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Bulls face a difficult climb back after loss to Cincy

Staff photo by JASON BEHNKEN

USF fans show the dejection of the Bulls' 34-17 loss to No. 8 Cincinnati Thursday at Raymond James Stadium.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2009

Updated: 10/16/2009 10:24 am

TAMPA - Note to the rest of the nation: Thanks for checking in.

We enjoyed having you.

Catch you later ... maybe.

Yeah, no sooner had the University of South Florida worked into the national conversation than the Bulls were relegated back to the obscurity that is the fate of all teams that fall short on the big stage. That's the unfortunate fallout of Thursday's 34-17 loss to eighth-ranked Cincinnati at RayJay.

True, the folks out in the hinterlands watching on ESPN saw a pretty good game - at least for a while - in a great setting.

They saw a stadium filled with the kind of energy 63,976 totally engaged fans can bring. They had to be impressed with USF quarterback B.J. Daniels' attempt to turn seemingly every play into a night at The Improv, reversing field more times than a waffling politician while the poor Cincinnati linemen worked their way to exhaustion trying to track him down.

They saw big plays on both sides, which always makes for good TV.

But ultimately, they also saw 21st-ranked USF spoil this grand opportunity with mistakes.

They saw drives sputter for the Bulls because of penalties - and haven't we witnessed that before?

They saw the Bearcats keep drives alive because of penalties on USF - and haven't we witnessed that before too?

They saw the touted USF defense scorched for a crushing 75-yard touchdown run by Cincy's backup quarterback, Zach Collaros. He was in the game because the Bearcats' Heisman Trophy candidate, Tony Pike, left after one series in the second half with an injury.

They saw Collaros score again, this time from the more human distance of 3 yards, to help the Bearcats open the game up early in the fourth quarter after the Bulls had closed to within a touchdown.

But mostly, they saw the better team win. That's the conclusion most will draw after this one and it's not wrong. The Bearcats have won 12 straight regular season games - and four in a row over the Bulls - and there just doesn't seem like there's much USF can do against this team.

There'll certainly never be a better chance than this game. Defense is USF's strength and the Bulls, playing at home, had what should have been an enormous advantage with Pike out of the game for nearly two full quarters.

So much for that.

And so much for the notion that the Bulls had figured out a way to avoid the midseason speed bump. For the third consecutive year, USF began the season 5-0. And for the third consecutive year the Bulls lost in Week 6.

This is still a pretty good team, but when nights like this happen you tend to look at the opening three games against the three W's - Wofford, Western Kentucky, and Why Bother (a k a Charleston Southern). That's not exactly battleship row.

Of course there are plenty of chances to get back into the rankings. They'll have to beat Pitt on the road on Oct. 24 and there's an Oct. 30 game back here with West Virginia. Should be fun.

But we knew what was really at stake in a game like this. The Bulls had legitimate ideas about winning the Big East and getting a BCS bid, but that notion probably took a lethal hit. That's how high the stakes were for this one.

You already know how this is going to play out around the country. The pundits will praise (as they should) how Cincinnati went into a hostile stadium against a ranked team and prevailed, using its backup quarterback. The talk will focus on how far the Bearcats should advance in the polls.

People will wonder how long UC can hold on to Coach Brian Kelly, or if the program he has created will tempt him to move to another job next year. He'll surely be a candidate.

And what will those pundits say of the Bulls?

Not much.

Not now, anyway.

The Bulls had their shot and weren't up to it.

It's a long climb back.

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