Bulls' situation reminds Bowden of Seminoles' early days

Bobby Bowden and Florida State's football fans around for the infancy of his head coaching days in Tallahassee will certainly recognize it.

The fire in the South Florida players' eyes and the boulder-sized chips on their shoulders on Saturday is something that FSU took into so many road games against higher-ranked teams during the building years of the Bowden Era.

South Florida, with 12,000 Bulls fans pulling for them every bit of the way in Doak Campbell Stadium, will be out to prove they belong among Florida's so-called Big Three. This is just USF's second game against such a team after playing, and losing to Miami, in 2005.

Yet this is not an USF team to take lightly. Recent victories over ranked opponents for a program in just its 13th season included wins over 17th-ranked Auburn and fifth-ranked West Virginia in 2007 "I'm not concerned about that as I am us," Bowden said.

That means getting even better on an offense that parlayed Christian Ponder's arm, legs and leadership into a victory in Provo, Utah. The defense must find a way to limit big plays that have been an issue during the first three games.

The No. 18 Seminoles are fresh off a 54-28 victory over No. 7 BYU. The challenge, similar to the Bulls, is to show they belong - in this case in the top 20 after dropping out of it following the season-opening loss to Miami.

"We've got to get these kids believing, hey, we have to do it every Saturday," Bowden said.

FSU must do it against a South Florida team that has already made a presence on the recruiting trail in Tallahassee and the Panhandle. Six players from Tallahassee are on South Florida's roster, including now-starting quarterback B.J. Daniels who starred at Lincoln.

"Everybody is trying to have their strong area of the state," FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said. "They are tough. They do a great job in recruiting. ... They are become a force in recruiting."

A victory over FSU could only help USF's recruiting.

"Well, you hate to give them credibility," Bowden said. "That's what you do. Florida State was like that in the '60s. The University of Florida didn't want to play Florida State because they didn't want to give us credibility. South Florida is now going through that same thing."

Players such as Caz Piurowski, who calls the Tampa area home and has friends on the USF squad, appreciate that for USF this is to show they can play and beat the state's powers.

"For us, it's defending our turf," the starting tight end said. "It's going to be tough. It's kind of a got a feel - not quite as much as like a Florida or Miami - but it feels like a miniature rivalry even though we never played them."

Linebacker Dekoda Watson is certain of one thing.

"I know South Florida, they are going to come in hungry," Watson said.

The senior can also count on facing a young but athletic quarterback in Daniels, who replaces senior starter Matt Grothe following a season-ending knee injury.

"South Florida is going to be one heck of a challenge," Fisher said. "I think they have a great football team. They are athletic. They are physical. They are big. They are well-coached. They play hard. They are the real deal.

"I think it is very important for us, not just because it's South Florida. It's our next game after the game we just played. I'm anxious to see how we respond to success."