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Bulls Go Out With A Whimper

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 1, 2008

EL PASO, Texas - The Brutal Sun Bowl.

It's actually called the Brut Sun Bowl.

But even the most aromatic men's fragrance couldn't erase this stench.

For the University of South Florida Bulls, Monday's game was a didn't-see-it-coming stinker, a no-excuse embarrassment.

Oregon 56, USF 21.

It was USF's opportunity for network-television exposure. Instead, the Bulls were exposed.

Goodbye to 10 victories.

Goodbye to a year-ending national ranking (from No. 2 to nowhere).

Goodbye to, um, wait a second, hold on - I think Oregon just scored again.

OK, we're back.

Goodbye to the feel-good sensation of rebounding from a crippling three-game losing streak and earning USF's best-ever bowl bid.

When you really think about it, maybe this was an appropriate finale for USF's what-might-have-been season.

USF has a good team.

Not a great one.

"We're better than we showed," USF coach Jim Leavitt said. "We were battling pretty good, then it came apart. I really don't have the answers."

The Bad News Bulls

Answers?

Well, here are some theories.

•USF was severely outplayed - and severely outcoached.

Oregon's 18-14 halftime lead was deceptive. USF's scoring drives were aided by Oregon penalties. It looked close, but it really wasn't.

The Ducks devised a nice plan for fourth-string freshman quarterback Justin Roper, pressed into service by injuries. Roper was not Dennis Dixon, but he moved pretty well, and Oregon got him on the edge with the option to make plays.

USF's built-for-speed defense, meanwhile, looked confused and moved slower than a multiplex concession line.

•The Bulls were full of themselves.

USF was a six-point favorite. For the past few weeks, did you see anyone who picked Oregon? Anyone?

So the Bulls were going to roll into El Paso and slap away Oregon? Really?

Losing Dixon, November's Heisman Trophy favorite, was undoubtedly a brutal blow. But everyone forgot that Oregon beat USC and Arizona State. It had the Pac-10's leading rusher, Jonathan Stewart. Without Dixon, the Ducks still were big and fast. With Dixon - who knows? - maybe Oregon wins the national title.

By any standard, the Ducks would have been difficult to defeat - especially with a sleep-walking effort.

"I knew yesterday at practice we weren't focused," USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said. "They wouldn't concentrate, get focused and do what they needed to do."

•The Bulls are notoriously poor-performing front-runners.

That one seems obvious. They weren't supposed to beat Auburn - and did. They weren't supposed to beat West Virginia - and did. After rising to No. 2, the Bulls couldn't handle that prosperity. Buried and forgotten nationally, they made a nice rally.

Finally with the chance to make a clean getaway, to add the exclamation point, the Bulls were cut apart by a 533-yard buzz saw.

Oregon Had The Better Plan

On a much smaller scale, this one had the feel of Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators getting steamrolled by the Nebraska Cornhuskers of Tommie Frazier and Lawrence Phillips.

Once the momentum started rolling, Oregon could name the score.

Sophomore defensive end George Selvie, USF's consensus first-team All-American who had 31 1/2 tackles for a loss in the regular season, was a ghost.

One assisted tackle.

Period.

"The spread option, the read option, can slow down a great defensive end," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "That, combined with the play of our offensive line, helped to neutralize him."

Sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe struggled mightily, tossing two critical interceptions (one returned for a score) during Oregon's 28-point third-quarter flurry. Grothe was largely unable to improvise and make things happen. Eventually, he was knocked from the game with a concussion.

"When we kept him in the pocket, he didn't seem comfortable," Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said.

As for Stewart, he rushed for 253 yards, more than anyone in the Sun Bowl's 74-year history. The game's alumni list includes Tony Dorsett, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas and LaDainian Tomlinson.

"It's not the end of the world," Leavitt said. "But it feels kind of yucky right now."

The Bulls couldn't even drown their misery in a late-night plane ride. The team stayed behind because the coaches were scheduled to attend a New Year's Eve, ahem, party with USF boosters.

Happy New Year!

Even better: Happy Next Year!

At least the ending can't be any more brutal.

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