Bulls game a hot ticket this week
Fans camp overnight to get a dwindling supply of tickets to Friday's game.
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 24, 2007
TAMPA — The unprecedented excitement building up to Friday night’s showdown between No. 18 USF and No. 5 West Virginia could be seen Sunday afternoon at the Sun Dome, where students were camped out overnight for prime seats among the allotted 12,000.
Distribution started this morning at 6, but 16 hours earlier, students were lined up in rain-soaked tents, anticipating the program’s first sellout.
By 11 p.m., more than 100 tents were set up on the grassy hill on the east side of the Sun Dome, with coach Jim Leavitt among the night’s visitors.
USF’s 37-10 win against North Carolina and West Virginia’s 48-7 victory over East Carolina on Saturday set up the meeting of Big East unbeatens.
“It’s huge. We beat them last season, so as long as we play the cards right, we can beat them again,’’ quarterback Matt Grothe said of the upset on West Virginia’s homefield in November. '' … It’s really falling into place for us, but we have to keep doing it, week in and week out.”
The football program has gotten plenty of national attention this month, with stories in the New York Times, USA Today and Washington Post, but its success can extend to the rest of campus.
“It continues to validate that this program keeps moving forward,” athletic director Doug Woolard said. “To me, it’s really rewarding for the university. I think athletics can help a university, and you can feel it in this community, in the state and even around the nation. It’s rewarding for me as an athletic director, to know what that does for the institution overall. People are proud of what’s going on here.”
After having two weeks to get ready for North Carolina, the Bulls have a shorter week to prepare for West Virginia, which boasts two Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, plus talented freshman running back Noel Devine.
USF had just more than 3,000 tickets left after Saturday’s game, and by Sunday night, the lower level had sold out, as well as many section in the upper deck at Raymond James Stadium. Leavitt said after Saturday’s game that his players must keep the focus they had against North Carolina despite the greater national spotlight.
“I think the players notice it and enjoy it, but it is important to know how to handle it,” he said. “You need to focus on playing good football, and anything that gets you away from doing that, you’re not going to win.”
Selvie honor: Defensive end George Selvie, with 8.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss in his first three games, was named Walter Camp national defensive player of the week. Selvie, who leads the nation in sacks and TFLs, had two sacks and five total TFLs Saturday. “His numbers are unbelievable,” defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said in a statement. “George is successful because of the way he practices every day. He prepares the right way and the results are showing.”
Greg Auman can be reached at auman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3346. View his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf/.