With recent news taking a toll on everyone’s emotions, college football isn’t on our minds. Despite this, sports networks have already begun slinging endless barrages of statistics, and showing non-stop gameplay footage with in-depth analyses. Gamblers have already put their money on the line and football fans have already marked their territory on the living room sofa.
Every top 10 team has been guaranteed a spot in the playoffs despite playing just one or two games. Despite all of the statistics, predictions, analyses and opinions, college football is surprisingly an unpredictable sport. Sure, the storylines sound the same with teams rising and falling faster than the Roman empire, but the narratives are always different. Unless you happen to be an omnipotent deity, you don’t know what’s going to happen in every game.
Since college football is back on, some of you will want to know how our Bulls will be doing. Before I get into that however, I want to be honest with you. The hard part about discussing expectations and making predictions is that if I sound too realistic, some of you will avert your eyes and move on to the next story. The same principle applies if I sound too optimistic. So, rather than stay on the ends of either spectrum, I solemnly swear to be honest and hopeful.
USF’s record last year was 4 wins and 8 losses. This doesn’t sound good at first glance, but when you discover 2013’s record of 2 wins and 10 losses, well, you take what you can get right? Junior QB Mike White hit the road and transferred to Western Kentucky leaving sophomore QB Quinton Flowers to fill some decently sized shoes. Again, sounds really bad right? Well, it’s not.
See Mr. White was not as good as he was advertised. According to the highest authority in the land (ESPN), White only completed 50 percent of his passes and had more interceptions than touchdowns (16 to 11, respectively). White may or may not throw the offensive line under the bus for his lackluster performance, and that may be a valid claim. Although no statistics on the offensive line have been posted one can infer from the opponent’s defensive stats, mainly the total sacks (23), that the offensive line was pressured often throughout the season.
So, taking all of this into consideration, do we board Taggart’s party bus and pray to whoever is listening that we make the playoffs? The answer is not yet, but winning more games should not be unreasonable. The final record is not going to 12-0, but the win count could improve to 6 or 7 games.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were Jimbo Fisher’s Seminoles or Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. No matter how much the team practices and preaches that they’re different than they were last season, the championships won’t come until off-field issues are resolved. Taggart needs to make a name for himself, which, to his credit he is doing. The positive energy that he exudes is what the team needs, but it’s not enough. Taggart needs to sell USF as a premier destination for football players.
The recent feud between the athletic director and the president creates uncertainty to prospects and onlookers alike. Who was really in charge in that situation? The staff needs to work together in these kinds of situations, not against each other. In addition, he has to sell the Tampa area to potential prospects, and given that Tampa and Ybor City have received bad press for recent crimes, he may have his work cut out for him. Taggart is an energetic driving force, but asking him to be a coach and a salesman may be too much for him to handle.
The university’s higher ups (president, vice president, etc) need to step up to the plate and make USF a more appealing option. USF has many holes that it needs to fill before it can start eyeing championships, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot start winning more games in the meantime.
