Colleges

A lot to lose

UCF can look at today's meeting with USF as a game; the Bulls have more at stake, especially in recruiting.

By GREG AUMAN
Published September 16, 2006

Win today at Central Florida and all's well for USF football, which would be off to only the second 3-0 start in its 10-year history.

Lose, and here's what else the Bulls lose:

- Undisputed status as the state's No. 4 program, encroaching on the Big Three of Florida, Florida State and Miami.

- The right to continue pointing to the scoreboard when courting talented state recruits torn between the Bulls and Knights.

- The ability to argue, to those who want this to be an annual game for posterity, that it isn't a competitive rivalry until both sides have won.

In all, there is no tradition-laden prize like a jug or a bucket of nails trading hands, but it's enough to make it a pivotal game, in which losing means more to USF than just a long drive home on I-4.

Fans from both sides will debate the merits of the rivalry, how long it should last or whether it should even be called a rivalry.

This much is clear: The Bulls have more on the line today at the Citrus Bowl than the Golden Knights (1-1), as nothing changes the state's power structure more quickly than head-to-head competition.

"From the get-go, the thing about this has been that USF has more to lose than UCF does," said Kevin Shendok, 38, vice president of the Orlando chapter of USF's Alumni Association. "There's no doubt about that."

A year ago, the teams' first meeting - a 31-14 Bulls victory in Tampa - solidified USF's perception as being the superior program. It's one thing for the Bulls to argue they're in the Big East, a conference whose champion earns an automatic BCS berth; it's another to own the scoreboard bragging rights.

"We don't get credit for beating them last year. They still want to be favored to win," said USF linebacker Ben Moffitt, whose team opened the week as a two-point underdog but is now listed as a slight favorite. "That doesn't bother me, though. We're going to go out there, play our game, focus on what we have to do and hopefully we get it done. ... There's a lot of cause to play this game."

Not everyone agrees. Much has been made of USF's reluctance to extend the series beyond its initial two years; the Bulls agreed to games in 2007 and '08 only after they were called by Conference USA and reminded of the requirements of their exit agreement. That creates a limited window, three-hour opportunities today and in the next two seasons where the Knights can compare themselves, good or bad, to the younger upstarts to the west.

"I don't use it as a barometer as some people do," UCF coach George O'Leary said. "I use it to know where we have to get to be competitive. ... Last year, they hit us in the face and we never responded right from the first snap. They came out and attacked us. We didn't take the challenge."

A year ago, UCF came into Tampa on a 16-game losing streak, the longest in the nation. Even then, Knights fans might not have appreciated the progress of a younger USF program until the teams had faced each other.

"I've got a UCF grad as a neighbor, and there were so many people that couldn't believe they lost to USF," said Kevin Krause, 36, who heads USF's alumni chapter in Orlando.

A week later, USF had the biggest win in its short history, 45-14 against then-No. 9 Louisville. But UCF has seemingly closed the gap; the Knights have gone 9-4 since losing to the Bulls. They've played in the Conference USA Championship Game and gone to a bowl. That makes today's game dangerous for the Bulls.

"We've had our ups and downs, but I've not seen us this vulnerable in a long time," Krause said.

The Bulls have two very wobbly wins against Division I-AA McNeese State and Florida International. USF trailed in the third quarter of its opener against McNeese before pulling away to win 41-10, and needed a touchdown pass in the final three minutes to escape with a 21-20 victory against FIU last week.

Still, a win today would re-establish USF's position ahead of UCF, a key advantage in recruiting.

"I think that recruits will look at a lot of things. I think that this game is one of them, to measure where things are at," Bulls coach Jim Leavitt said. "(This) is an important game; I recognize that, but there a lot of games."

For fans in Orlando and Tampa, this might be the most important. Lose any conference game, and you can offset it by winning another. Lose today, and it defines the relationship of two nearby rivals.

Driving around Orlando with a USF license plate, wearing all sorts of Bulls apparel, Krause said he's used to "funny looks" from Knights fans.

"I'm inundated. We're singled out," he said. "I don't think they're making the same faces to Gator fans and FSU fans."

With two teams within striking range of each other, USF-UCF has all the makings of a rivalry, if a short-lived one. O'Leary, coming off a 42-0 loss at Florida last weekend, put today's challenge in perspective.

"We'll have our hands full," he said, "but they're not Florida."

[Last modified September 16, 2006, 02:03:36]