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Defeat Cincinnati, and the city could belong to the Bulls

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As part of the USF community blitz, Rocky the Bull helped News Channel 8's Alicia Roberts report on traffic.

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2009

Updated: 10/12/2009 11:39 pm

TAMPA - This town is up for grabs.

Somebody has to own it, don't they?

Why not USF?

The Bucs are becoming a Halloween mask.

Paper or plastic?

It's the week to forget the 0-5 football team and watch the 5-0 football team. It's the week to watch the winning tenant at Raymond James Stadium.

South Florida is about to play the game of the year at the yard, Thursday night against No. 8 Cincinnati on national TV. It's about time. This town needs football that will make people watch, not wretch.

The Rays just flopped at repeating.

The Lightning? Phone when you're winning.

Back to Coach Jim Leavitt and the Bulls ...

"How could you not be excited about this?" Leavitt said.

Here comes Cincinnati, the current beast of the Big East. Here comes Cincinnati, which has beaten USF three straight times. Here comes Cincinnati, scoring points rapid fire. Here comes Cincinnati, the favorite.

How could you not be excited about this?

Well ...

Naturally, Thursday night's game isn't sold out. That's one reason why South Florida has launched a "Go Green" campaign, blitzing TV and radio stations, holding breakfasts with boosters, at local businesses, hospitals, even at an elementary school, with ticket giveaways galore.

Look out your window. There's a 61 percent chance that Lee Roy Selmon is walking up your driveway with two on the aisle.

The idea, entirely, is to recreate the madness that occurred two years ago when fifth-ranked West Virginia walked into a buzz saw of 67,012 fans and sea of USF players on national TV, easily the most magical home win in USF history.

"I remember the crowd going crazy," USF defensive end George Selvie said. "We filled up Raymond James. The whole of Tampa Bay was behind us."

Asked what the atmosphere will be Thursday, Selvie said, "I don't really know." USF quarterback B.J. Daniels said, "It's going to be crazy."

(Wouldn't you love, just once, if when a player gets asked what the atmosphere will be like, he says "78 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen with some argon and carbon dioxide.")

Per chance to dream ...

This is just the kind of game that can catapult the Bulls into the national spotlight, even more than beating Florida State to light the rocket sled that's now carrying Bobby Bowden to his bowl of porridge.

USF digs the underdog role. And it should. Beginning in 2007, the Bulls are 5-0 against ranked teams, beating West Virginia twice and FSU, Auburn and Kansas once. On the other hand, beginning in 2007, they're 8-9 against non-ranked BCS teams.

And don't look now, but this is around the time in the past two seasons when the wheels fell off. They were 6-0 and ranked No. 2 when they lost three in a row, the third of them to Cincinnati. Last season, they were 5-0 and No. 10 but lost four of their next five, including one to Cincinnati.

Will Thursday be a stairway or a trapdoor?

It's the biggest game in town this season, with the town thrown in. Win and you own it. Win and students storm the field, like after West Virginia. Win it and everybody goes horns up again, the whole of Tampa Bay. Hold onto your nitrogen, folks, it's going to be something.

Wonder if any of the Bucs needs tickets.

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