All Entries Tagged With: "South Florida football"
Skip Holtz To South Florida
The question that only a football coach in this position can answer is how one could leave a program so abruptly, harming his former school’s recruiting efforts and insulting the players left behind. Coaches demand trust and respect … for what? Most make a mad rush for the door when more lucrative opportunities arise.
South Florida Shows Jim Leavitt The Door
Jim Leavitt has been canned as football coach at the University of South Florida for an incident that occurred during halftime of the USF-Louisville game in October.
He built the program from the ground up. USF first competed as a team in 1997, with Leavitt taking the program to No. 2 in the national polls a couple of years ago. The familiar story of his role in the program comes to a sad end, following allegations of physically harassing a player.
Leavitt denies any wrongdoing and refuses to apologize — which may have been his undoing. He will be missed on the sidelines.
Big East Football: Week 7
By Paul Sykes
All eight Big East football teams were in action, including three conference match-ups and two playing elsewhere. The good thing about the Big East standings for Louisville is that teams with identical conference marks are listed in alphabetical order, with Syracuse at the bottom.
- No. 5 Cincinnati jumped on Louisville early with 21 points and never looked back in a 41-10 drubbing. U of L may have lost running back Vic Anderson for several weeks with a separated shoulder. UC travels to Syracuse next week while Louisville hosts Arkansas State.
- No. 22 West Virginia scored last in a see saw 28-24 win over Connecticut in Morgantown. Noel Devine took a 62-yard run to the house with 2:10 remaining for the win (Think he read my recap last week where I put him behind Dion Lewis?). 171 rushing yards for WVU in the second half. WVU (6-1) goes to Tampa for Friday night action vs. USF. UConn (4-3) plays host to Rutgers Saturday.
- No. 20 Pitt rolled past visiting South Florida, 41-14. Bill Stull threw for two touchdowns and Dion Lewis rushed for two others in the rout. The Panthers (6-1) take the week off. USF (5-2) is the most penalized team in the Big East and has not won a conference game north of the Mason-Dixon line since the Civil War. USF will host WVU.
- Rutgers rolled past Army Friday 27-10 at West Point. Sophomore running back Joe Martinek ran for two scores and 147 yards in the rain to improve the Scarlet Knights to 5-2. Rutgers next travels to UConn.
- Syracuse managed 14 fourth-quarter points in the Carrier Dome to put away Akron 28-14. They sacked Zips QB Patrick Nicely five times and Cuse all conference receiver Mike Williams sat out the game on suspension.
Pitt, WVU and Cincinnati all remain undefeated in Big East play. South Florida and UConn sit at 1-2. Rutgers, Louisville and Syracuse have yet to win a conference game.
Big East Football: Week 5
By Paul Sykes
Six Big East football teams snapped on the helmets this week, the conference going 2-0 in non-league play. There’s a three-way tie for first place in conference standings.
- West Virginia got the ball rolling against Colorado, defending the home turf with a 35-24 win. Once again, Noel Devine displayed his excellent running skills, and WVU WAS never seriously challenged. They take their 5-0 record to Syracuse next Saturday.
- Pitt improved to 4-1 with ITS conference-opening win over Louisville, roaring back from a 10-7 halftime deficit for 28 unanswered points. The 35-10 win included six sacks on U of L quarterback Adam Froman. Pitt hosts UConn next while Louisville renews its rivalry with Southern Miss at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
- South Florida is still unbeaten, using a 20-point third quarter to roll over Syracuse 34-20. This error filled contest included 11 turnovers, with Syracuse QB Greg Paulus leading the way with five interceptions to tie the school record. It doesn’t get any easier for the 2-3 Orange next week when they host WVU. South Florida takes a well-deserved week off.
- Cincinnati went on the road for a 37-13 victory home over Miami of Ohio. Jacob Ramsey racked up three scores and 103 rushing yards and QB Tony Pike tossed for two TD’s. The 5-0 Bearcats sit out next week.
- Rutgers and UConn were idle. They jump back into play Saturday, with the 3-1 Huskies visiting Pitt and 3-1 Rutgers is at home against Texas Southern.
- Cincy, USF and Pitt are 1-0 in conference play. UofL, Rutgers and Syracuse 0-1 against Big East foes. UConn and West Virginia play their first conference games Saturday.
South Florida To Play At South Bend
Word from Tampa is that South Florida has lined up a football game against Notre Dame in South Bend during the 2011 season. The Bulls will receive a check for $800,00 from the Irish. No return game is included, according to Greg Auman. But here’s the eye-opener:
Notre Dame has made a commitment to play three Big East teams each year starting in 2011 and had extended an open invitation to all eight conference programs to play in South Bend.
Open invitation to all eight conference programs? If that’s true, U of L’s Vice President for Athletics, Tom Jurich, has to already be involved in negotiations with the Irish. There’s no way you ignore an invitation to play at South Bend. Despite TJ’s assertions that he won’t schedule other 1A schools without a home game in return, Notre Dame would have to be an exception.
Could it be possible that Jurich could have something else even better in mind — like Notre Dame being the opening opponent in an expanded Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in 2010 or 2011? Total conjecture, but that would be the best possible scenario.
