Columns

Let title talk begin

USF has a legitimate chance at a 12-0 record and a BCS berth.

By JOHN ROMANO, Times Columnist
Published October 1, 2007

Less traditional programs already are competing in recruiting, and now Jim Leavitt can use USF's success to impress recruits.
	[Ted McLaren | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Brian Cassella | Times] The USF student section gets fired up before the upset of West Virginia at Raymond James.

And in the 11th year, he created a contender.

An honest-to-goodness, who-would-believe-it dark horse for the national championship.

Jim Leavitt is no deity, and the University of South Florida is still a long, long way from booking rooms in New Orleans for the BCS title game. But, you have to say, there is an otherworldly feel about the sixth-ranked Bulls this morning.

Welcome to the greatest story ever polled.

Eleven years after breaking ground in Tampa, USF is breaking hearts around the country. Two weeks ago, the Bulls moved into the Top 25 for the first time in program history and, Sunday, they showed up in the Top 10.

In front of Miami. In front of Florida State. In front of Florida.

And out of their minds.

It is conceivable today to talk about the Bulls in terms of a national championship. It is something more than a dream, and less than a promise. Call it, instead, a possibility.

Maybe it's far-fetched, and certainly it is premature, but it is a possibility nonetheless.

Of the eight undefeated teams ranked in the Top 10 from BCS conferences, the Bulls have the easiest path to the promised land. No games against teams currently ranked in the Top 15, and no conference title game.

The Bulls already have won their biggest game within the Big East, and have beaten their toughest nonconference foe. It is possible, perhaps likely, that they will be favored to win all of their remaining games in the regular season.

In other words, they have every right to expect to be 12-0.

Elsewhere, attrition is inevitable. USC plays Cal, assuring one of them will have a loss. Ditto for Ohio State and Wisconsin, not to mention LSU and Kentucky.

Upsets are a way of life in the college game - dozens of Gainesville police might still be standing around Florida Field waiting to quell the celebration that never came Saturday night - and so projections are mostly meaningless. But, considering the schedules of the other undefeated teams, it is not a stretch to say USF has the best chance to go undefeated.

Of course, it's possible the Bulls could go 12-0 and still not get a whiff of the Superdome. It wouldn't be the first time a lesser-known program was snubbed by the bowl system. In 2004, Utah was undefeated but was ranked behind a 12-1 Oklahoma team. It happened to Marshall in 1999 and Tulane in '98.

The difference this time is USF is part of the fraternity. As a member of the Big East Conference, the Bulls have more leverage within the BCS structure.

The amazing thing is that we can talk about this at all.

Folks, this doesn't happen. Not in college football.

A Cinderella might reach the Final Four, or a wild card might make it to the Super Bowl, but strangers are almost never invited to college football's big bowl games. And certainly not the championship game.

Now you may interpret that any way you like. It either means the Bulls could be on the verge of something historic, or they are doomed to fall somewhere short. Either way, the story of an 11-year-old team reaching No. 6 in the polls is remarkable.

It says much about Leavitt and the Bulls, but it also says a little about college football.

Television exposure and scholarship limits have changed the game, making it easier for less traditional programs to compete for quality players. So teams such as South Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii and Missouri can count themselves among the nation's Top 20 today, while Alabama, Notre Dame, Penn State and Michigan cannot.

As much fun as it is to envision USF in a New Year's bowl game, the real impact might come years down the road. Leavitt has done a wonderful job beating the bushes to find the best recruits the big-name programs have missed.

Now, with the attention from a prime-time upset of West Virginia on a Friday night and the respect offered in the polls Sunday afternoon, Leavitt can expand his recruiting base. He can legitimately chase the high-end prospects with the suggestion - true or not - that USF is on the rise while Miami and FSU are on the decline.

So how might this turn out poorly for the Bulls?

I suppose they could have trouble in a road game against Rutgers, a team that beat them last season. I can imagine they might struggle in a home game against Cincinnati, a team that made them look bad last season.

But, for now, there is no reason to fret. No reason to worry and no reason to look too far ahead. This morning is better served enjoying the moment, and considering the question everyone wants to ask:

Is USF for real?

I say no.

Today, the Bulls are unreal.

John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 30, 2007, 22:46:55]