USF's Grothe: 'We still have plenty of goals'

Couple of links to get out this morning, starting with a feature from FanHouse on USF quarterback Matt Grothe, who talks about the commitment players have made this summer and how it could help the Bulls this fall.

"Honestly, I think this is the best summer we've had as a team. We've been so close, but our goal is to win the Big East. I believed we really had a good chance last year but certain things didn't go our way. But you can't make excuses or worry about last year. We are going to try our best this year. We've really been putting in the time this summer to help accomplish that goal."

-- ESPN.com blogger Brian Bennett ranks his favorite Big East stadiums and puts Raymond James Stadium No. 3, just behind Cincy's Nippert Stadium.

-- Times columnist Gary Shelton looks at the top 10 awards won by Tampa area athletes, with USF's Lee Roy Selmon taking the top of the list for his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

-- Thesportsdebates.com debates whether the Big East belongs in the BCS or not. Cue the comments ...

-- This is old, but I don't think I've posted a link -- here's the Miami Herald's top 100 football recruits in the state for 2010. USF has two commitments on the list -- quarterback Brion Carnes is No. 79 and running back Tiger Powell is No. 83.

Comments

[Mr. Snrub]

Grothe's the man!

[Bull Daly]

DELdaBull,

I dont want to be nit picking, but you really should have the BEAST as a 3-1 in BCS games since USF, UL, and Cincy joined the conference. That year that Pitt made it should not count since Pitt had an easier path to get to the BCS game. I believe UL would have won the BIG EAST that year if they were allowed to join earlier. And, I would have loved to see a ULvsUtah match up in the BCS game.

[DELdaBULL]

Got me thinking. Since restructuring (04-05 season):
BEAST: 3-2
SEC: 6-2
PAC 10: 4-1
10(1): 2-7
ACC: 1-4
B12: 3-4
MWC: 1-0
WAC: 1-1
In the Pac only USC has represented them.
10(1) Is just as bad as the ACC.
Ranking the 6 BCS conferences by winning percentage BEAST is 3 out of 6. Add the non members they fall to 4 out of 8. Again they continue to hold their own.

[Joe]

DELdaBULL, I think the facts are solid all the way around, on both sides.

I agree that the ACC is suspect, and I hope that website debates that, too, at some point. Something that's hurt them is a team like Clemson. Clemson always has these lofty expectations and then plays like trash when the season starts. Wake Forest hasn't played the role of "dominant team" very well, and neither has VT, though they've been the closest. FSU's BCS appearance a few years ago was a miracle since they backed in. They fall victim to the "what have you done for me lately" football fan, too.

[DELdaBULL]

Thanks Joe. I was just following the lead of the writer. If you want a break down of as is, please just ask.
Sanjay, thanks for the back up.
The funny thing is when you give the facts people still try to find a way to dismiss it.
Fact ACC is suspect.
Fact S EC does the best in the BCS games.
Fact Big 10(1) record in BCS games does not warrant 8 at large appearances.
Fact BEAST, 12 and 10(1) are basically the same league except the BEAST has not had as many chances. Why? Because the teams as they are comprised don't have as much "tradition".
There is nothing the could do about that until one team goes 12-0 (please be USF) and another goes 11-1.

[Sanjay]

Well if we're taking out Miami's 3 wins, then take out VT's loss to FSU and Miami's loss to Ohio State also. 3-3.

[Joe]

DELdaBULL, nice research. Certainly seems like the ACC is worthy of another debate. Still, only 11 appearances in the BCS? No at-large bids? That's rough. Plus, 3 of those 6 BEAST wins belong to Miami. So, the CURRENT BEAST is just 3-5.

[David Weber]

The auto-bid debate should start and end with the numbers. The Big East has more than held its own with every other BCS conference, especially against the SEC and ACC. The bowl record from the past several years indicates that the Big East is lightyears ahead of the non-BCS conferences (the lineups aren't great, but they do show that the Big East is dominant over the other conferences). Finally, considering overall strength of each member, the Big East has 6 legitimate bowl contenders and another team that was in the top ten just 3 years ago and should be considered a serious threat to return to prominence (Louisville). The only consistently weak program in the new Big East is Syracuse, which has one of the proudest traditions in college football (though I think if 'Cuse rises, it'll be at the expense of Rutgers and UCONN in recruiting).

The MWC and WAC have some very good teams at the top. But on a neutral field, I'd take WVU over all of them, because I don't see Boise St., Utah, or BYU sticking with WVU's offensive speed and I don't see TCU moving the ball on WVU. Those four non-BCS powers would be a threat to finish in the top half of the conference, but that would be the case in every conference except the SEC. Further, the bottoms of the MWC and WAC are absolutely dreadful- Syracuse could run the table on them.

From a historical standpoint, which is important to some, but not me (because it is irrelevant to the recent and future performance of the team), Pitt and Syracuse are incredibly valuable to NCAA history. WVU doesn't have a national championship, but it's own history is extremely impressive. Louisville has had some great runs, with Johnny Unitas and then under Howard Schnellenberger. I don't see how replacing those schools with New Mexico St. would raise the intrigue of a non-partisan viewer.

From a non-football standpoint, it's just silly to remove the NYC, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Cincinnatti, Louisville, and Boston (through UCONN) television markets in order to gain Salt Lake, Boise, Fresno, Waco, and Albuquerque markets. I don't see ESPN jumping for joy over that type of move. Money is a serious deal in the NCAA, and the Big East can provide a heck of a lot more.

Basically, the Big East has bigger fanbases and has 6 well-developed programs, and two that are developing quite impressively (that'd be UCONN and USF). No non-BCS conference can come close to matching the overall prestige of the Big East. But more importantly, no non-BCS conference can come close to matching the recent on-field performance of the Big East in total. That would be a reference to the Big East's far superior OOC record, superior record against OOC BCS teams, unmatchable bowl record, number of players per school drafted by the NFL, and of course, performance in BCS bowl games. I'm using the last 4 years as my frame of reference. Utah, BYU, Boise, Fresno, Hawaii, and TCU have all had very impressive seasons in that time frame. But at the same time, the conferences that they represent have been extremely weak. I doubt any of those schools could have gone undefeated in any BCS conference. Just because a few schools have matched one Big East school (and really, WVU had a much tougher schedule than any of those unbeatens, so it's not fair to say that Boise matched WVU) doesn't mean that the entire conference should get to replace the Big East.

In an ideal world, those schools would be able to join the Big 12 and Pac-10 at the expense of lowly programs like Iowa St and Washington St.

I thought that the Big East had done enough over the past 4 years to end this non-sense, but apparently, one BCS bowl loss replaces 3 wins, while two good schools in one conference is more important than 6 in the other one.

[DELdaBULL]

Some more information about the BCS:
BEAST 6-5
SECOND (aka the standard bearers): 12-5
Pac 10: 9-4
Big 10(1): 8-11
ACC: 2-9
Big 12: 7-9
MWC: 2-0
WAC: 1-1
Say what you want, but by the numbers the BEAST are holding their own.

[Loyal Homer]

Guys, we appreciate the comments and feedback about our debate. Don't take it personal!

Question for you guys...do you guys feel seperated from the Big East in that you are seperated logistically from the other teams? Is it hard for you to develop a big conference rivalry as a fan? I myself live in Georgia, and though I'm not a UGA fan, I love the SEC and the rivalries that develop in the conference. That's helped by the close proximity of some of the teams.

Keep checking out our blog guys! And feel free to comment on it as well! It's www.thesportsdebates.com

[Bull Daly]

Joe,

I agree with you that the BIG EAST needs a dominant team real soon. WVU held the BIG EAST flag long enough to save the BCS bid in my opinion. The BCS wins over Georgia and Oklahoma did wonders for the BIG EAST. UL was doing pretty good until their coach left for the NFL. I believe USF needs to step up soon to help the BIG EAST. I thought we were on our way a few years ago, but the lack of depth caught up to us. If USF can put anything together like Miami did when they were in the BIG EAST then you will see this conference getting more respect. Right now, the BIG EAST has 6 teams out of 8 that can beat each other in any given week. A lot of parity in the BIG EAST right now, so hopefully USF breaks out on top to carry the flag.

[Bull Daly]

I had a feeling that the stadium rankings would come out sooner or later during this off season. I had RJS ranked #4, but I could see RJS ranked higher when you look back at the games against Kansas, UNC, and WVU. I remember when UNC's QB could not call a play because the student section was too loud.

[Joe]

CR, I agree the ACC should be called into question, too. Makes perfect sense to me.

[Joe]

DELdaBULL did you read their "verdict" though? The author demonstrated the "above average" is due in large part to Miami, which isn't even a Big East school anymore. Since the ACC gutted the Big East (which totally sucked) the Big East is a shell of its former self and needs a dominate team to regain respect. That's not just last year, that's since the ACC did its thing.

[CR]

Well Joe
The reality is that the Big East in that time period is higher than ACC in two out of the three BCS criteria and higher than the pacTen in the other. The ACC champ FINALLY won a BCS bowl in like 10 years and yet we never hear about whether the ACC deserves their automatic bid.

[DELdaBULL]

Being above average when playing the best of the best is all one could ask for. That ACC victory was there first since FSU won in 2000. What a waste of a poll/article. People just don't like the BEAST. We had a bad 2008-09. So what?

[Joe]

Just because they've met the BCS requirements doesn't mean the BCS requirements are good. The requirements are structured to maintain interest in the important Big East TV markets. It has nothing to do with quality. If it did, the Big East would be in real trouble.

[CR]

Pretty weak debate if you ask me. The reality is that the Big East has met over a 4 year period every requirement needed for BCS automatic bid. The MWC had a great last year but it still is behind Big East in that 4-year period.