A HECKLER’S GUIDE TO SOUTH FLORIDA

Buckle up. The American’s most storied rivalry takes center stage in primetime on Friday night as UConn travels to Tampa to face classic Big East foe South Florida.

Are you headed south to watch the Huskies? I can’t imagine you’ll have a tough time finding a ticket.

USF
Photo: Collin Sherwin (@USFCollin)

If you can’t make the trip, here’s some fodder for your yelling-at-the-TV pleasure:

First, let’s start with a history lesson. UConn and USF have done sports with each other before, and whether it’s the gridiron or the hardwood, the Bulls have done everything they can to make the world a better place by helping the Huskies win.

In 2008, it was A Dime Back favorite Craig Austrie who gave the Huskies a win and ripped the hearts out of the (theoretical) USF fan’s chest with this shot:austrie

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Two years later, USF was the opponent when Dave Teggart hit this field goal to send UConn to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.

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  • I could offer you a summary of the state of South Florida football right now, but I should really leave that to the experts. Here, upstanding citizen and Times Sports columnist Tom Jones, sums up the program just perfectly. The following stats from their game last week, pulled from the article, serves as the TL;DR version:
    • In one stretch, the Bulls had five consecutive possessions that resulted in negative yardage
    • They had a false start on a punt
    • Take out a 75-yard TD pass and the rest of USF’s offense accounted for 84 yards.
    • Then there’s this winner of a quote: “Bring your books and homework. It’s way more quiet here than the USF library on a Saturday afternoon.”
  • Cry all you want about the season UConn had last year, but USF (and Temple) went 2-10 — the only schools in the American more dreadful than the Fightin’ Pasqualonis.
  • On the basketball court, first-year head coach Orlando Antigua will lead the Bulls this year. He was an assistant on the Kentucky teams best known for losing to UConn twice in the Final Four.
  • On the alumni front, USF does have Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, so that’s not bad. After that, the school is best known for producing watermelon-smashing buffoon Gallagher. Gallagher’s greatest contribution to society was a GEICO commercial.
  • I’m all for freedom of/from religion. You want to pray to Zeus? Go ahead. Want to worship Donald Brown? Get in line. But this might be pushing it.
  • Weekly Mascot Name Shame: Rocky D. Bull. That’s just Hor I. Bull.

For more fun, search #USFYardSaleItems. Our friends at Central Florida put together quite a work of art.