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Bulls haven't been able to measure up of late

The Associated Press

For the third consecutive season, an undefeated, nationally ranked USF team has fallen off its perch and into a mid-year skid.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2009

Updated: 10/26/2009 07:09 am

TAMPA - Reality check.

In 10 days, the University of South Florida Bulls have been reduced from Big East Conference title contenders to a program fighting for a bowl bid.

Reality check.

During Saturday night's college football wrap-up program, ESPN's Rece Davis put it into predictable words: "Once again, just as the leaves drop, South Florida falls off the face of the earth."

Reality check.

One month ago, shortly after the Bulls defeated the Florida State Seminoles 17-7, USF's marketing department placed a billboard near downtown Tampa. It declared the Bulls and their fans had been welcomed to the "Big 4" club, joining Florida, FSU and Miami.

USF coach Jim Leavitt didn't like it, saying he "didn't want people thinking we think we're all that ... because we're not." He was right.

The Bulls (5-2, 1-2 Big East) are sliding into mediocrity after Saturday's 41-14 shellacking at Pittsburgh. There's no relief in sight. USF faces a Friday night date against West Virginia at Raymond James Stadium, its third consecutive game against a nationally ranked Big East opponent.

On the surface, it looks like another swoon.

After all, for the third consecutive season, an undefeated, nationally ranked USF team has fallen off its perch and into a mid-year skid. But it's also very likely that the win at FSU, which Leavitt rightly acknowledged as "historic," prompted a false sense of security.

Cincinnati was better than USF - better prepared for the second-half's key moments and better equipped to change on the fly to its backup quarterback.

Pittsburgh was much better than USF - overwhelmingly so in the first half, when it rolled up 297 yards, scored on all five of its possessions and didn't have a penalty.

And if Friday night's game plays out as expected, West Virginia could be better, too.

Reality check.

USF still needs two victories to qualify for the postseason - it has two wins against Football Championship Subdivision opponents, Wofford and Charleston Southern, but only one counts toward bowl eligibility.

Struggling Louisville (2-5, 0-3), which visits USF on Nov. 21, seems like a probable victim.

USF will not be favored to defeat West Virginia or Miami (Nov. 28 at home).

The other win might need to come in the cold of Rutgers (Thursday night, Nov. 12) or Connecticut (Dec. 5, regular-season finale).

Keeping in mind the Gator Bowl may have eyes for Notre Dame, effectively taking away a Big East bowl slot, what's the prize?

The likely best-case scenario: The Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., or maybe even a return trip to the St. Petersburg Bowl.

That wasn't what USF had in mind after the victory in Tallahassee.

In the last 10 days, the Bulls have faced the Big East's elite teams, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. They haven't measured up, not in playmaking ability, not in discipline, not in sideline preparation.

So now they are reduced to scrapping for a minor bowl bid. It may not be pretty. But that's the reality for USF.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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