DOUBLE CONFERENCE CHAOS! WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR USF?

The Bulls' 70-17 bulldozing of A&M last night came at a time that some USF fans could have used some kind of good football news. Earlier that day it had become apparent that Syracuse and Pittsburgh had been silent all this time and just submitted applications to join the ACC. Weeks of speculation about the Big XII conference members in trouble had sort of distracted the media from the fact that the Big East was still an unstable mess. Mentions of West Virginia to the SEC being the next domino to fall started talks among Big East fans about what would happen to them if the conference rifted. At the beginning of the month, some may recall, I drew up what a collection of four 16-team superconferences could look like. I didn't want to be right, but it's looking more and more like a possibility, and USF is one of those teams in limbo that doesn't have a definite home. I imagine the conversation between Doug Woolard and Judy Genshaft looked something like this:

So where exactly does this leave us?

Thoughts on Big East Conference Shake up

Will the Big East survive this shake up?

By now we have all heard the news with Pitt and Syracuse making it official they are heading to the ACC as the conference announced they have accepted them. Now we are not certain when the two teams will head out and move into the ACC, it could happen next season, there is a 27 month waiting period, but this will be negotiated and the monetary buyout won't affect the move.

Well It's Official, Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC

(From ESPN) As we all heard yesterday, Syracuse University and Univeirsty of Pittsburgh, the flagships of the Big East Conference had applied for membership into the Atlantic Coastal Conference. The ACC Council of Presidents voted on both member's candidacy last night and have announced this morning the unanimous decision to accept both Syracuse and Pitt's application into the ACC expanding its current membership to 14 schools. The time frame for transitions has yet to be announced, but more information will be released by the ACC when they hold a media conference today at 9:30 AM EST.

Top 10 Moments of 2010 Season: Number 8

Number 8: Lindsey Lamar's 94-yard kickoff return vs. Syracuse

In a game that had very few highlights, Lindsey Lamar's kickoff return in the 3rd quarter provided a short burst of hope that USF's Homecoming Game could be salvaged.

USF had gone into the half tied with Syracuse, 3-3. That's right, Syracuse. The same team who USF had made a mockery of every year since joining the Big East. Both teams' offenses looked awful all day, and halftime couldn't come soon enough. Out of the gate in the second half, Syracuse ended an 11-play, 49 yard drive with a 41-yard field goal by Ross Krautman to go up 6-3.

USF prepared for the ensuing kickoff, needing excellent field position because the offense wasn't going to win this one on their own. They needed all the help they could get, and with the defense doing a good job so far just holding the Orange to just two field goals, just a spark might do it for the Bulls. Krautman booted the ball to USF, where Lindsey Lamar took it in at the 6 yard line. Fullback Richard Kelly led the way with a block that opened a gaping hole in the coverage, which turned out to be all the elusive Lamar needed. After weaving through the first line of defense, all he had to do was beat the kicker, which proved to be no task for the track star. Lamar trotted into the end zone for the first touchdown of the day, and for a brief moment USF looked like they would be able to hold off Syracuse once again.

After the game, when asked about his return, the humble Lamar didn't credit his performance with the momentum shift that it provided:

"It's extremely disappointing — it doesn't matter, because we lost"

The game itself was certainly lacking highlights, but Lamar gave Bulls fans a reason to stand up and cheer for as brief a moment as it was.

End of Spring Top 25

With the conclusion of spring practices last weekend, we fans have a long summer of anticipation ahead of us with no football talk until summer practices begin. I spent last summer on the couch every day looking for recruiting news and waiting for ESPN to start talking college football. Take my advice: don't do that. Sure, you'll be well-informed and know pretty much everything there is to know around the world of college football, but you'll lose your mind with the anticipation of football season. Of course, there are just 112 days until USF kicks off in South Bend, but if I don't learn to be patient, I don't think I'll even make it to September 3rd. The best way we here at TBR had to cope with the suffering of waiting was to compose our own Top 25. By the beginning of the season we're going to have input from bloggers all around the Big East, but for now we're going solo. So, without any more delay, check out where we placed the Top 25 teams in the nation after the jump.