No. 2 Ranking Seems Like Centuries Ago For USF

TAMPA - Maybe they were looking ahead to Syracuse.

Three weeks ago today, they were atop college football, or close enough to breathe on Ohio State's neck.

Three weeks? It seems like three centuries.

Former No. 2 South Florida has finished No. 2 in its third consecutive game.

This time, in truly bewildering fashion, it was Cincinnati that kept USF on its knees, 38-33, aided by a non-call on the game's last play and, oh, yes, eight USF turnovers, five by quarterback Matt Grothe alone.

USF linebacker Ben Moffitt said he didn't see the final play, when it appeared Bulls receiver Jessie Hester was interfered with as he tried to make a game-winning grab at the back of the end zone.

"I was praying," Moffitt said.

Three weeks ago, these Bulls answered prayers.

They're 0-3 since being No. 2. They're befuddled, they're talking to themselves, they're the most disappointed 6-3 team in America, with a dazed head coach who choked on emotion as he thought about three close losses in what suddenly feels like a lost season.

"This is the hardest one because it just happened, what is it, 15 minutes ago?" Jim Leavitt said. He even looked at his watch.

USF's 15 minutes were up a while ago.

Wheels Fell Off Bandwagon

In a related business item, General Motors has closed the last of its USF Bandwagon plants. The last wagon rolled off the assembly line around midnight. The wheels fell off.

It's really hard to say a team that sets a school record for turnovers deserves to win. "It's amazing we were in it," Leavitt said. On the other hand, the way Cincinnati shriveled down the stretch, how do you not win?

And how does Grothe amass 457 yards of offense (382 passing) and still manage to be a goat with four interceptions and a fumble? And how can you expect him to be anything without a running game?

One thing for sure is that the tens of thousands of fans who raced from Raymond James Stadium before USF's hearty last gasp didn't deserve a comeback. Don't hurt yourself jumping off, folks.

Then again, we're not sure if there's any coming back from this.

"I told the guys the season isn't over," Bull linebacker Brouce Mompremier said. "We're playing for pride."

Uh, when you're playing for pride, the season is over.

This was USF's first home game since the Bulls crushed UCF to climb to No. 2. This was their first time home since Rutgers and Connecticut. And they weren't ready - again.

They allowed 31 points in the first quarter, more than any USF team ever had in any quarter. They allowed 38 points by halftime, more than any USF team had ever allowed in any half.

You really have to work at it to get a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first five minutes and still be losing by 17 after one quarter.

After a week of soul searching and head shaking, of USF players taking turns making speeches to the team, the Bulls didn't have a response.

The bottom line is that when you answer the Rutgers loss with two more losses, you were a paper No. 2. The Bulls gloried in the underdog role, but couldn't handle favored status, the heat from all those eyes on them.

"You could realistically look at us as being 9-0," Leavitt said. "... You wouldn't have to reach to eternity to look at us as being unbeaten."

You'd still need three more wins.

Eternity enough.

Another Week Of Missed Chances

Well, the rankings, seven weeks of them, are over.

Same goes for the Big East.

"It's done," Leavitt said.

As for the final play, the non-call, Leavitt said, "I don't know any coach in America who wouldn't have wanted the flag in that situation. ... I will be so broken up, my heart will break, if I look at that play and there was interference."

He was already broken. His eyes nearly flooded as he talked about the USF comeback that didn't come all the way back. It was another week of what might have been, of chances missed, of this close, that close. Whatever.

Any way you slice it, USF again is staring at that bowl with the pizza in its name, or maybe one in Toronto. It might as well be on Mars.

After 6-0 and all that went with it, USF shares the Big East cellar with Syracuse. They meet next Saturday.

Anybody want to have a watch party?