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So what has gone wrong with the University of South Florida?
Too many penalties. Poor clock management. Players yelling at coaches; coaches yelling at coaches. And that was just what transpired during the second quarter of Thursday’s loss at Cincinnati.
Since starting 5-0, the Bulls are 1-3 and are tied for last place in the Big East.
The Bulls’ first preseason national ranking is a distant memory – and unless they close 4-0, including a St. Pete Bowl win, they will again end the season unranked.
Last season the Bulls reached No. 2 in the nation. They were the darlings of college football. Perhaps it all came too easy and too quickly, because since then the Bulls have come crashing down.
Since starting 6-0 in 2007, USF is barely a .500 team (I guess $1.5 million a year doesn’t get as much as it used to).
In their last 15 games against Division I-A teams, the Bulls are 8-7. And USF was favored in each game.
Only two teams have been favorites in more consecutive games: Oklahoma (28) and BYU (18). Oklahoma is 23-5 in those contests and BYU 16-2. In other words, they win when they’re supposed to.
USF doesn’t – and hasn’t consistently – under Coach Jim Leavitt.
The Bulls have pulled off some of the biggest upsets in college football in the past (Auburn, West Virginia in 2007, West Virginia in 2006, Louisville in 2005). But when the Bulls are supposed to win, or are the “hunted,” they shoot themselves in the foot – that is if a defensive lineman doesn’t jump offside first.
USF’s last eight I-A wins? They are against teams who are a combined 22-49 (31 percent) against I-A competition. Only Kansas (5-3 against I-A teams this year) has a winning record.
SportsIllustrated.com’s Stewart Mandel, reflecting on voting USF No. 1 last season after its 6-0 start, wrote this week that “I fell for the myth that Jim Leavitt’s built-from-scratch program had established itself as a nationally relevant program.”
The myth continued this season.
The Bulls returned 17 starters and were expected to compete for the Big East title. They were all but eliminated after three games.
In five non-conference wins, USF averaged 464 yards and allowed 242 yards. In USF’s four Big East games, the Bulls averaged 360 yards and allowed 331 yards. So, basically since they stopped playing the Tennessee-Martins and FIUs, the offense is averaging 104 yards less a game and the defense is allowing 89 more yards.
But, hey, at least they’re still committing penalties at a record pace. USF is currently fifth in the nation (8.56 penalties per game) and is on track to finish among the nation’s 10 most penalized teams for an unprecedented ninth consecutive year.
Each USF loss seems like the last one. A never-ending Groundhog Day: offense sputters, defense gives up a big play or three, undisciplined play, erratic special teams and poor clock management (has USF ever entered the final two minutes with all three time outs?).
Even Leavitt’s patented halftime motivational tactics appear to be getting stale. Some players admitted the constant head-butting “is nothing new.”
Neither is this season. Once again, so much early promise is gone by Halloween. All tricks, no treat.
Make no mistake: Leavitt deserves major, major credit for building USF’s program from scratch. Without the program’s early success, USF never sniffs getting in the Big East. He also deserves every penny of his new seven-year, $12.6 million deal after working for, well, pennies in the beginning.
Leavitt has done wonders in building USF. But in this world of what have you done for me lately (i.e. Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer), the question remains: can Leavitt’s ways lead the Bulls to a Big East title and BCS bowl?
Posted by Sage1, Illinois on 11/05 at 11:48 AM
The total lack of discipline and respect of players towards coach’s during the Cincinatti game is a clear example of what is wrong with the program. No discipline on the field and no discipline in the classroom as evidenced by the lowest academic standing not only in the Big East but also one of the lowest in division I. It seems obvious that the players are not being held accountable for their actions on the field and in class. Perhaps not scheduling Thursday night games that require players to miss classes is a possible solution.
Posted by Dr. Rob Ritter, on 11/05 at 11:17 AM
Brett,
Your extremely concise view of the “state of the team” is right on. The only thing you really glazed over in the offensive struggles dept. is the lack of a quality off coordinator. So miserable at times, painful to watch. Do you think this will be corrected at years end? What is the possibility of moving Canales into the position, thus creating room for a dedicated special teams coach to work our way out of this mess? Also, does it seem like the amount of injuries is way up this year? Attributing it to what? Lastly, the lack of control, and discipline manifests itself into penalties. He needs to drop the hammer and simply not tolerate it. Have you noticed how many penalties a penn st. acquires a game?
Posted by Sage1, Illinois on 11/05 at 10:57 AM
The effective lifespan of a CEO is approx 7-10 years. The same applies to the coaching ranks in today’s sports environment. If you are unsure of this take a look at the success a coach like Phil Fulmer had in his first 10 years versus the second ten. (or any other coach with a tenure that spans more than a decade,Paterno and Bowden are exceptions)
People need new opportunities to refresh themselves and try and bring personal success to new places. By nature we get complaicent when we become too entrenched at one place for too long. No one will dispute the job Leavitt has done building the program at USF but the signs are blinking as bright as the neon lights on Broadway that it is time for a change.
Posted by Dr. Phil, New York, New York on 11/05 at 10:55 AM
What I want you Bulls fans to do is talk this out. Yes, your offensive coordinator has all the ability of a pee-wee coach, and yes, your head coach uses psycho-analysis more than I do, but if you the fans will not talk this out and communicate, this situation will only get worse.
There you go.
Posted by Brett McMurphy, on 11/05 at 10:17 AM
Chris, not sure what you mean players USF will lose? Other than seniors - there are 18 if I didn’t miss anybody - George Selvie is a junior and I think he’ll declare for the NFL Draft. He’s a projected first-round pick and will get his degree in May.
Posted by Chris, Florida on 11/05 at 10:13 AM
Well written Brett. Any word on how many players USF will lose after this season. Expectations will surely be lower next year in Grothe’s senior year, perhaps they will perform better as they do not seem to thrive when the spotlight is on them and expectation are high.
Posted by Bob, Tampa on 11/05 at 10:06 AM
Great job as usual Bret.
Another problem is the constant turnover in assistant coaches. Leavitt needs to learn how to treat a staff with respect.
Every year we lose coaches and the ones who stay wish they could leave.
Posted by Don G, Madeira Beach, FL on 11/05 at 09:45 AM
Brett - great article on the current woes at USF. Must be difficult to write such a story when you need close access to players and coaches?
USF’s Problems:
(1) red zone offense stinks! Bad play-calling & execution.
(2) Grothe has slow, deliberate release. DBs can close gap to our receivers.
(3) receivers are lazy! There’s little effort to adjust and find openings after initial route is run.
(4) DBs show no instinctive ability. Aas ball gets close, receiver’s eyes get bigger. DB should know to turn his head to find ball. Our DBs runover receivers & get penalized!
(5) Players distracted by game surroundings. That’s lack of mature guidance and discipline!
Posted by Eric S, on 11/05 at 09:25 AM
Brett - to answer your question about Leavitt leading USF to a Big East title and to a BCS bowl?
Nope. His track record in the Big East says he will never do it. We will upset a few favorites every year like Louisville & West Virginia, but then we will drop games that we should have won. Leavitt also has a poor record in road games, and that includes D-IAA, C-USA, and two of our bowl games. Both of those bowl losses were embarrassing losses. Car Care Bowl was our first scoreless game, and Sun Bowl was a huge blowout on national TV.
Posted by Mike, tampa on 11/05 at 09:20 AM
Cont.
Leavitt is outcoached in literally every conference game. The Rutgers game last year is a great example. Rick Schianno looked like the greatest coach to stroll a sideline and he’ll look that way again this year. I’ll bet Mike Teal throws for 3 bills against the “best part of our defense”, the secondary! Although Leavitt will remain as the top dog, lets hope he upgrades the assistant coaches over the offseason. He also needs to cut down on the JUCO transfers. Too many of those guys are not good for a program.
Posted by Brett McMurphy, on 11/05 at 09:16 AM
Jeffrey, here are some of USF’s recruiting rankings:
2008 - Tom Lemming 3rd in Big East; Scout.com 4th; Rivals.com 6th
2007 - couldn’t find anything
2006 - Rivals.com 6th in Big East, 59th in nation
2005 - Rivals.com 4th in Big East, 50th in nation
2004 - Rivals.com 1st in Big East, 43rd in nation (these players would be in their fifth year at USF this season)
Posted by Mike, tampa on 11/05 at 09:13 AM
Why does every USF team look and perform the same regardless of year? The coach and the staff.
Every year it is the same confusion on game day. Burning time outs, penalties up the ying yang, and improper game planning are commonplace at USF regardless of year. The talent on the field is definately better in all phases of the game minus Delverado so why can’t USF win consistently?
Well Brett you hit the nail on the head, Leavitt.
Posted by jeffrey saff, annapolis, md on 11/05 at 09:08 AM
I believe that Leavitt’s unacceptable behavior toward the player was v. FAU.
Posted by jeffrey saff, annapolis, md on 11/05 at 09:01 AM
If usf way overachieved, then this is o.k.
They still need time to establish a winning program in major college football.
I will never forget, and I was embarassed, when Leavitt was angry last year and essentially assaulted one of his players during a game on national television.
It seems that the media quickly swept it under the rug. Unless USF finishes 4-3 in the Big East, It is time to move on.
Like you, I give Leavitt tremendous credit for the superb job of building this program into a winning program and doing it from scratch.
What I would like to know is where have the USF recruiting classes been nationally ranked the last five years? This will indicate whether these teams have indeed overachieved.
Posted by Mike, on 11/05 at 09:00 AM
Leavitt is too emotional at times. He shows his cards way to early. He’s coaching kids. Kids will only respond to so much for a given amount of time before it wears off. This explains why we can get up for games like WVU, and Auburn but crash and burn when playing games that lack a visceral response like Cin, Lou, FIU, and others.
Posted by Brett McMurphy, on 11/05 at 08:10 AM
Mike, I did not see it. It’s obviously a sad situation and I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of it.
Posted by Mike Lakeland, Lakeland, FL on 11/05 at 07:50 AM
Hey - at least we’re not UCF!
Brett - did you catch the Outside the Lines on ESPN Sunday morning? They talked about the death of UCF’s Ereck Plancher and had a former player say outright “The coaches ran that kid to death”.
If you did, any thoughts?
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Posted by Don G, Madeira Beach, FL on 11/05 at 12:34 PM
From reading all of the comments, there’s an obvious trend:
1. lack of player discipline
2. discipline issues have caused excessive penalties.
3. suspect offensive game plan & play-calling by offensive coordinator.
4. Leavitt’s coaching style & resultant outbursts during game must change.
5. recruit smarter players with better character; that will mitigate their lack of athleticism as non-blue chip prospect.
Brett, doubtful Leavitt reads blogs, etc. anyway to share these concerns & observations with him?