Colleges

Taurus doing well a good sign

By GREGS AUMAN
Published November 16, 2006

Win some, lose some

A win by USF at Louisville or West Virginia could end up costing USF more than $1.5-million in revenues. Such an upset would likely keep a second Big East team from getting an at-large berth in a BCS bowl, which is expected to pay about $16-million to the league, to be split among its football schools.

This list details the big checks the league will write to its teams for making bowl appearances, supplementing the lesser bowls' actual payout to cover travel expenses. The rest of the bowl revenues are split evenly among the football schools.

Bowl Payout

BCS $2.4-million

Gator/Sun $1.6-million

Texas $1.2-million

Toronto $1.1-million

Birmingham $1.1-million

It's a poetic coincidence, a marketing guy's dream, that USF's leading receiver this season is named Taurus Johnson.

"I remember when I first came here for my visit, receivers Coach (Lawrence) Dawsey was like 'Taurus the Bull,' " said Johnson, who leads USF with 417 receiving yards. "It sounded really good. After a while, I thought about it and said, 'Why not.' Close to home, great city, playing in the Big East. It was a good fit."

Johnson, actually an Aries, with an April 13 birthday that falls nine days before the zodiac sign of Taurus begins, said uncle Mitchell Johnson came up with the name, convincing his mother, Alicia.

"She wanted to name me Robert," Johnson said, "but my uncle's like, 'No, why don't you name him Taurus? Taurus is a bull, strong and big and stuff like that.' "

If Johnson can finish the season with more games like his 131-yard effort Saturday, he could challenge USF's season record of 661 yards, set by Hugh Smith in 2002.

The Bull that wasn't

Former Lakewood star Pat Carter was supposed to transfer to USF last year. It was likely enough that the Bulls included him in their 2005 media guide.

Carter surprised USF, turning up at Florida for a week of practice before enrolling at Louisville, where he has five catches for 58 yards this season.

"He obviously felt like Louisville was better for him, for whatever reason," coach Jim Leavitt said. "We wanted him, we liked him, we offered him. He just didn't feel this was the best place for him."

Greg Auman covers USF athletics for the Times. He can be reached at auman@sptimes.com or at (813) 226-3346. Check out his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf.

[Last modified November 16, 2006, 02:07:48]