Does USF Really Have a Rival?

Is UCF our rival? (and what exactly are these fans doing?)

Rival:

1. One who attempts to equal or surpass another or who pursues the same object as another.
2. One that equals or almost equals another in a particular respect.

Sports is full of rivalries. Some of the greatest games are played between two teams, two schools, two programs, that simply hate each other. From the Michigan and Ohio State hatred, to Oregon and Oregon State and the "Civil War", to the battle on Tobacco Road with Duke and North Carolina, even the nerdy kids at Harvard and Yale have an educated hatred for each other, every school has a bitter rival. But what about USF, who is our "real" rival? There are a handful of schools that USF has played over the years that get the fan's blood boiling. But is there a decisive rival out there that? Let's take a look at 3 possible rivals for USF.[keep reading]

UCF

USF and UCF fans have truly added fire to the "rival" debate between the two schools. UCF is just up the road on I-4 and seems to be the perfect location based rival for the Bulls. But the Bulls have a 4-0 record against the Knights in football and the series has been discontinued, putting an end to the "rivalry" for now. Yet, while fans all over discussion boards try to trash talk each other and say why their respective school is better, was UCF ever a rival? The schools are very close to each other and share the same recruiting turf, so there is some competition in the recruiting battle. Road trips to games would be easy for fans, but as of now, there is no movement by either USF or UCF to renew the football series. The two schools still battle each other in other sports, but there is never the same energy level as there would be in a football game.

USF seems to be looking for another in-state school to start a rivalry with. With games against FSU, UF, and Miami, USF has no plans to schedule UCF. The Knights want to get into the Big East conference, but it appears Villanova is going to shut the door on their chances, at least at the moment.

So is this there a rivalry with UCF? The fans seem to keep the fire going with the trash talking that seems to occur on a regular basis, but for the actual teams playing on the field, the rivalry doesn't seem to be there.

Rutgers

This is a interesting choice of a rival (partially due to the distance), but Rutgers is a school that seems to get the blood boiling. Rutgers has been a pain in the neck for USF especially when they were ranked #2 in the country or could have made a big run at the conference title. When USF was number 2, a road trip to New Jersey ended a dream season (all due to the "forward pass" call and terrible officiating). The USF fans, taken from many I know and talk with, simply hate Rutgers. There was some talk back and forth when Jim Leavitt was here about recruiting and Greg Schiano targeting and going to schools that usually were part of USF recruiting territory. There is no traditional rivalry between the two teams, but when Rutgers comes to town there is always a little more tension in the. Trust me, when the Bulls beat them last season here in Tampa, the stadium was a little bit louder than usual.

West Virginia

West Virginia is another northern team that always seems to pull the best out of USF. The Bulls have upset the Mountaineers on several occasions and the fans always seem to get fired up for this game. WVU does recruit a lot of Florida players, so on the field, there are plenty of old friends meeting up. USF fans can't stand WVU fans and always give them a hard time. The games are always intense, especially due to the equal speed on both teams, it always seems to be a huge game and gets everyone excited.

I asked my good friend Jim Ashley (www.hailwv.com) a die-hard Mountaineer fan if he believes there is a rivalry between the two teams and if WVU fans seems to hate USF fans.

Pretty much, the consensus is, that yeah, you guys may have beaten us a couple of times on the field, and you all do play some good football. Good for the Big East, kept the conference’s Florida presence alive. Nothing against the University of South Florida Bulls… except Matt Grothe looks like Sloth from The Goonies.

I wouldn’t go so far to call this matchup a rivalry, though.

Make sure to check out Jim's West Virginia site here.

So does USF have a rival? These are just 3 teams that seems to always cause a lot of talk and hatred when the Bulls square off against them, but is there a clear rival for USF? Is there another team out there that always gets you fired up? Let the debate begin!