most exciting campus life. While Gators and Seminoles celebrated their alma maters, few USF students felt the same enduring attachment to their school. Now they are coming back - in droves.

The Bulls' football success is generating unprecedented excitement about USF, and that can't help but benefit the university at-large.

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