They are jacked up in Denton, TX. Really stoked. The president of North Texas cancelled afternoon classes Friday so people could take part in the festivities leading up to the game.
This is big for the Mean Green, maybe the biggest thing to ever happen to its football program, because USF is coming to town. Yeah, you got that right. USF, as in the University of South Florida.
USF, which three years ago was an American Conference door mat, has now reached a point under Alex Golesh where teams like North Texas, which admittedly has had very limited success over the years, now regard a chance to play the Bulls as a chance to make a statement.
In Denton, with North Texas at 5-0 and dreaming of – dare we say it – a shot at the College Football Playoffs, this is critical. This is a chance, as they see it, to define their season, define their program, to prove that they belong. There’s never been anything like this around here.
“Our guys have earned the right to play in a big, meaningful game and now we’ve just got to capture the moment,” North Texas Coach Eric Morris said this week according to the North Texas football website.
“This is a really good football team that’s coming to our place on a Friday night to play in a national TV game,” Morris continued. “I think that strikes a lot of buzz for everybody around the nation.”
Well, let’s not over do it. It’ll draw eyeballs because there’s not much else to watch, although the baseball playoffs are going on. But it says something about these two programs, and particularly South Florida, about how difficult it is for any Group of Five team to climb the college football mountain.
Despite that fact that it beat perennial Group of Five power Boise State, despite the fact that it beat a solid Florida team in Gainesville, something Texas, which was supposed to be the best team in the SEC, couldn’t do; despite the fact it went toe-to-toe with Miami for a half, and Miami might be the best team in the country; and despite the fact the Bulls are ranked 24th in the nation by the AP, they really get little respect outside of Denton, TX, and a few places like that.
Sure, they’ve probably gotten more national attention than any USF team in history, and that includes the 2007 Bulls which were, at one time, ranked No. 2 in the nation, and sure, Golesh and stud quarterback Byrum Brown have been interviewed on national TV, but attention doesn’t necessarily translate into respect. Want proof? The Bulls are underdogs going into Friday’s game.
Golesh, though, has more important things to worry about as he prepares the Bulls for North Texas. For one thing, he wasn’t happy about last week’s win over Charlotte, although it appeared dominating on the scoreboard. And, he says, his players were frustrated as well.
“I walked in the locker room and it was a sight of disappointment, a sight of let-down and, I thought, for us a pivotal moment in our program where you win by four touchdowns, do some phenomenal things, and, as a group, they knew we didn’t play to our potential for four quarters,” Golesh said according to USF’s football website.
“We’ve had moments throughout the season where we’ve done that and that (the Charlotte game) was not one of them,” Golesh declared. “Consistency is what we’re looking for, and I think these guys understand where we are,” he continued.
“They understand what it’s going to take and flipped the page and went right to work on North Texas. So a lot to coach off of both in execution, the mental toughness it takes to go finish an opponent earlier in the game,” Golesh remarked.
Golesh has talked all year about how this is now a player driven team, that the leadership is coming from within and not from the coaches. And that’s a good sign.
And when you pick up what looks to be a dominating win and are disappointed in it, as a player, that demonstrates the kind of mentality you need to move up and compete with elite teams. Even if it isn’t recognized nationally. Yet.
PAT’S PICKS,
USF over North Texas: Eric Morris has the Mean Green “humming,” as USF’s Alex Golesh said, but the Bulls have played and beaten better competition, and won’t be fazed by a rowdy North Texas atmosphere.
Texas A&M over Florida: If the Gators can pull this off after beating Texas, it will be a huge achievement and a big boost to their confidence. But the schedule is still like committing football suicide.
FSU over Pitt: Pittsburgh is not Miami.
Cincinnati over UCF: UCF might surprise if this were a home game, but it is not a home game.
Last week, 4-0, for the season 19-6, .760.
