CollegeBowlProjections.com

The time has come for the South Florida Bulls to step up and earn there first BCS bowl game.  We all remember the great start in 2007 when they rose as high as #2 in the rankings and were on their way to being the Cinderella story.  Unfortunately, The Bulls lost to Rutgers in week 7 that year and since have been an average Big East team winning only 11 of their last 20 games.   QB Matt Grothe is entering his senior season and it is go time for the Bulls.

Grothe has been the starter since his freshman season, 2006.  He is coming off of a year in which  he lead the Bulls in passing as well as rushing.  South Florida will definitely need to find some help for Grothe but Matt has to be the catalyst.  If he can pass for 3,000 yards and run for another 500-which is feasible-the Bulls have a good chance of representing the Big East in the bowl championship series.

The other big factor will be the veteran leadership of George Selvie.  Selvie is a potential first round NFL draft choice but opted to return to South Florida.  The 6-4, 245 lbs. DE had 5.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in 2008.  The Bulls will need a similar year in 2009 for the Bulls to have the success they are looking to achieve.

This is the time!  The South Florida Bulls have the talent and experience to be a force in the Big East.  The lack of returning starters will result in down years for Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Experience + opportunity= big success for South Florida in 2009.

Popularity: 28% [?]

The best conferences in bowl games:
Pac-10 5-0
SEC 6-2

The worst conferences in bowl games:
Mid-American 0-5
Big Ten 1-6

Great Defenses:
Florida holding Oklahoma to 14 points.

TCU holding Boise State to 16 points.  The last time Boise State was held under 20 points was September 8, 2007(Washington 24 Boise State 10)

Lousy Offenses:
Oregon State 3 Pittsburgh 0.  The Beavers had an excuse missing the Rodgers’ brothers for the game but Pitt needs to desperately find a quarterback for next season. Pitt quarterbacks completed 9 of 27 passes for a total of 89 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.  Can you imagine how many more yards LeSean McCoy could run for if they had a decent pass game?

We didn’t see that coming:
Notre Dame thumping Hawaii 49-21 in the Hawaii Bowl.  After all the debate about Charlie Weiss returning, the Irish gave the Warriors a whoopin on their home turf.  Casey Clausen went 22/26 401 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Ole Miss putting 47 points on Texas Tech in Texas at the Cotton Bowl.  We knew the Big 12 didn’t have the best defense but we didn’t see the Rebels giving Tech a bunch of their own medicine.

Utah 21 Alabama 0 after 11 minutes in the first quarter.  The Crimson Tide were blown away by a far better prepared team in the Sugar Bowl.

We saw that coming:
USC dominating another Big Ten team in the Rose Bowl.  Pete Carroll prepares his team as well as anyone for bowl season.

Virginia Tech winning the Orange Bowl.  The Cincinnati Bearcats are new to the BCS and showed they didn’t have the poise to defeat a young Hokie team.

Another BCS mess:
Why do we continue to deal with this terrible system?  Who is rolling in all the cash from the bowl systems that won’t allow a change?  Why aren’t the over 50 non-BCS schools not working together to destroy this system?

We endure another year with controversy about the number one team in the nation.  Florida, USC, Utah and Texas should all have a piece of the title this season until they fix this joke of a system.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Boston College Head Coach, Jeff Jagodzinski is heading to New York to interview for their vacant position even though doing so could cost him his job at BC.  Athletic director, Gene DeFlippo made it clear on Monday that jags will be out as BC head man whether he lands the job with the Jets or not.  DeFilippo claims that he and Jags had a verbal agreement that Jagodzinski would remain with the club through the 2009 season (his contract is through 2011).  

Jagodzinski took over the BC program 2 years ago and has finished first in the division both years before losing consecutive conference championships.  Previously he was in the NFL as a coordinator with the Green Bay Packers.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Bulls took care of business defeating the Memphis Tigers 41-14 in the St. Petersburg Bowl. All eyes will be on the the Big East teams to see how well they compete this bowl season. Many feel the Big East was the weakest link in the BCS conferences and might of been weaker than the non-BCS Mountain West conference this season.

South Florida finishes their season on a positive note.  At one time they looked like the team to beat in the Big East.  They had nice victories against Kansas and North Carolina State to begin the season.  However the Big East competition was too fierce for them.  They dropped their first four of five games in conference and never had a shot to reach the Orange Bowl.

South Florida’s victory has the Big East at 1-0 to start the bowl season.

Popularity: 2% [?]