No answer: Bulls' plummet quickens in loss

TAMPA -- As devastating as last year's midseason collapse was for USF, the Bulls were somehow able to pull out of that fall in time to win three games in November.

On Saturday, as the Bulls dropped their third straight game, an embarrassing 49-16 humbling at the hands of a Rutgers team that came in with a losing record, there were signs that USF might not get out of a tailspin that is still yet accelerating.

"Our football team is certainly down, about as down as you can get," coach Jim Leavitt said after the most lopsided home loss in his program's 12-year history.  "We'll rise up. I don't have any doubt about that."

But will they? USF (6-4, 1-4) saw its offense give up six turnovers, and the defense allowed Rutgers (5-5, 4-2) to score touchdowns on five of six possessions at one point. Neither coordinator had an explanation for the disappointing showing.

"We got our tails beat pretty bad in the second half. They just owned us," said defensive coordinator Wally Burnham, who had 16 days to prepare for Rutgers' prolific passing attack. "Second half, we couldn't do anything ... It's a mystery to me, too. Hell, if I had an answer, I would have damn sure corrected it."

The Bulls have never given up so many points at home, never lost by so much at home, and never had so many huge questions looming over them: Will they win again this season? Will they salvage the fast-dwindling honor of any bowl game at all? And how have the Bulls fallen so hard in losing four of their last five games?

"I have no idea why. It's basic fundamentals," offensive coordinator Greg Gregory said. "... They are hard things to explain. It's hard to account for those. Maybe we're asking them to do things they can't do ... We have to go back and look at everything and try to find a football team by next Sunday."

USF's defense gave up a 93-yard touchdown from Mike Teel to Kenny Britt, and allowed the Scarlet Knights to convert 10 of 14 third downs. All the trademark frustrations of USF's 2008 season were there -- red-zone inefficiencies, costly turnovers, 10 penalties for 100 yards, one field goal blocked, another missed, a botched extra point.

Quarterback Matt Grothe, who threw just three interceptions as USF opened to a 6-1 record, has thrown eight interceptions in the three losses since, including three against Rutgers. With little from USF's running backs, he accounted for 94 percent of USF's total yards, and to make matters worse, he sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter and wore a boot on his injured foot after the game.

"It seems like the last few weeks, everything goes the other way. We can never get anything to go our way," Grothe said. "It's hard to win when you can't get anything to go your way. ... It's no fun. It (stinks), quite frankly."

After USF's last game, a 24-10 loss at Cincinnati, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie "guaranteed" the Bulls' season would not go down the drain. He and his fellow seniors called a players-only meeting last week, trying to get the team to play with passion, to have fun again. On Saturday, he saw a 49 on the scoreboard, previously unthinkable on the scoreboard at Raymond James Stadium, where much of a season-low announced crowd of 47,216 left early.

"It's on the players. It's our fault. I take full responsibility," McKenzie said. "(The score is) disrespectful. You practice all week, you go out and perform like that and see a score like that on the scoreboard. There's no excuses. We just got a butt-whipping."

USF is assured of a losing conference record for the first time since it joined the Big East. Down 28-16 with the ball near midfield late in the third quarter, the Bulls lost another turnover, and Rutgers scored the game's final 21 points. Leavitt said he was surprised to see his team not competing to the end.

"That's the first time I've seen our team do thaat in a long time," he said. "I've been here a number of years, and if you look at our football team, that doesn't happen often. Why, again, I don't know. We'll try to figure it out."

Comments

[Don G]

Marty, re: "too ghetto," I didn't get a full explanation, but as I listened to him talk, I think he meant that the players USF recruited were not the highest quality character guys that say UF or FSU get. Let's face it, after recruits pick Gators, Seminoles & Hurricanes, would seem that those players that are left may not be the highest quality individuals possibly. Although, that demeans the entire team, but maybe there's something to it. First time I had chance to talk to a dad of a recruit, so I at least have to consider it as possibly accurate.

[DELdaBULL]

14. Not establishing physicality on defense. No offense is scared of us. They know even if the don't have a running game they can still run it down our throats.

[DELdaBULL]

Well, let me try coaches since you don't know.
1. USF is not as talented as people (or they) think.
2. Since last years seniors left no one has stepped up into the leadership void they left.
3. The coaches have lost their guts. No blitzes on D. No misdirection on O.
4. Refusing to get your most talented players involved.
5. Thinking that having one player be 94% of your offense is a good idea.
6. Being loyal to players that are just not good (Roberts).
7. Never burning a team for blitzing us.
8. Not being or establishing physicality on offense.
9. Trusting Grothe to make mistake after mistake with no consequences, while his teammates who make miscues can go 2 quarters before they see the field.
10. Working harder not smarter.
11. Penalties. Especially false starts and off sides and illegal formations. That is unacceptable.
12. Not finding some one not named Selvie that can pressure a QB.
13. Where is deep safety when everyone knows our corners (especially one side) cannot cover their grandmas let alone a D1-A WR?
Make an adjustment coaches, make an adjustment.

Frustrated Del

[Dave]

Wow, how quickly the fans have turned. Wasn't that long ago that the Bulls and Leavitt walked on water, and the "fan base" was rejoicing in the fact that they were right up there with UF in the rankings (even if the Gators had a retard for a coach, who was really little more than a recruiting coordinator).

And now you're calling for Leavutt's head?

Perspective.

Get some.

[nick413]

This team Quit plain and simple. Levitt has lost this team. Based on what I saw today they will be lucky to win one of their last 2 games. This was UGLY. Running wind sprints and Head butting players obviously Is not getting it done. Leavitt did a god job getting this program started but it is time to bring in soeone who can take it to the next level.

[day dream beleiver]

The USF coach makes more than 1 million a year yet doesn't know why his team underachieves? What a waste of resources.

The primal scream picture says it all. Sad, some deserving student could be in school if not for this.

[Marty]

"Too ghetto?"

[Don G]

Rod, not sure that your "thug" observation is accurate - although I've heard that from others - but I talked to a gentleman @ halftime who's son plays at Army. His son apparently was recruited by USF & he decided on Army because, as this dad said, USF's program was too ghetto.

[VOR]

I don't know, perhaps having all those days off actually HURT us.
Everyone looked SOFT!
Including the coaches brains.

[Al]

Excuse me "the fans", but they moved paying customers/donors out of 102, 103, 106,201, 202, 203 204, 205 206 and gave them to the students.

[The Fans]

Al,those student tickets would not be purchased anyway.

16 days to prepare and this is the product they put on the field... Thanks coaches.

[Rod Smith]

Leavitt and Burnham need to quit recruiting so many thugs.

What is up with that pic of Tyller "Toast" Roberts and his primal yell on the front page with Leavitt. Maybe concentrate on covering someone Tyller.

You guys are a huge disappointment!

Nice Excuses Leavitt. You SUCK

[RR]

Yeah....I'd like to know ACTUAL ATTENDANCE as well.

47k tickets sold, about 35k of which (or less) were actually there to see this debacle.

Glad I wasn't there.

[Al]

Greg, Could you please get the actual attendance figure from the TSA and post it here. Student attendance was horrible.
The AD should reduce (30% or more) the number of free student seats and put the sections up for general/season ticket sales.

[Marty]

Leavitt doesn't know. Burnham doesn't know. Gregory doesn't know. But, I do. USF needs a coaching staff that has a friggin' clue!