Colleges

USF joins ranks of elite

Unranked before the season started, the Bulls crack Top 10.

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 1, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Brian Cassella | Times] The celebration after Friday's win could be good practice for January for, from left, Carlton Mitchell, Dontavia Bogan and Amarri Jackson. A lot has to happen, but undefeated USF has a favorable road to contend for the BCS title game. John Romano: Let the title talk begin Photo galleries: USF-WVU | Bull mania Video: Fans go wild

TAMPA - University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft got the news of her football team's new ranking Sunday, and her first call was to athletic director Doug Woolard.

"He said, 'You mean six, as in after five?' " she said. "I said 'Yes.' I'm so proud. It's been a fun afternoon."

Yes, the same Bulls who were unranked in the Sept. 9 Associated Press media Top 25 are No. 6 in the nation, which is after 5 but long before the most optimistic fans would have expected USF to achieve such an honor.

"I really can't appreciate the kind of recognition that goes along with that kind of ranking," Woolard said Sunday night, two days after the Bulls 4-0 earned the biggest win of their history, beating then-No. 5 West Virginia, 21-13, before a sellout crowd of 67,018 at Raymond James Stadium. "It's just incredible."

Incredible would be a good word, said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who discussed the fact on Sunday that the state's highest-ranked team isn't a member of the traditional "Big Three" of Florida, which dropped to No. 9, unranked FSU and Miami.

"I'm glad to see (USF) up there. They deserve it because they're playing winning football and our winners are not ... ," he said. "I'd be amazed if they can stay where they are, but they might; they might. ... I'm glad to see somebody in the state of Florida hold the banner up while the rest of us try to get off the floor."

USF, which had never been ranked in Division I-A until debuting at No. 23 Sept. 16, was No. 18 when it beat West Virginia. Moving up 12 spots in one week (and to No. 9 in the coaches' poll) is a rapid ascent, even by USF's standards, playing in just its 11th season.

"This past month has been so exciting, so exhilarating, just phenomenal," said Genshaft, who stepped onto the offensive and defensive buses Friday night to congratulate players before they headed back to campus.

Even online, fans are showing up in record levels. Thebullspen.com, whose message boards are a staple for Bulls fans, went down briefly Sunday afternoon because of high traffic when the rankings were announced. Traffic in September was about double that of August, peaking at about 4,000 page views per hour after Friday's game.

Genshaft said she placed a call Saturday to Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, thanking him again for allowing USF to be one of three schools that joined the league, beginning with the 2005 football season.

"I told him, 'I hope we are fulfilling your expectations,"' she said. "He said, 'Beyond a doubt, you are.'"

The rest of the league's top teams have struggled, and as a result, USF could be seen as having its success in a less impressive conference, which could cost it a shot at the national championship

Jerry Palm, Bowl Championship Series analyst and publisher of collegebcs.com, said: "You've never had a major undefeated team left out for a team with one loss. If (USF) is one of two undefeated teams, they have a chance. But a one-loss team such as USC, LSU or Florida could be strong enough in the eyes of the voters to get past USF."

That doesn't affect the current excitement on campus, and the growing awareness of USF across the country. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, on College Gameday Saturday morning, called USF "the story of the year in college football." After three home games, USF is averaging 46,135 fans, up 52 percent from last year.

On Saturday, the Bulls travel to Fort Lauderdale to play Florida Atlantic (3-2), a 7-year-old program in Boca Raton.

About the only things coach Jim Leavitt hasn't done in the past month are getting caught up in his team's national ranking and looking past his team's next opponent ("I'm just getting ready for FAU," he said).

Then comes a home game with Central Florida (3-1), a meeting big enough that USF is preparing for its second straight sellout.

"It's happened in such a quick fashion," Woolard said. "All of this has happened in the last few weeks, but it's gotten such traction. It's rewarding to see how the community has really engaged with the team and with the university."

Times staff writer Brian Landman contributed to this report. Greg Auman can be reached at auman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3346. View his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf/.

[Last modified September 30, 2007, 23:17:37]