Sports: USF goal: Make others eat crow

USF goal: Make others eat crow

The Bulls want Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower, who had some disparaging remarks about USF last season, to see firsthand why they belong in Conference USA.

By SHARON GINN

TAMPA -- Okay, so maybe South Florida coach Jim Leavitt isn't telling even a tiny fib when he says it doesn't bother him, that he has other things to worry about and that he understands.

After all, when Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said in July 1999 that Conference USA presidents should be more concerned about "quality, not quantity" in regards to expansion, the Bulls had existed for two years and had been playing the Cumberlands, Citadels and Slippery Rocks of the world.

Ultimately, the presidents reached a compromise. The Bulls will join C-USA in 2003, and by then they will be well beyond the Cumberlands, Citadels . . . you get the idea. Truth be told, they already are.

But how much?

Time to find out.

A week after knocking off the No. 1 team in Division I-AA, USF takes on No. 17 Southern Miss on Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Golden Eagles (3-1) will be the Bulls' first ranked I-A opponent and their first opponent from C-USA.

Leavitt said he isn't bothered by what Bower said, but he and his coaches dug up that quote this week (disclaimer: Bower wasn't the only C-USA coach who said such things) for the benefit of the players. Not that they needed additional motivation, but Bower's words made them mad.

The players say they aren't the same team that traveled to San Diego State a little more than a year ago for its first game against a I-A opponent. USF isn't even the same team that was invited into C-USA in November. This team is confident and experienced, and believes it already is worthy of conference play. And the Bulls are dying to prove it.

"We (the seniors) are not going to be playing in Conference USA, but we started (USF football)," defensive end Shawn Hay said. "It is an insult that this guy (was) talking about quality, not quantity. I think that we can hang with half the teams in Conference USA right now, if not more."

Having won three of the four C-USA titles, Southern Miss is by far the toughest team to hang with. But the Bulls this season are proving to be significantly more competitive than they were a year ago.

Not only has USF handily beaten two ranked I-AA teams it lost to last season (then-No. 1 Troy State and No. 13 James Madison), the Bulls in a 27-9 loss at Kentucky allowed fewer points than the Wildcats scored against Louisville (34), Indiana (41) and Florida (31).

And then there was the loss at Baylor two weeks ago, a 28-13 heartbreaker that easily could have gone the other way had the Bulls not lost four fumbles.

"We've had a pretty decent September," Leavitt said. "We could very well be 4-1. . . . We're getting better, and that's evident."

Senior linebacker Vassay Marc said the biggest differences are discipline and leadership. When the Bulls kicked off in 1997, most of the starters were freshmen who had few upperclassmen -- almost all transfers -- to look up to. Now seniors, the remaining group of 25 understands what needs to be done and knows how to convey it to the younger players.

"Everyone knows the system," Marc said. "The players are feeling confident in each other. . . . As soon as something (goes wrong), we fix it on the next play."

USF oozed confidence against Troy State, a team that also will be a full-fledged member of I-A next season. Also like USF, the Trojans had nearly everyone back. Plus, they had added former Auburn running back Demontray Carter and had a history of playing well in big games.

Troy led 10-7 at halftime but didn't score again. Other than Carter's 46-yard touchdown run, the Trojans didn't get past USF's 27-yard line.

Even more impressive was the lack of celebration afterward. Marc doused Leavitt with Gatorade, but that was one of the few signs the Bulls saw the victory as special.

"We were very confident," center Joey Sipp said. "We felt we should have beaten them last year.

"We see now we can play with any team in football. Before, we were kind of hesitant. . . . Coach Leavitt always told us, "There's not a team out there you can't play with as far as athletic ability.' We're starting to see that."

For the record, Bower has given the Bulls respect this week, saying in his Monday news conference, "I'm sure Conference USA wouldn't have invited South Florida into this league unless they thought they were going to be a good football team, and they are."

The Bulls plan to make sure Bower sees that firsthand.

"It'll be great when we do show them we can hang with them," Hay said, "that we are quality."