South Florida Continues to Disappoint

Can we ever take South Florida seriously as a Big East contender year in and year out? Every time South Florida enters the rankings, it seems as if the team loses the very next week and is unable to prove the skeptics wrong. Last year, the Bulls climbed all the way to second in the nation before losing three in a row. This season, the Bulls started 5-0 and were ranked tenth in the country, but have now lost three of their last four games. I love the tenacity and the moxy of Matt Grothe, but the QB threw three interceptions last night in a 24-10 loss to Cincinnati. Grothe now has seven picks in his last two games against the Bearcats, who beat a ranked opponent for the fourth time since last season and have defeated the Bulls three straight times. The worst part for Grothe is that he lost to a guy playing with a broken arm. Bearcats QB Tony Pike, despite wearing a soft cast on his non-throwing left forearm, completed 20-of-28 passes for 281 yards and a couple of touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the Big East. I really thought that the Kansas victory earlier in the season would propel the Bulls to the Big East title, but it could be these tenacious Bearcats--undergoing a QB carousel all season long--that come out on top at the end. The no-huddle spread attack employed by coach Brian Kelly is giving teams fits--and giving AD's across the nation looking for a football coach a reason to give this guy a call.