Williams: Remember late throws next season

Notes for Monday's paper ...

TAMPA -- Rutgers' 93-yard touchdown pass from Mike Teel to Kenny Britt put the Scarlet Knights up 42-16 in the fourth quarter, and Bulls senior safety Carlton Williams said he was surprised to see Rutgers, with nine minutes left and a 26-point lead, throw the ball on two of their next three plays.

"Even after they were ahead, (to be) still throwing the ball downfield, really, really hurt for me. I told the guys: Next year, remember that," said Williams, who had two interceptions against Rutgers. "When we were down, getting beat, guys were still airing the ball out. Hopefully we can turn that into something positive."

Rutgers' second throw was on a third-and-9 play for a 10-yard gain, and the Scarlet Knights ran the ball on their final eight plays, scoring on a run by freshman Joe Martinek with 3:32 to play.

Williams said the defense understands that ultimately its job is to stop the other team, regardless of the score, so to see a 49 on the scoreboard in a home loss is humiliating for a veteran defense.

"It hurts your pride more than anything," he said. "Defense, we take pride in not letting people score. (The late throws were) almost sending a message to me. I was (emotionally) hurt. As a defense, pride has to step in and you have to be able to stop it."

In the past three weeks, Cincinnati and Rutgers have become the first teams in USF history to beat the Bulls three seasons in a row. The final margin of 33 points stands out because USF's last six regular-season losses were by a combined 38 points.

"We don't want to give up that many points. Our goal is like 14 a game. Forty-nine, that's ridiculous," said defensive end George Selvie, held without a sack for the third time in three games against Rutgers. "I can't explain what's going on. We've got talent out of this world. We just need to pull together and play together."

SPARSE: USF's losing streak has taken a toll on its following as well -- playing their first home game in a month, the Bulls drew a season-low announced crowd of 47,216, smaller than USF's opener against Tennessee-Martin. The actual attendance, according to the Tampa Sports Authority, was 33,484.

STILL HURTING: Several key players remain in question for Sunday's final home game against Connecticut. Starting cornerback Quenton Washington (back) and running back Jamar Taylor (ankle) didn't dress, and running back Mike Ford didn't return after testing his ankle on a single carry. Starting right tackle Jake Sims left with an ankle injury and did not return.

Comments

[Anthony]

cry baby ... wahhh wahhhh wahhhhhh

[LBusDoor90]

Man up, dude.

This is college football. RU's poor start necessitates "style points" now. In the case of very possible 4 or 5-way ties at the top of the BE this year, the Orange goes to the highest BCS-ranked team. We won't get anything but abuse for pounding Army next week and no respect value to blowout a likely demoralized L'ville team to close.

Didn't you have this kind of motivation this year after what you all claimed was a controversial win last year?

[RUBeatU-Again]

LOL - yeah, "circle" us on your schedule (like you've done the last 2 years), have a "players only" meeting, and "remember" us (not)running up the score on you. Give me a break. Why don't you tell your coach to recruit some actual STUDENT athletes, instead of thugs who commit stupid penalty after stupid penalty, and make dumb plays left and right, instead of crying like a little girl. LOL!!

[Terry Lucas]

More like controversial robbery last year. This year, you just whipped our collective tails. Enjoy the win. Our team needs to figure out if they are still playing for pride or if they have cashed it in already. I don't blame Schiano for trying to run it up... what comes around goes around though. This series will definitely get uglier in the near future... Take my word for it.

Greg Auman... nice work on bringing the question up to Carlton Williams. I'm glad some of us old school guys weren't the only ones to realize RU was attempting to pile it on.

Selvie did have one sack on Teel.He beat Davis ,just once,and nailed our QB.After we beat them AGAIN up at RUTGERS they can remember that one until we beat them AGAIN in 2010 down in TAMPA.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Dude - give me a break. I have never understood the "they kept throwing on us."

This is football. You practice all year. Is it their fault we suck?? I say you hang 100 on your opponent. Its your fault to stop them. Just like we hung 62 on UCF... Rutgers has every right to hang 55 on us.

Man up bro. This isn't pop warner

[Paul]

"Piling on" is irrelevant in college football. Teams have to score as much as possible due to the rankings system. Change that first, and then complain about unnecessary points.

[Terry Lucas]

Ari... I'd be running it up too if I was winning. At the same token, if I'm on the other side of the fence and leaving everything on the field and they are still running it up, I will definitely take the pride and taking a cheap shot. In Pop Warner, the kids might not know any better. In real life, you back me in a corner, I'm coming out swinging!

[BoogieKnight]

Yeah, on the 93 yard TD Teel hit Britt on the 40 yard line and Britt took it the rest of the 60 yards. Where was the rest of the USF D for the last 60 yards of that play?

And Carlton Williams is crying that Rutgers' second throw was on a third-and-9 play for a 10-yard gain? It's our job to keep possession of the ball and keep chewing up the clock. And RU ran the ball on our final eight plays, scoring on a run by freshman Joe Martinek with 3:32 to play. Where was your D in stopping our run game at the end?

What do you expect - that we shouldn't run the ball and we shouldn't pass the ball either? Maybe just hand it over to USF? This ain't flag football where the team with the lower score automatically gets the ball!

[Tom]

We need all the motivation we can get for every game apparently.

Schiano should have called a couple of timeouts in the game's final minute.

[Hey Grothe]

I hope you liked that....

[Reliabull]

I don't blame Rutgers one bit. If you don't like it, do something about it instead of languishing in the cellar.

[Al]

Quit whining Carlton...if anyone should be whining its the Bulls donors/ticket holders...the people paying for your schollies...the people who still come to the games and put up with the team's sheety play. The Bulls have become the joke of BCS football in Florida.

[Al]

Quit whining Carlton...if anyone should be whining its the Bulls donors/ticket holders...the people paying for your schollies...the people who still come to the games and put up with the team's sheety play. The Bulls have become the joke of BCS football in Florida.

[RR]

Pathetic. Just pathetic.

Rutgers is supposed to put in their fourth team and kneel on the ball just so our players can hold onto some shred of what little self esteem they have left?

Ridiculous.

Are we playing powderpuff here or BCS-level college football. I was already ticked about this season, now this? We have players and fans crying about how much it hurt our fragile psyches to see Rutgers scoring at will.

We should change our name to the USF Heifers for the rest of this season. I'm so sick of this.

[Ken]

The computer rankings that go into the BCS calculations are based on W-L records, not margins of victory.

[Kathy]

Decent coaches take out the starters when the game is out of hand.

[RR]

Yeah.....it's obvious Schiano isn't a "decent coach."

His teams have whipped Leavitt's more talent-laden teams' tails three years in a row now.

So Kathy.....if Schiano isn't even a "decent coach," what would that make Leavitt?

[Al]

Greg please ask Carlton Williams, why was it ok for Matt Grothe to throw for another touchdown against UCF when the Bulls were already leading by 26 points(36-100)in the 3rd quarter to run the score up to 43-10? Why with a 43 point lead did USF continue throw long (75 yds w/5+ min and 28 yds w/2 min left) in the game against the UCF Knights defense and run the score up to 64-12?

[lmiusf]

The offense's job is to score as many points as possible. The defense's job is to try and stop them. Their O scored on our D at will. I will say that Carlton did have a couple INT's so he was atleast trying, but please don't whine to the media about them scoring on you.

[dominator]

Maybe you should circle the Rutgers game on your calendars again.

[mikebeau]

its too bad you didnt have a bad taste in your mouth from last years game

[G.A.]

Al, we certainly pointed out last season that USF had continued to throw against UCF long after the game was well in hand. The last few touchdowns were with backups in the game, but that was much more of a "running up the score" situation than anything Rutgers did.

[702JV]

Terry Lucas, 28 points huh lol, dont avoid your game call!!! I am with you but acknowledge it lol

[Terry Lucas]

Yep... Missed the boat on this one big time. Seniors called a meeting. Big kumbaya session. Then the news reports come out that USF has the best week of practice in how long? On top of that, we're playing at home after laying an egg. Finally, we have the revenge factor against RU from last season's game. This equated to a four TD blowout... unfortunately, I typed in the wrong school initials when posting.

[Mike Lakeland]

I'll give it to Rutgers - they beat us soundly, unlike the past two years. Props to them.

Schiano is still a schmuck.

[Don G]

After this last loss, I checked the records of the other former C-USA teams that moved to BE in 2005 with USF: Louisville & Cincinnati. I found the comparison very interesting. Since all 3 teams started BE play, here's their records: Louisville (32-15/15-11), Cincinnati (30-17/14-12) and USF (30-18/13-13). Although I've been a huge critic of Leavitt's coaching, based on this research, USF hasn't done that badly when compared to L'ville & Cincy - 2 teams that have been playing 1-A ball for longer time than the Bulls. This info is just for perspective sake as we further debate Leavitt's record & skills as a 1-A coach. I still think USF's 8-8 conference record in 2-yrs at C-USA & current 13-13 in BE is not laudable, but maybe we should give Leavitt thru the 2010 season (nxt yr is a rebuilding yr) before we ask for his head? After 2010 and it's the same, then all bets are off and even most ardent Leavitt supporters would have to agree on his departure.

[Tom]

Kathy, A 26 point lead with 9 minutes left does not mean the game is out of hand. Maybe it is with 2-3 minutes left, but certainly not 9. Example, LSU scores 30 points in the 4th Qtr Saturday night. Why don't our DB's just learn to wrap up tackles?

[Tad]

Wow, where have all these "RU" fans been for the past 12 weeks? Its a good thing Rutgers won, b/c that way Teel doesn't have to sucker punch his WRs!

Go Bulls!

[Tad]

What's with these "thug" comments? Who exactly is a "thug"? I'll admit that attention was paid in the past to bad behavior , but I can't recall any occurance this year?
To Don G. Before you call out CJL, remember that he has taken USF this far. If you think that this is as far as he can take us, then who do you think can do a better job? Its easy to complain when you don't have any answers. Sincerely, ardent fan.

[Bull Daly]

If it was not for Williams' two INTs against Rutgers , the score would have been much worse. Carlton played the best he could, but it was too bad some of his teammates looked lost out there once again. Well, it would also help if USF didnt turn the damn ball over 6 times. That had to make our defense tired just by running on and off the field all day. I blame the offense again for this beat down.

[James Wilson]

Carlton Williams was just letting his anger out. He wasn't really thinking when he got on Rutgers for throwing late in the game.

After an 1-5 start Rutgers needed style points to get noticed for a bowl game. In their position the Bulls would have done the same thing.

Schiano has done an excellent job bringing this team to 5-5 with 4 straight wins in conference. He is one heck of a good coach.

Williams says the Bulls' pride was hurt and he's asking for revenge next year. As a Bulls' fan I think the team should forget pride and revenge and just get back to playing hard nose football again.

From what I've seen this season the Bulls are just not up to Big East standards as a team. They read the papers and believe all the hype. Games aren't won on paper and they sure aren't won by talking. Games are won on the field of play by players who have their feet on the ground and a correct perception of their opponent.

Rutgers is a lot better team than USF, period, end of story. USF needs to work on getting better naturally with a lot of hard work and quit running their mouths.

[RR]

So, are we going to still be using the ol' "only been playing D-1 football for ____ years" when we've been playing for 100 years and everyone else has been playing for 200+ years?

Enough with that nancy-boy rubbish.

[HERBan Cryer]

I have no problem with what Rutgers did

[Steve Spurrier circa 1994]

"A 26 point lead with 9 minutes left does not mean the game is out of hand. "

I totally concur!

[USFisawannabeprogram]

Stop trying to thing USF is more that a good I-AA program. Less than 35,000 in the stands while offering $10 tickets! Too bad it is impossible to recruit players with lower SAT scores than they already do. GO COMMUTER U!

[Nick Saban]

Hey, Jim...

Please don't leave USF. If you don, I fear for my job here at Alabama. Your recent coaching exploits have shown what a solid head coach you are that if you leave USF, I'm sure I'll be out a job.

[Rick B]

The reason you throw the ball long at the 7 yard line is if it is intercepted, it is like a punt. USF had 8 guys on the line anticpating a run, throwing long is the safest play. It was what the defense gave us.

[bjb]

Carlton Williams should be in the cheerleading section, rather than on the field...anyone at the game can testify that Williams was the first person to try and get the crowd involved jumping around like a jungle bunny, and waving his arms... problem is: he does NOT tackle, defend, or catch. In a season where USF has had to replace 2 NFL-caliber cornerbacks...I would attack williams every play if I were the opposing team. He is SO soft it is amazing that he even plays...We got our butts stomped by rutgers...you got a problem with the way they score? try to STOP them once in a while and you wont have that problem...

Tad thank you for posting the "thug" comment. If that recruit's father thinks the Bulls are thugs he better do some more research in a lot of areas, this team is far from thugs. Matter of fact most of them and their parents are class acts. I've been thinking a few thugs might help us right now. There have not been off the field problems since 3 years ago when Jenkins got in trouble, and Mike Jenkins was definitely not a thug then or now. As for those I have seen posting that they won't come to another game they are not fans. These are the bandwagon fans-make me feel good about myself kind of fans. I wonder if they will stay home from their own children's games when they aren't winning. A true fan like family is there through good and bad. It will be sad to see the stands so empty on senior day this Sunday in front of a national tv crowd. I bet the announcers will be noticing this-the media already calls our fans fickle. There are some obvious problems from the top down, but if you are a Bulls fan you will be out supporting them instead of bashing them.

[Bull Daly]

I will be supporting this team. If the 2004 didnt run me off then nothing will. I had fun watching those 11am kick off times agains Memphis and Pitt while we just tanked those games. Still had fun though.

[Bull Daly]

And to the people calling USF thugs, they dont know what they are talking about. I seem to recall reading about a bunch of thugs up in Tally and Gainesville the past few years. At least our players are staying out of trouble unlike what we can say about both UF and FSU.

[Al]

Year - BE Record - Coach(Season)- Bowl

Cincinnati:
2008 4-1 Kelly (2nd)
2007 4-3 Kelly (1st) PJs.com W
2006 4-3 Dantonio (3rd) Intl W
2005 2-5 Dantonio (2nd)

Louisville:
2008 1-4 Kragthorpe (2nd)
2007 2-5 Kragthorpe (1st) DNP
2006 6-1 Petrino (4th) Orange W
2005 5-2 Petrino (3rd) Gator L

USF:
2008 1-4 Leavitt (12th)
2007 4-3 Leavitt (11th) Sun L
2006 4-3 Leavitt (10th) PJs.com W
2005 4-3 Leavitt (9th) Meineke L

[Al]

Although I've been a huge critic of Leavitt's coaching, based on this research, USF hasn't done that badly when compared to L'ville & Cincy - 2 teams that have been playing 1-A ball for longer time than the Bulls. This info is just for perspective sake as we further debate Leavitt's record & skills as a 1-A coach. I still think USF's 8-8 conference record in 2-yrs at C-USA & current 13-13 in BE is not laudable, but maybe we should give Leavitt thru the 2010 season (nxt yr is a rebuilding yr) before we ask for his head? After 2010 and it's the same, then all bets are off and even most ardent Leavitt supporters would have to agree on his departure.

Posted by: Don G | November 17, 2008 at 08:50 AM

Next year is a "rebuilding year"? What was last year and the year before that, and the year before that?

How many players are currently playing on UofL and UC that were there before Jim Leavitt has been coaching the team?

Unlike Brian Kelly, Mark Dantonio, Steve Kragthorpe and Bobby Petrino...Jim Leavitt has been responsible for picking every player on his roster and every coach on his staff. People want to blame the OC, well okay, but is the guy who hired him and promoted him. He's paid mega bucks to manage the team and he alone is to blame for the results we are seeing on the field. He has never to my knowledge fired a single assistant coach. He's the guy who hired and promoted our previous OC Rod Smith, who probably would still be here if Rich Rod didn't do us a favor and hire him away from the Jim.

Jim shouldn't be fired, but he should be asked to resign at the end of the season or be fired after next season if he can't put a better product on the field in the BE.

[Don G]

To Don G. Before you call out CJL, remember that he has taken USF this far. If you think that this is as far as he can take us, then who do you think can do a better job? Its easy to complain when you don't have any answers. Sincerely, ardent fan.

Tad: your statement above is lacking rational analysis, with all due respect. Are you saying that someone else could not have taken USF from inception to a 1-A school? Shortly after decision to start football program, USF's plan was to move into 1-A - same as Western KY which moves into 1-A Sun Belt next yr. I guess they have a "special" coach as well? I've never asked for Leavitt to be fired after this season. I understand his contract and USF's financial limitations in paying out his contract till 2014, so that's not an option for them. My comments deal with my frustration on why USF gave an average coach (8-8 in C-USA and 13-13 in Big East) a huge contract extension? You asked me who could we get to replace Leavitt, well, that's a fairly sophomoric question, so I guess I can give you a simple answer: since USF is ranked 54th in BCS Poll, I guess any head coach of a team ranked 53rd or higher. There's 120 teams in 1-A, so being ranked at the middle I guess is laudable to you? Coaches to replace Leavitt, probably 2 or 3 at least from the MAC (my pick: Brady Hoke of Ball St), Chris Peterson of Boise St (from the WAC), Kyle Whittingham (Utah) and gary Patterson (TCU) both from the Mnt West Conf. Tad, I just gave you 4 coaches from non-BCS schools that might like to coach a BCS team. I suggest you rethink your comments/questions and then look at Leavitt's record as a 1-A coach. I'll be at UCONN game this Sunday & hope Bulls win, but I don't have to like Leavitt to be an "ardent fan." USF will lose 15 starters after this season. Next year has to be a rebuilding year no matter how you look at it. Bulls get NMT 5-wins next year & 4 of those will be Wofford, W.KY, FIU, & Indiana. Woo hoo!

[Don G]

This team seems to play with too much emotional ups & downs. Since college football is dominated by "momentum," if an undisciplined team gets down emotionally, they'll stay down and not be able to make a comeback. Without discipline, intestinal fortitude & yes, character, a team without those qualities will not be more than a mediocre team. BTW, I have not said so nor do I see any "thugs" on this team. However, there's a big difference between being a thug & being "ghetto." One is a person who's a criminal or acts out like one, while acting "ghetto is simply someone or players who act classless, immature, uneducated, undisciplined, self-centered, and is/are emotionally driven and do not play team ball. Last year (more so then than this year) and one time this year, I saw several USF players on sidelines acting up with fans like highschool players. Not only were they not engaged and paying attention to the game & staying focused, they were distracted like undisciplined "ghetto," neighborhood, sandlot players. That's the point that this dad of recruit was trying to discribe to me I believe. I don't know for sure if we can place that ghetto title on USF, but if those few occasions I described above are happening fairly often, then there's a problem. I haven't seen "thugery" going on, but if undisciplined behavior is tolerated, then it's a sign that the coaches are not instilling basic discipline & class on this team. Based on what I saw Saturday, the Bulls players simply gave up after that final Rutger's score shortly before halftime. USF came out in second half unprepared and emotionally already beaten. Not the sign of a well-disciplined team. Who's fault is that? Maybe it has to do with lack of real leadership & the proper discipline; and I mean not just the misplaced and ill-timed discipline we've heard about. Hold people to a high standard, and you'll be surprised at what they can produce. With that said, those fumbles and INTs were not the fault of the coaches; that's on the players, period. OC Gregory did call plays that resulted in long drives, but they simply ended by turnovers or penalties. The offense produced 404 yds - which is pretty good production in college football. However, USF's red zone offense is simply terrible! That falls on the OC for sure! BTW, all this time I've been very harsh about OC Gregory, but without those fumbles, INTs and some of those penalties, USF would have put up 500 yds of offense! So, while I'm one of Leavitt and Gregory's biggest critics, I think we should at least attempt to be fair. That's why I said maybe we need to wait till after 2010 season b-4 making our final decision on Leavitt - that is, if this year ends with one more victory. That way, everyone (coaches, players, & fans) can concentrate on continuing to build this program, add more support, and enhance recruiting for future. Leavitt's contract is just too big for USF to suck up, so what's our choice? Next year, USF will be full of inexperienced sophs and jrs, and as such, it must be seen as a rebuilding year - plain & simple. So, if you expect 8-wins next year, forget it! After 2010 season, one that'll be heavy with jrs & seniors and a quality QB (Daniels), USF should be at their peak to challenge for a BEC title. Depending on 2010 results, it'll be clear to all about Leavitt's abilities. For this yr, we get one more win, we're in a bowl, but we're still an average team. We end with two wins (8-4), then we'll all need to rethink our analysis about Leavitt & gang - that's including myself!

[RR]

When your comment is longer than the article you're commenting on, it's time to take a break.

[Stephen]

Funny, when usf beats UCF 62-12 and was throwing in the fourth quarter, it was UCF's fault that they could not stop usf. Now the same thing happens to usf and now you see fans like Terry Lucas crying, how entertaining.

You were right Terry, what comes around, goes around and it has come around for usf. usf has been living on borrowed time with their hardship tranfers and questionable running of the football program.

Terry you are right again, it will get worse for usf.

[Don G]

RR, gotcha ya. Sorry for length. Due to various previous comments, I got on a roll to explain my earlier posts & opinions. Just wanted to make myself clear for further blogging.