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This Next Big Game is also Next Big Chance for USF

Staff file photo by BOB HANSEN

Tonight's game is an opportunity for USF to pick up credentials in the Big East and among national pollsters.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2009

TAMPA - Those crack marketing whizzes at the University of South Florida have come up with the perfect label for tonight's showdown against eighth-ranked Cincinnati: The Next Big Game.

Well, it's next.

And it's big.

And for USF, it's the Next Big Chance to prove it really does belong in the national conversation. If the Bulls can defeat Cincinnati – something they haven't done the past three seasons – they'll catapult up the polls from their current No. 21 position.

More importantly, they'll establish an important credential to earn the Big East Conference berth in the BCS. They'll be set up for a trip to Pittsburgh and, oh, go ahead and say it … the Next Big Game.

Must stop. … Getting ahead of things. … Must stop.

Yeah, it's true. No one in Gang Green is looking past the Bearcats tonight because that would be completely stupid. For one thing, USF is a three-point underdog.

If Cincinnati, with 11 consecutive regular-season wins, isn't the best team to play the Bulls here, the 'Cats would be no worse than No. 2 (behind fifth-ranked West Virginia in 2007, when USF won, 21-13).

A crowd of more than 60,000 is expected tonight at Raymond James Stadium, and the storyline pits Cincy's go-go offense, led by quarterback Tony Pike, against a USF defense that is getting a little stronger all the time.

The Bulls allow 9.4 points per game, ranking fifth in the country.

The Bearcats are a load, though.

They average 42 points per game, third best in the nation. That's impressive enough, but how they're doing is even better. Their scoring drives average just 6.8 plays and take just 2:25 to accomplish. It led Cincy coach Brian Kelly to note that sometimes the Bearcats' offense makes it tough on their defense.

"We want to score quickly," Kelly told The Cincinnati Enquirer, "but we also have to be cognizant of the fact that playing 86, 87 plays on defense is probably not the best thing."

Nice problem.

It's also a nice opportunity for the Bulls.

Pike is popping up in talk about the Heisman Trophy, and Cincinnati's national status is no longer in question. Beating a team like that would legitimize USF in the eyes of a lot of pollsters, which would be nice. It would also keep the Bulls unbeaten in the Big East, which would be better.

Ray Jay can be an unforgiving location for visiting teams on nights like this. It'll be rocking, and it should be quite a scene for the national audience looking in on ESPN. And if the Bulls can pull this off, they'll dominate the news cycle in college football.

The talking heads on all the national sports shows will tell the nation how good they are.

It's right there for them.

The Next Big Game is USF's best chance yet to take The Next Big Step.

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