TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Making History: USF Earns 1st AP Ranking

ADVERTISEMENT

By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2007

Updated: 09/17/2007 12:14 am

TAMPA - Mark it down: Sept. 16, 2007. That's the day the University of South Florida earned its first Associated Press ranking in the program's 11-year history.

And USF did it faster than any other Division I-A school in the modern era.

No Bull.

USF debuted in Sunday's AP Poll at No. 23, exactly 10 years and 10 days after playing its inaugural game against Kentucky Wesleyan in 1997.

On Sunday, the Bulls (2-0) were ranked higher than Michigan and Notre Dame, the two winningest programs in college football. USF also ranked higher than some of college football's traditional powers: Alabama, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida State and Miami.

USF's remarkable rise through the college football ranks is unprecedented. Since becoming a bowl-eligible Division I-A member in 2001, the Bulls were ranked after 104 AP polls during the fourth week of their seventh season.
Boise State had the previous record, getting ranked after 115 AP polls during the 13th week of its seventh year as a bowl-eligible Division I-A member.

And USF quarterback Matt Grothe said it's just the start.

'It's only the beginning,' Grothe said. 'Top 25, top 20, top 10. We have a long year ahead of us. We have a good schedule. We'll see what we're really made of in our next two games.'

The Bulls host North Carolina on Saturday (noon, ESPN2) and West Virginia on Sept. 28 (8 p.m., ESPN2).

USF coach Jim Leavitt was more concerned with the Tar Heels than with making history.

'It is nice and we certainly appreciate the ranking,' Leavitt said. 'But we have put all of our focus on North Carolina and that game this weekend.'

Perhaps, but for the first time the following will be in nearly every sports section today from Maui to Maine:

No. 23 South Florida 2-0 285

'I figured USF already was on the map,' linebacker Tyrone McKenzie said. 'Now we've accomplished something else.'

The Bulls are ranked No. 24 in the USA Today coaches poll, but the Bulls said they have their sights on bigger goals.

'There's more expected out of our program,' USF wide receiver Jessie Hester Jr. said. 'We're practicing to win the Big East championship. If we stick together and play our game, we should be a big factor in the Big East.'

Freshman running back Mike Ford said the Bulls have to keep the rankings in perspective.

'They talked about Auburn being ranked,' Ford said. 'But they're just numbers, they ain't nothing but numbers.

'We can't let the numbers or the fans - and we're probably going to have a lot of people on the bandwagon and it's going to be crowded - we can't let that get to us.'

The Bulls are one of four Big East teams in the AP rankings along with No. 5 West Virginia (3-0), No. 11 Rutgers (3-0) and No. 18 Louisville (2-1).

It's the first time since the final AP poll of 2002 that the Big East had four teams ranked. The Big East ended the 2002 season with No. 2 Miami, No. 18 Virginia Tech, No. 19 Pittsburgh and No. 25 West Virginia.

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT