After a breakout year last fall South Florida is looking to finally solidify themselves as a real contender on the national landscape. Monster wins over Auburn and West Virginia catapulted the Bulls into the top 5 and even the national championship conversation.
It may have been too soon for the young team because they completely imploded and lost three in a row to Rutgers, Cincy and UConn. They dropped out of sight and soon out of mind. That experience will be a huge factor for this team because these players know what it is like to have a target on their back. They will understand what it takes to produce every single week and not just peak for half a season.
The team is returning 16 starters this year (10 offensive, 6 defensive) which includes their All-American defensive end, George Selvie and their QB Matt Grothe. Although they have to replace their star linebacker, Ben Moffitt, and two cornerbacks, Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams.
One interesting freshman to watch is David Bedford, a potential big-time talent that chose the Bulls over West Virginia and Kansas. Their hope is that he will garner enough attention to take some heat of George Selvie on the line.
The Bulls schedule is going to be a tough one to wade through. They take on Kansas at home in the third week of the year which will be an interesting game. Kansas, like South Florida, is trying to prove that last season was no fluke. South Florida also takes on Rutgers at home late in the year and then the travel to West Virginia in the last week of the season. With the Big East emerging as a big-time conference there are no easy games in that conference. Most believe there are no clear favorites in the conference and that any team could take this conference.
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