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Bulls No. 2 In BCS Rankings

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 14, 2007

BCS Rankings | AP Poll | USA Today Coaches Poll

TAMPA Around the nation, there was shock and skepticism. Around the Tampa Bay area, there was excitement and unmatched school spirit, practically bordering on giddiness.

On the University of South Florida practice fields Sunday night, however, not much was different.

Well except one thing: USF (6-0) was ranked No.2 in the initial Bowl Championship Series standings and could be playing for a national championship in only the program's 11th season by simply winning its final six regular-season games.

"I think it's something everybody in the South Florida family should be proud of," said USF running backs coach Carl Franks, who coached in two national title games as a Florida assistant. "But when you get those kinds of accolades … the big thing is to kind of treat it like a bottle of poison - it's not going to hurt you unless you swallow it.

"So you just want to stay away from it and concentrate on what we've been concentrating on before this - staying focused and taking one game, one practice at a time and everything will work out fine."

Sunday night, USF coach Jim Leavitt and the Bulls went about the business of preparing for a short week and a Thursday night trip to Rutgers (7:30, ESPN).

While there are those still unfamiliar with USF - "I don't know who they are, but I guess I'm about to find out," NFL TV analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw said - playing for a national title has always been on USF's radar.

Even if no one else believed it was possible.

"When I was recruited here, Coach Leavitt said big things would happen, the question was when," USF senior center Nick Capogna said. "We knew we'd be at this point. We expected this to happen. Did it happen sooner than we thought? Maybe. But we worked toward this every year.

"It's finally paying off and we're not going to stop now."

The BCS standings, which are derived from the USA Today coaches poll, the Harris Interactive poll and the average of six independent computer rankings, are designed to match the No.1 and No.2 teams in the national championship game, this season Jan. 7 at New Orleans.

Ohio State (7-0) was No.1 in Sunday's BCS standings, while USF was a solid No.2, boosted by No.1 status in five of the six computer rankings. The Bulls were third in both the coaches and Harris polls.

Rounding out the BCS Top 10: No. 3 Boston College (7-0), No. 4 LSU (6-1), No. 5 Oklahoma (6-1), No. 6 South Carolina (6-1), No. 7 Kentucky (6-1), No. 8 Arizona State (7-0), No. 9 West Virginia (5-1) and No. 10 Oregon (5-1).

USF also ranked No.2 in The Associated Press poll, receiving 11 first-place votes. The AP poll pulled out of the BCS following the 2004 season.

"Polls are so frustrating," USF senior defensive tackle Richard Clebert said. "Every day when I turn on ESPN, it's 'What is this Cinderella USF team doing?' It's nonsense. It makes no sense to me. They just talk and talk and talk about that. It's as if we played [Ohio State] we would just lay down. They have to play us. They have to play 60 minutes.

"People are so caught up in what people have done in the past. History doesn't win games. History never won games. It's the players you have now and the people who are playing."

CollegeBCS.com's Jerry Palm said, "USF's chances are decent" to qualify for the national title game if the Bulls finish 12-0.

"The odds of several [other] undefeated teams are not good," Palm said. "USF's problem would be if it had a bad performance, which could sour voters.

"One of the great things about the computer ratings is that they do not care about the name on the front of the jersey," Leavitt said after Sunday's night's practice the rankings "are great," but predictably he was more concerned with Rutgers.

"[The BCS ranking] is something I just can't control," Leavitt said. "We are just going to keep banging it out and practice hard and try to get ready for the next game."

USF President Judy Genshaft said Sunday everyone on campus is thrilled by the ranking.

"This is un-Bull-ievable," Genshaft said. "Coach Leavitt and the team have done an outstanding job. Their success lifts all boats and lifts everyone's spirit."

Franks cautions there is still six games remaining, all Big East Conference opponents.

"We can enjoy that poison at the end of the year," Franks said. "The players can enjoy it at the end of the year.

"The fans can enjoy whatever they want right now."

COMMITMENT: Receiver Daniel Bryant, of Tallahassee, verbally committed to USF on Saturday. Bryant chose USF over Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas, USFNation.com reported. Bryant is USF's 13th early commitment.

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

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