Charleston Southern is the worst team USF plays, just as it was last season when the Bulls won 56-6. The Division I-AA Buccaneers also are one of the youngest, with multiple freshman starters. USF won 24-0 at Charleston Southern in 1998 before 884 fans, the smallest crowd ever to see a Bulls game. The Buccaneers are 1-5 with a 45-42 win over West Virginia State. Freshman linebacker Jonna Lee has 58 tackles, 8.5 for loss and 3 sacks. Freshman quarterback Collin Drafts is 81 of 149 (54.4 percent) for 971 yards with 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, and Aaron Dunklin has 33 catches for 476 yards and 3 touchdowns.
BRANDON BAKER, GOT A MINUTE?
Sophomore punter Brandon Baker is in his first season as a starter after backing up graduated Devin Sanderson. He has a booming right leg and is averaging 42.8 yards on 33 punts, with 14 inside the 20, three touchbacks and a long of 62 yards. He talks about his hometown (Lake Placid), its claim to fame and his superior athleticism.
PY: Would you punt to (USF's outstanding punt returner) Brian Fisher?
BB: I don't try to punt to anybody. I'd go with our call. If it's a directional kick, I'm shooting for where they have the least chance of returning it.
PY: So, Brian back there waiting for the return wouldn't alter your game plan?
BB: Brian's great, he's so quick. But no - I have enough confidence that I can get it high enough that I'm going to make him fair-catch it.
PY: Who is the best athlete from among USF's punters and kickers?
BB: Me. I've got size (6 feet 2, 200), I played quarterback in high school. I'm not being cocky. . . .
PY: No competition? What about (kicker) Justin Geisler? He was a soccer star (at Land O'Lakes High) and played some wide receiver.
BB: Geisler's tough on the golf course, I'll give him that. We go back and forth. (Kicker) Santiago (Gramatica) is not a bad golfer. And (long snapper) Justin Daniel, he's got size (6-2, 250). He's a big guy.
PY: When you tell people you're from Lake Placid, do they ask if it's the place that had the Winter Olympics or the . . . ?
BB: The alligator, the movie (the 1999 movie Lake Placid, starring Bill Pullman, featured a 30-foot alligator). We get lots of comments about that.
PY: Has it been a good thing or bad thing for your town?
BB: Neither. Nobody really knows where Lake Placid is. It's a nice place. A lot of lakes, a lot of watersports. It's a good town, it has a real homey feel. Everybody knows everybody.
PY: What's the biggest alligator you've seen?
BB: Probably about 11 feet.
QUOTABLE
"We had a chance to win. That's what you want, the ball in your hands in the fourth quarter with a chance to drive and win. We didn't get it done. . . . It was my decision to punt, as it always will be. I felt like our defense would stop them." - JIM LEAVITT, USF coach, on the end of USF's 13-10 loss to TCU, and his decision to punt from midfield on 4th and 17 with 3:34 remaining and no timeouts. The Bulls never got the ball back.
OFFBEAT
If you were seated on the east side of Raymond James Stadium during Friday's 13-10 loss to TCU, you might have seen a little more of Leavitt than you wanted to. There was a rip in his trousers several inches long, on the back side of the right leg, about three-fourths of the way up.
"(Equipment manager) Jeff Parsons said to me (before the game), "Do you want me to get you another pair of pants?' " Leavitt said. "I said, "Why, what are you talking about?' He said, "Your pants are ripped in the back.' I looked at him, he said, "Yeah.' I said, "I wonder how the heck that happened?' It was ripped all the way across, and I have no idea how that happened. No idea. I was probably making a fool of myself."
For the record, USF is 0-1 at Ray Jay when Leavitt has a rip in his trousers, 31-2 with his pants intact.
BOWL METER
It has been two weeks since the last Bowl Meter, and in that time USF notched the electrifying 31-28 double overtime win over Louisville and the gut-wrenching 13-10 loss to TCU. The Bulls are 2-1 in C-USA, behind Southern Miss (3-0), TCU (3-0) and Houston (2-0). USF does not play Houston, and the next league game is Oct. 25 at Southern Miss. So we'll keep USF where it was, with a projected fourth-place finish and berth in the Fort Worth Bowl.
