3 straight losses. The Bulls started the season with 4 wins, all impressive on their own, but there were signs that trouble was coming. The defense gave up a lot of yardage against Notre Dame and the offense had issues starting with the UTEP game, but they still won. Now that they have hit the Big East schedule, the issues have become full blown problems and the same old October collapse is happening again.
It seems every October, USF football does this, meltdown. Every year, the team starts the season out well, notching wins over weaker opponents and getting the optimism of the fans up, but as soon as October and conference play begin, the team loses heartbreaking games, some by wide margins others by close calls that just don't go their way.
Why does this happen? It is the opponents? Pitt beat USF down, no question about that game. But after that, Pitt has played like garbage, so maybe USF just wasn't ready for that game. Is it the Thursday night curse (have never won on Thursday of course), the short week, or simply being outplayed by someone? Whatever it was, the team has not responded. The loss to UCONN was beyond frustrating to watch. The offense couldn't find its way and came out with excuses afterwards. The penalties were bad and contributed to the loss, but low humidity was the reason we couldn't throw the ball? Come on. Maybe the reason for the bad offense was the playcalling and execution of the players, not the weather. The defense played well and gave the fans some hope that the team could put it together.
Then there is the Cincinnati game. This game was just painful. The penalities were bad and led to the loss. The offense had bad plays, especially at the end of the first half, but it was the defense that failed to hold up in that last drive. Collaros was able to lead the Bearcats all the way down the field with little resistance and lost the game. That might have been one of the toughest games to watch happen, seeing the team slip in the last seconds.
Fans are angry. It seems every year, the team does this, starts fast and falls apart and finishes 8-5. The Bulls have not made a leap yet. They have not taken their play to the next level, the level that would allow them to adjust and win games like these, games that would give them a ranking and put them in a conference race, instead, they sit in the basement. This bye week will be a tough one. The team will have to sit with this loss for two weeks before hitting the road against a Rutgers team that will look to beat them down. Can they respond? We will have to wait and see.
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