Colleges

USF hopes to end road woes

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 18, 2007

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

If USF is to continue its undefeated season beyond tonight's game at Rutgers, the Bulls will need to end a trend of road disappointments in the second half of the season. Four of USF's remaining six games are on the road, with trips to Connecticut, Syracuse and Pittsburgh still ahead.

USF has always struggled on the road, especially on offense - in their history, the Bulls have scored fewer than 10 points 16 times, all of them on the road and all of them in losses. Here are some recent road losses the Bulls can put further in the past with a win tonight:

Oct. 22, 2006: Off to a 5-2 start and playing on a Sunday night in the second-coldest game temperature in their history, the Bulls were thoroughly beaten in a 23-6 loss at Cincinnati. Shut out until the final two minutes, the Bulls mustered just 219 yards of total offense, lost three turnovers and failed on an ill-advised fake punt from their 21-yard line.

Nov. 26, 2005: A late November win at Connecticut would have set up the regular-season finale at home against West Virginia as a Big East championship game with a BCS bowl berth on the line. Instead, the Bulls stumbled in 33-degree weather, losing 15-10 after botching chances to win late. Going for it on fourth-and-7 from the 6, USF called a trick play that was snuffed for a loss, then quarterback Pat Julmiste was intercepted in the end zone to thwart one last rally. A significant loss that still motivates the Bulls on this year's team.

Nov. 20, 2004: Sitting at 4-4 with three games to play, USF's hopes of making their first bowl game start disappearing with a 45-23 loss at Cincinnati. The Bulls allow the Bearcats to rack up a record 577 yards, including 377 from quarterback Gino Guidugli, whom Jim Leavitt calls "Gino Garagiola" after the game. USF never recovers, losing home games to Memphis and Pittsburgh by a combined 45 points and finishing 4-7, the worst record in the school's 11-year history.

[Last modified October 17, 2007, 17:43:21]