TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Underdog No More, No. 23 USF The Hunted

ADVERTISEMENT

By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2007

Updated: 09/22/2007 12:44 am

TAMPA - University of South Florida senior wide receiver Amarri Jackson said it rather matter-of-factly.

'I know this,' he said. 'No one is ever going to look at us as an underdog anymore.'

Not after the Bulls earned their first Associated Press ranking Sunday and officially entered the ranks of college football's elite.

But whether No. 23 USF (2-0) can evolve from underdog to top dog depends on how the Bulls perform against North Carolina (1-2) today at noon (ESPN).

The Bulls, who won at Chapel Hill 37-20 last season, are nearly two-touchdown favorites. But besides the Tar Heels, the Bulls will be battling other factors.

Since winning at Auburn on Sept. 8 and earning their first ranking Sunday, the Bulls have been showered with unprecedented attention on campus and from the media.

And if those weren't enough potential distractions, there's also USF's highly anticipated nationally televised Big East battle Friday with No. 5 West Virginia in what is expected to be the first sellout for a USF home game.

Who could have known USF's first home game against a nonconference BCS opponent would be an afterthought?

At least early this week, USF's players apparently had a hard time putting the Auburn win and national ranking behind them.

'I don't know if being ranked 23rd had anything to do with it, but at Monday's practice we didn't look like we have in the past three weeks,' Jackson said. 'The Auburn week practice was more focused. Monday we needed to up the tempo. We have to put it together as a group.'

Because players are not available to the media after Tuesday afternoon, it is unknown if their focus improved the remainder of the week. However, all indications are USF coach Jim Leavitt certainly has Carolina on his mind.

During Tuesday's news conference, Leavitt uttered the word 'Carolina' more than a James Taylor song.

'North Carolina, we've got North Carolina this weekend,' Leavitt said when asked about the ranking and a possibility of his players looking ahead to West Virginia. 'We're really excited about them. North Carolina. That's all we ... North Carolina.

'The players seem to be focusing in on North Carolina pretty good. That's all. They see how good North Carolina is.'

Still, the Bulls' biggest opponent might be themselves.

'We have to prepare the same way we've been preparing,' Jackson said. 'We have to keep pushing to get more recognition and keep pushing for our team to get a lot better.

'Since we're ranked, every team is going to come in and say, 'Hey, we're playing South Florida, a good football team.' We kind of jumped over that stage. We got over that hill of being overlooked.'

Defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said the most important thing is for the Bulls to focus on improving.

'We talk about playing your best,' Burnham said. 'If we can get ourselves better, that's how we get away from the other stuff, the rankings and all those things.'

The No. 23 ranking will make the Bulls the hunted instead of the hunter, and quarterback Matt Grothe wouldn't have it any other way.

'I know I like it,' Grothe said. 'You can't shoot what you can't catch.'

Like Jackson, USF junior receiver Taurus Johnson said the Bulls can no longer use the underdog label.

'We're now in the Top 25. We're one of the teams in the BCS, so that kind of takes the pressure off our shoulders a little bit,' Johnson said.

'We're going into a game ranked now. Teams just can't come in and be like, 'We can beat these boys.' You got to play us now. We want to protect our ranking, but we're just worrying about North Carolina right now.'

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT