The Thursday Night Complex

We’re changing the tone and pace for this topic. We’re taking the time to acknowledge and honor the USF fans who continue to stick it out behind their team year and year out despite the consistent pattern of inconsistency. Just to give a quick background USFMatt and I entered the University of South Florida as freshmen back in 2005; the very year USF joined the Big East Conference.  Even though I have since graduated I still live in the Tampa Bay area and am still very connected to USF through this site, family who are now students. After last night’s loss it is easy to jump ship, hit the panic button, and write off the team and season as a lost cause it would not be anything new. However, looking back on previous seasons we all know that this loss is a cause for concern as it has been historically the precursor to something disastrous. I’d like to take the time and open up the vault of horrible memories by sharing the history of the disaster known as USF Thursday night games through the experience of a fan and alumni who's been there since it began.

2005 and 2006 

• Our first two seasons there were actually no Thursday night games on the schedule. The 6-6 finish wasn't anything to celebrate either, but you could tell that the program was building and moving in a positive direction. In fact, they showed promise in 2006 by finishing 9-4. 

Thursday, October 18, 2007

#2 USF @ Rutgers; L 27-30

• This is where it all began. Most of us remember this one when #2 USF (or as I referred to it the five of the most glorious days during my undergrad years) after an epic streak of wins over quality opponents which included #17 Auburn and #5 West Virginia, the Bulls ventured to Piscataway, NJ to face Rutgers. It was the epic disaster that resulted in three subsequent straight losses and a spiral out of relevance and ranking ever since. I recognize this as the moment where the program was ready to establish credibility by not only showing quality wins but achieving consistency and dominating conference play. It was within reach but what they grabbed instead was the bitter taste of unfulfilled potential and the liabilities, criticisms, and questions that came with it.

Thursday October 2, 2008

#10 USF vs. Pittsburgh; L 21-26 

• So the following year many sports analysts and news had not yet written off USF. It was a season where people truly believed that the adversity and embarrassment that USF had experienced the previous year with handling success and momentum would make them stronger, wiser, better at decision making and ready to not only have success but to embrace it, own it, and begin exerting dominance of their domain. After a signature win over Kansas at home with a legendary unforgeable last second kick by a then freshman Maikon Bonani, people thought with the Achilles Heel problem for USF solved that this would be the big momentous season everyone had been hoping for. Until of course the Thursday night game of the season. Watching Pittsburgh walk off the field with that victory was gut wrenching and this lost only magnified as the subsequent losses that followed it accumulated into another disappointing season of underachieving and unfulfilled ambitions. 

Thursday, October 15, 2009

#21 USF vs. #9 Cincinnati; L 17-34 

• This one particular hurt almost as much as the first. They say that third time is the charm. With a good two to three seasons of experience at having a taste of quality victories teetering on the brink of success USF (who had pulled off that great upset at FSU) went into the sixth week of the season ranked and with five straight wins. The hype and intensity prior to this game was insane as then undefeated USF and undefeated Cincinnati were fighting on Thursday night prime time with major conference implications. This was particular painful as it was our senior year and it ended with the Bulls for the third consecutive time blowing it on national spotlight after going the first five or six games undefeated with quality wins before collapsing. It was after this third failed attempt that analysts and critics really started to write USF off as not ready to handle the big stage. 

Thursday, October 14, 2010

USF @ #25 West Virginia; L 6-20

• Interestingly enough USF was not expected to win this game. It was Skip’s first year as head coach. It was a brand new era with a brand new coach. There was not too many high expectations for what was essentially a program born again. What was tough about this game was recovering from a really upsetting unexpected loss to Syracuse at home the previous week. Combine that with that with USF’s Thursday night reputation and West Virginia hitting their stride this game was a train wreck waiting to happen. Although the Bulls were able to put together an 8-5 season this was still a significant chapter in the horror novel that is USF history of Thursday night games. 

Thursday, September 18, 2011

#14 USF @ Pittsburgh; L 17-44

• What can I say about this game except wow what in the world happened? The previous year was known as Skip Holtz first year. He came in at a time where he had little time to recruit and yet he managed to put together a team and revitalize a program by going a respectable 8-5 with a nice post-season bowl victory to complement. That is why this game truly was a catastrophe beyond belief. After opening with an impressive win at #16 Notre Dame and blowing out the other teams on their schedule in the fashion that was expected people really thought Holtz was going to put his stamp on this new era by changing the miserable history that is conference play for USF and that all came undone in front of the nation on ESPN. What was really frustrating about this game was it was the only loss where USF had been were completely blown out and manhandled. The subsequent loses (in what was probably one of the most embarrassing seasons ever) were games that were decided by 10 points or less, 3 in most of those games. Blame whoever and whatever you want for the failures of that season, but the fact remains it all spiraled down after that humiliating defeat. 

Thursday, September 14, 2012

USF vs. Rutgers; L 13-23 

• This game was literally last night. Please refer to this morning’s analysis for what happened. What else needs to be said, but once again this program, this team did not get the job done. What happens next remains to be seen. 

Why take the time and effort to share these personal stories? It is not to complain or create excuses. It is to recognize and honor those of you true USF fans who have been there and continue to support your Alma mater and or hometown team by showing solidarity, that beyond all the speculation and analysis that we do on this site that yes we as longtime fans and alumnus feel it too. We in particular on this site feel the frustration, heartache, rage, disbelief, disgust, loathing, hurt pride, and the awful taste of often unrewarded loyalty and patience. Especially with a team that is growing and trying to establish a presence that has very few dedicated fanatical voices behind it.

Most people would tell you it is a curse. It is not a curse. When it’s all said and done many analysts, coaching staffs, and athletes will view this game and say mistakes were made. Mistakes however are one time instances that can be addressed and be corrected. It is when mistakes happen again over and over; year after year that it develops into a pattern. Last night proves that when push comes to shove this program has developed a pattern of not being able to overcome adversity and dominate. Luckily, in the Big East you don’t have to run the table to win the conference. This only means that destiny is taken out of their hands and put into the hands of the outcome of certain conference games.  Even then, would fans really be satisfied with their first ever potential conference championship to be a tie? To share that bit of potential USF history with some other rival, absolutely not!  

Looking at the big picture as painful and as ludicrous as it is to say out loud, they really SHOULD NOT stop scheduling Thursday night games. That may sound insane to most USF fans, but the facts are that this issue will not go away. Even if this team were to pull it together and win the conference there will always be that lose end, that one annoying criticism that they can’t get off their back. USF cannot and should not run away from this challenge. If this program is ever going to be taken seriously they must do what the likes of big name schools did before them and that is to rise up to the challenge and win no matter what the environment and circumstances. Good talented teams can always win with favorable conditions, but the truly great teams find a way to win in spite of unfavorable conditions (i.e. weather, short week, time, venue etc.). I look forward to the day that they break this streak and end the misery cause that will only make it that much more meaningful and significant when they do. Go Bulls