Look Out For South Florida

Bulls might not be Big East's top team, but they have what it takes to contend

April 20, 2007

By Trev Alberts

Special to CSTV.com

	TREV ALBERTS Trev Alberts is a football analyst for CSTV and CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- TREV's MAILBAG 2/20: Show Some Patience 1/23: Cutcliffe Can Be Successful At Duke 1/16: To Each His Own 1/10: Watching Different Games 1/2: Brennan's Sugar Performance Won't Hurt Him 12/26: LSU Hater I Am Not 12/19: Rodriguez Licking His Chops 12/12: Buckeyes Have A Chip 12/05: Missouri Got Hosed 11/28: Some Coaching Changes Ludicrous 11/21: Love Woodson's Poise 11/14: Dixon Can Be Contained, But Not Stopped 11/7: Pac-10 Far From Overrated 10/31: Appalachian State Loss An Afterthought 10/24: No Halves Off In College Football 10/17: Nebraska In Good Hands With The Doctor 10/10: Trojans Still A Player 10/03: Don't Hate On South Florida 09/26: Hangovers Part of The Game 09/19: Nebraska's Performance Disappointing 09/12: DeSean As Explosive As It Gets 09/05: Tebow Impressive In First Start 08/29: ACC QBs Better Than Advertised 08/24: McFadden Not Quite In Bush's Class 08/17: From Overrated To Underrated 08/10: Florida's Overrated 08/03: Spurrier's Got That Twinkle 07/27: Big East Deserves More Credit 07/20: Badgers Playing For Second, At Best 07/13: Gators Repeat? Not So Fast 07/06: Pac-10 Still Owned By USC 06/29: One Big's Better Than The Other 06/22: WAC Ain't All That 06/15: Text Messaging Ban Excessive 06/08: Fifth Year of Eligibility A Good Idea 05/25: Hot Seat Warming Up For Some Coaches 05/18: Big Ten Falling Behind SEC 05/11: 'Canes, Seminoles Have Ways To Go 05/07: Sleeping Dawgs 04/20: Look Out For South Florida 04/13: Boise's Johnson Has No Shot At '07 Heisman 03/30: The Best Atmosphere In College Football Belongs To... 03/23: Tough To Compare QBs With Different Styles 03/16: Top Coaches Need To Be Appreciated 03/9: Woodson Nation's Most Indispensable QB 03/2: Things Just Not The Same At Nebraska 02/23: Rodriguez Does Well With His Chips 02/16: Believe It Or Not, I Don't Have An FSU Agenda 02/09: Yes, I Do Know College Football 02/02: Of Course Huskers Make Adjustments 01/26: Coach Alberts In Lincoln? No Chance 01/19: Can't Begrudge Kids For Leaving Early 01/03: Saban Heads to Alabama 12/29: Some Coaching Changes Come As Surprise 12/22: Too Many Bowl Games Way of Life 12/15: Who Has The Best Talent In The Nation? 12/7: Who's The More Deserving National Title Participant? 12/1: Irish Don't Deserve BCS Bid 11/16: Ohio State the Better Team 11/9: Give the Big East Its Due 11/2: What's Wrong With D at USC? 10/26: Where Will Bowden Be in '07? 10/20: Who Belongs in the Top 20? FOOTBALL 1/8: In Surprise, Ohio State Beats Itself 1/6: Good Start Vital For Buckeyes 12/26: LSU Hater I Am Not 11/23: LSU Loss A Microcosm Of The Season 11/19: Give It Some Time 10/13: Give Kentucky All The Credit 10/7: USC Loss Sends Shockwaves 9/1: Michigan's Loss Nothing Short of Stunning 6/19: Hoeppner Did Things His Way 4/27: Unexpected Reigned In 1994 02/22: Combine Experience Can Be Eye Opening 02/08: Signing Day Observations 02/07: Walk Down Recruiting Memory Lane 11/17: Remebering Schembechler 9/5: One Week Is Just One Week 8/25: The Return Of Trev

You've got college football questions and CSTV football analyst Trev Alberts has answers and opinions. Each week Alberts will be answering questions and queries on the world of college football. So if you've got a question for Trev? Just ask him.

I've read how some people are really high on South Florida next year, how they're just waiting to break out. But Matt Grothe is coming off a fractured leg and there's no way they're better than L'ville and WVU. I can't see them contending so I don't know how you or anyone else can. - J.N., Kentucky

I love judgments that are made in April. It is absolutely astonishing to me, but, again, it's what makes our sport unlike any other with their passion.  

I did a game involving South Florida last year, and a lot of the excitement has to do with Matt Grothe. Only being a red-shirt freshman last season, had a great year coming out of nowhere. He's a smart kid who understands the game.

Jim Leavitt, for all of his quirkiness, loves those kids and the way his team plays is remarkable. They're continuing to build.  I do think they're a force in the Big East. It might be a bit premature for South Florida fans to think the Bulls will win the conference title this year. I think the progress that they've made has been quicker and more substantial than a lot of people would have imagined. That's one of the last places and last teams you want to play because they're well coached, they play with passion and they have speed. That was so evident when I did their game and as well all know speed is a real difference maker.

Since Miami has struggled in their backyard I think they've gotten some kids they wouldn't ordinarily get. South Florida is building something nice down there.

Why can't the Pac-10 and Big Ten stop being such hard heads and let them go ahead and create a college football playoff. They have to put ahead their agendas to keep the Rose Bowl tradition at the expense of the rest of the game. How can they allow them to get away with this? - Anonymous

I think it's interesting too. I'm sure the Big Ten and Pac-10 officials feel as passionately about their position as proponents of college playoff feel about theirs'. I think it's important to note that there are those in the Big Ten and the Pac-10 who don't care for the current BCS system and probably wished they hadn't gone along with it in the first place.

For right or wrong, remember some of the comments Big Ten commissioner Tim Delaney made inferring, or implying, that other conferences and schools - especially in the SEC - have sold out to the football only mentality instead of worrying about the student athletes and carrying about their academics and admissions. There might be some validity to that, but it's like anything else; there's a lot of people didn't want George Bush to be president but as long as the majority did, he is president. I would think in the end if there is universal support for a playoff amongst everyone, with the exception of the Big Ten and Pac-10, they'd be under tremendous pressure to participate. Would those two conferences only have their champions meet in the Rose Bowl every year with no chance of playing for the national championship?

The problem is there isn't unilateral support for a playoff at this time. The only thing Florida president Bernie Machen has really done is say it's time to investigate the possibility of a playoff. Now Fox wants to extend the BCS contract and if it gets extended we could be looking at a playoff in 2020. He's merely said let's take a look at it and he's considered a rogue president because he's willing to go out and make a statement.  

But I agree with him in that common sense dictates that we should take a look at some alternatives and see if there's some money on the table that all our institutions could have while at the same time appease the Big Ten and Pac-10. Their fears of losing the tradition, in a new system I think, could probably be enhanced with an integrated system that included some play-it-on-the field playoff that also included the bowls probably could lend itself to a better handling of tradition than the current system.

Obviously, USC is the team to beat in the Pac-10 and probably the nation, but who do you have coming out of the Pac-10? I think UCLA could make a big run at USC and they're going to be better than Cal thanks to their defense? How do you see the Pac-10 shaking out? - Bill H., Santa Barbara, Calif.

In the Pac-10, it's obviously USC because they're absolutely loaded. They have to stay focused, especially with their schedule which is interesting - they have to travel to Lincoln to play the Cornhuskers who will be ready for that game as Nebraska is still searching for a signature win in year No. 4 of the Bill Callahan era.  

But aside from USC, I'm waiting for a breakout season from Mike Stoops. He has some weapons, he's had some good recruiting classes. There's some new energies around the program and I just think it's time for them. They've had to really dig deep out of a big hole, but they could be a dangerous team.  

With Arizona State, you just never know. There's talent there. The one guy we never talk about enough, despite the incredible job he's done, because of the way he carries himself and his demeanor is Karl Dorrell. He's just a very steadying influence at UCLA. They're No. 2 in my mind. But as of right now, USC has the Pac-10 in its sights. Obviously, everything comes down to injuries; if the quarterback goes down then suddenly it's a different ballgame. It's also about finding a way to motivate your players. As I tell my son every morning, don't let being good get in the way of being great. That's what USC faces every year.