Missing Ingredients: Enthusiasm, Passion

For more than an hour, the University of South Florida football team laid it on the line. Nothing was held back. No one saved anything for later.

They gave everything they had - to each other.

During last week's open date on Nov. 3, seniors Tyrone McKenzie, Jake Griffin and Carlton Williams called a players-only meeting.

"It was straightforward," McKenzie said. "That's how you can sum it up. We spoke what was on our mind. There was no sugar-coating."

Since starting 5-0, the Bulls (6-3) have lost three of their four Big East contests. With 17 returning starters, the Bulls fully understand they should not be in this situation.

"We felt like everyone has a burden, and everyone is so tense and tight," Williams said. "You get up here and say whatever you want to say.

"What a lot of guys were saying was so true. We needed as a team to see where everyone was coming from. We needed it to get back on track and get this thing rolling again."

One of the problems addressed was the Bulls' lack of enthusiasm and passion.

"We knew we should be undefeated right now," junior DE George Selvie said. "We need to get things going. We're not like the team we used to be when we made plays.

"We used to celebrate. Now when we make plays, it's just 'OK, you made a play.' We didn't feel like we were playing with enough energy."

Selvie said it was a positive meeting.

"It was good to see how people felt," Selvie said. "Matt Grothe doesn't usually talk, and he got up and said some stuff. I said some stuff and I usually don't talk, either."

Senior LT Ryan Schmidt said the meeting was needed.

"Everybody was really frustrated after the Louisville and Cincinnati losses," Schmidt said. "Some got up and took out their frustrations; others got up to rally the troops. It was a mixture of both."

SIGN 'EM UP: With the start of today's early signing period, the women's basketball team is expected to sign six players.

F Tahira Johnson (Middle Village, N.Y.), G Tiffany Conner (Teaneck, N.J.), F Aleshia Flowers (Converse, Texas), F Jessica Monroe (Durham, N.C.), G Kaneisha Saunders (Palm Beach Gardens) and G Sequoyah Griffin (Chipola Junior College) are USF's early commitments.

Johnson (No. 14 forward), Conner (No. 25 guard) and Flowers (No. 53 forward) are rated among the nation's top recruits at their positions by ESPN HoopGurlz.

The men already have commitments from F Jordan Dumars (Detroit) and G Shaun Noriega (North Port).

BIG EAST BATTLES: The men's soccer team (12-4-2), ranked No. 10 nationally, will face No. 11 Notre Dame (12-5-2) Friday at 7 p.m. in the Big East Tournament semifinals at the USF soccer stadium.

No. 5 St. John's (15-1-3) plays DePaul (9-6-4) at 5 p.m.

The Big East final is Sunday at noon, with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.