(Editor’s note: Lakeland marketing guru and USF football fan Kevin Alvarez answered our call for a college football savvy writer. After today, his USF Notes will sporadically appear in our sports column at right.)
When the Tampa skyline is highlighted by Green & Gold atop the SunTrust building, you know Tampa is catching USF Bulls fever and “Going Green”. The USF Bulls have been touting this Thursday night’s nationally televised game at Raymond James as “The Next Big Game”. The clash between the USF Bulls (5-0 Ranked #23) and the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0 Ranked #8) will determine superiority in the Big East and gives USF a chance to earn the respect (and this time keep it) of a national football audience. The Bulls are trying to emerge from the shadows of Florida’s other football powerhouses including University of Florida, University of Miami, and Florida State* and they took the first step in this direction by beating FSU on the road in September. (*One can argue whether FSU should still be considered a powerhouse).
This is not the Bulls first taste of early season success. In 2007, the Bulls began their year with a 6-0 start including a shocking overtime win at Auburn and an impressive home victory against West Virginia. The Bulls entered that October 19th 2007 game ranked # 2 but were upset by Rutgers in a tough 30-27 loss and then proceeded to lose their next 2 games and quickly fell out of the national spotlight.
In 2008, the Bulls found themselves 5-0 with a prime time Thursday night home game with Pittsburgh and lost. They went on to lose 3 of their next 4 and became a mere afterthought on a national scale.
Once again, the Bulls are in a similar situation in which they can maintain a presence on the national level, but it will not be easy. The Bearcats have had the Bulls number in the past 3 seasons, beating them last year 24-10 (a game that was also televised on ESPN). Cincinnati will look to use an aggressive passing attack led by Heisman candidate Tony Pike. It will take a great defensive effort led by the play of USF’s George Selvie and DE Jason Pierre-Paul and an above average performance from BJ Daniels making only his third collegiate start.
Even if you are a casual football fan, this will be an exciting game to watch as it’s rare for two undefeated teams within the same conference to face each other at this point in the season. One thing is for certain, Raymond James Stadium will be rocking with 50,000 plus fans.
With the Tampa Bay Bucanneers winless at 0-5, the Rays out of the Playoffs and the Lightning trying to find their identity, this is the chance for USF Bulls Football to be the talk of the town.
Regardless of Thursday night’s outcome, the team will have another “next big game” on November 28th when they face University of Miami at Raymond James. The Bulls schedule was definitely set to allow themselves to crawl from the shadows and not only build respect from within the state but on a national level as well.
Sidenotes:
Thursday 7:30 PM at Raymond James Stadium
On TV: ESPN and ESPN360.com
On Radio: 970 WFLA
USF’s Defensive Coordinator was with Cincinnati last year
USF Bulls and Cincinnati Bearcats seeking niche in football-mad markets
Times beat reporter Greg Auman previews Thursday’s Big East matchup between 21st-ranked USF and No. 8 Cincinnati (audio/slideshow)
Although the stadium will be packed, tickets are still available. Visit the USF Bulls website for more information
Kevin Alvarez is the Chief Marketing Strategist for Blue Lynx Marketing, Inc.
Bio: Kevin Alvarez is the Chief Marketing Strategist for Blue Lynx Marketing, Inc.
