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USF vs Delaware State Preview + What The Win Over Army Could Mean Long Term · 4th AND BULL

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right, welcome in another episode of 4th in Bowl.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: We are going to talk about Delaware State coming to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Raymond James Stadium Saturday night, 7 o'clock kickoff against 2-0 USF.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Before we get into the show, I do want to
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: remind you guys, you can stream the show on YouTube.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Make sure you are subscribed. You can see right down below,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: you can see at 4th and Bull Podcast. That's where
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: you got to subscribe on YouTube. If you don't want
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the video version, which I totally understand. I am built
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: for radio, not necessarily for TV. You want the audio
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: version only. You can subscribe to the podcast on iHeartRadio
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: and Apple Podcasts. So make sure you do so. Make
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: sure you're subscribed on all three of those. And then
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: like I always ask you guys, can't grow this thing.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: On my own. Need your help doing it. We got
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: to do it together.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Share this podcast with five USF Bulls fans. and we'll
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: continue to make this thing bigger and better each week.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: I do have a special guest that's going to join
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: us on the episode this week, going to be a
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: little bit different from the past shows. I bring in
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: TJ Reeves, who's going to be calling the game on
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: ESPN Plus this weekend.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: TJ, how the hell are you?
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: My hosting and podcast brother from another mother ready to
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: talk some USF. It is great to be with you,
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: and it's great to be on the call coming up
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: on ESPN Plus of this game. The former Temple Hall
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: of Fame quarterback Henry Burris will be with me, and
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: we will be ready to go off of, let's just say,
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: for all purposes, your show, the mood, everything off Fowler Avenue.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: That fourth down touchdown meant a whole lot to a
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: whole lot of people in terms of winning. Happy postgame.
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: Happy week this week. And we're ready to go for
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: this broadcast off of that win. And will it be
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: a win that catapults the rest of the season? So
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: I'm eager to see what happens, and I'm thrilled to
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: be with you. Thank you for the invite.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, man.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you coming on, taking the time to talk
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: USF with us. Yeah, that win was much more fun
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: than the FIU win in it. It sucks because the FIU,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: at the end of the day, they got the job done,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: but nobody was satisfied with it. The locker room wasn't
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: like a big-time celebration. I kind of like that, though,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: because it shows that the standard at USF has changed.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: The coaching staff that has come in here, they know
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: the standards have changed at USF. It's not, as Rob
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Higgins says, it's not the same old South Florida. And
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: so I like the fact that they weren't satisfied with that.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: And then they go out there against Auburn, or Auburn,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: army in week two yep and uh they get the
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: w in in dramatic fashion but for much of that
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: game though the offense they found a rhythm inside they
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: also didn't get a lot of opportunities only three possessions
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: there in the first half but the offense really didn't
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: get rolling until the end of the game when they
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: needed to score points those final two drives they moved
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: the ball at ease what do you think the identity
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: of the offense needs to be going forward because that's
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: kind of i would say just from the fan base
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: perspective and the feedback I've gotten on this show, everybody
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: wants them to open it up more. And I think
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: that's any fan base with their team, the running game,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: you know, run game.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Isn't as exciting. They want them to.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Open it up a little bit more after you saw
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: what happened at the end of that army game. Should
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: this offense be opening it up more kind of continue
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: doing what they're doing?
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: You would think they're still in progress. And so let's
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: keep a couple of things in mind, which you know,
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: but we're just going to reinforce this. Number one, that
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: was the first game that Brian Hartline had coached as
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: a head coach. And when you move that two or
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: three feet over from the assistant slot to the head
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: coach slot and you're in charge of everything now and
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: the game plan and both sides of the ball, it's
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: a little daunting the first time that you're trying to
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: go through it and even the second time that you're
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: trying to go through it. There is a school of thought,
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: I don't know how much of this happened, I don't
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: know how much of this is rationalization, that some of
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: the problems they were having on offense is they weren't
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: trying to show a whole lot. They believed they could
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: get through the FIU game and win the game and
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: not put a whole lot to show Army on tape,
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: which was a conference game on the road. Again, I
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: don't know how much I believe that. Clearly with what
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: you said, When they spread things out and go a
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: little faster, they seem to find some rhythm in the
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: second half of game two. So Van Buren can make throws.
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: You definitely have receiving weapons on this team. So I
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: wonder here, starting with Delaware State, if we don't see
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: a little more tempo, a little more downfield stuff, it
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: is a lesser opponent too. This is not a total patsy.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: We'll get into that in a few minutes. But you
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: should be able to do some things against these guys.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: It's an FCS program, and let's see if they build
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: on it.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the last that I looked, it wasn't available to
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: even bet on on Hard Rock, but I did see
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: a couple other lines had it set at 37.5. So
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: this should be one of those games where this has
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: to be the get-right game.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Like, this has to be the game where.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: At the end of it, we're satisfied with everything that
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: we see. This has to be that kind of game
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: because that's why you put these on the schedule. And
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: I never want to overlook an opponent, but I think
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: this is that opponent that you just need to hammer
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: into the ground and get every single point that you
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: can get.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: Back to something that.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: You said, though, about whether or not the offense was
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: completely opened up or were they trying to save some things.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Talking to some of the guys that I've talked to.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: On the team just from the interviews on this show,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: I feel like they kind of did open it up.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: They just couldn't get anything going. The offensive line, they're experienced.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: They're just not experienced together. They struggled. FIU's front on
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: the defensive side of things, they won a lot of
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: those battles. And I think that kind of kept them
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: from opening up the playbook more so than them trying
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: to hide anything from future opponents. But I felt like
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: that game really humbled this team a little bit. I
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: think that Brian Hartline got humbled a little bit, right?
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: That's not something he deals with much at Ohio State,
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: a lot of close games, and obviously they have close
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: games at Ohio State, but it's a little bit different
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: here at USF.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: He's not going to be able to just.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Roll into every game out of conference and dominate an
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: opponent like they do at OSU. I say that after
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: they come off of a loss to Texas, but you
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: know what I mean when I'm talking about that. And
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Thomas Schrader, when he came on the show after that game,
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: he said that It humbled the team in general. He
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: said before that game, they all just felt like they
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: had kind of made it. And I thought that was
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: interesting for them to go into week one thinking they've
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: already made it when this is a team that has
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: nothing to do with last year's team that had some
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: success early on in the year. This is a team
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: that has. 41 transfers coming in from other programs on
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: top of the freshman class. There's like over 60 new
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: kids on the team. I thought it was interesting that
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: they arrived here and felt like they made it because
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: you would think heartline would have set the tone early.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Like we haven't made anything, but do you think he
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: kind of came in feeling the same way the players felt?
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: No, I think he understood a whole lot of new,
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: and we've got to see what this looks like, and
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: I can guarantee you by about the middle of the
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: second quarter when they couldn't make a first down, the
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: point got across, across the board on both sides of
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: the ball. If you thought you made it, you haven't
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: made it. We could lose this game here if you
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: don't get something going on offense, and it took a
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: while until they got the interception in the FIU game
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: that really flipped a short field for them to get
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: any kind of momentum on offense. and get a drive,
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: a short drive into the end zone for a touchdown.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: So you're right. I mean, there's a lot of new,
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: and you've got to get used to each other, and
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: that's the reason why you see a drastic improvement a
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: lot of the time from Game 1 to Game 2.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: We'll make a couple other reference points. Look at how
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: awful Michigan looked with all their NIL and all their talent,
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: and you're a Michigan guy in the opening game. Look
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: at how much better they functioned and looked against a
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: much better team, Oklahoma. Look at Oklahoma State, who lost
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: to Tulsa by double digits on the road. And then
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: they come back home against Oregon as a three-touchdown underdog.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: And they were the better team for the 60 minutes.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: Their improvement. And so you're along the same lines here
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: with South Florida of you saw a giant step forward
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: in the Army game. You saw them much sharper on offense.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: You saw them better on both sides of the ball
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: in the FIU game. So there was improvement. And here
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: we go with game number three and to see what
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: it looks like. And you mentioned Schrader. It was interesting
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: listening to him also earlier in the week in the
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: press conference about going against Army and the battle in
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: the trenches there. And he hasn't played a lot of center.
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: And he stepped in and played really well anchoring the
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: middle of the offensive line. So some of this is
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: in progress right now early on in Brian Hartline's first year.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: No, he really is the offensive line. There's eight transfers
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: in that room. So again, experience, but not together. And
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: until they play as a unit, and I think that's
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: going to take a couple of games. And I had
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: asked Brian Hartline that question when, when I talked to
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: him a couple of weeks ago, and I feel like
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: he felt it was going to be a better offensive
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: line right from the get-go. And, and again, they did
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: improve week one to week two and Hartline said, your
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: biggest improvement is always from week one to week two.
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: And they did get better, but I, I don't think
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: he thought it was going to take any real game time.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: I think he thought it was going to be solidified
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: in camp because from what I see, the way I
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: see the game flow the last two weeks is he
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: wants the offensive line to be the staple of this team,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: and he wants to be a running team first, even
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: though they do have all of these weapons and they
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: do have a quarterback that can air it out. And
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: you know the quarterback, Michael Van Buren Jr., great arm
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: because if you go to that fourth down play, I mean,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: that was– You couldn't have thrown that ball any better.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: I talked to Joshua Porter yesterday. I was like, that
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: ball was perfectly thrown.
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: I mean, it.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: Was one of the best.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Right on the spot. You couldn't have put it in
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: a better place. I feel like it was such a
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: good drone ball. You and I could have caught that.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Not to take anything.
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: Away from Joshua. Maybe you. I can't run anymore.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I didn't say I could run. I didn't say I
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: could run. I said I could catch it.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: My line off and I have fun with this. He
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: could not have gone down there with a cherry picker.
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: We know what a cherry picker is or a lift
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: and have dropped it down to Joshua Porter any better.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: than what that throw was. Now, is that the season?
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: Of course not. We're not talking about that. Did you
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: win the American Conference title with that throw? Did you
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: qualify for the college football playoff with that throw? No.
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: But in that moment, what a call, what a throw,
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: and how much did it embolden this team and empower
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: this team? Gutsy call from the coach, and it worked.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: Not just a gutsy call and, oh, it might have
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: been a touchdown, but we like the fact that he
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: has that mentality. Gutsy call, and it worked. We don't know.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: As we go along, though, in mid-October, as we get
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: to November, depending on how this team's doing in the
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: standings and the chances to be in the title game,
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: you may look back and say that moment at West
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: Point in the final 30 seconds is the moment of
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: the season to catapult from there. We don't know. Might
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: not be. USF could lose three or four times between
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: now and the end of the season. Then again, they
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: could be 8-0, 8-0, 9-0 late in the year, and
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: you're looking back to fourth and five in the final
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: 30 seconds of the game. You got fourth and bull
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: here is the podcast name. It was fourth and bull,
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: you know what, when that ball went up in the
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: air and then he came down with it for a touchdown.
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: What a dramatic moment. So let's see if it does
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: catapult him. But you're right. I mean, Van Buren can
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: make the throws. People have kind of maybe glossed over.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: He won several games at the end of the year
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: last year with LSU in the interim mop-up situation after
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Brian Kelly was fired. You don't accidentally just quarterback games.
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: You can game manage some. accidentally quarterback wins in the SEC,
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: you got to have some talent. And he won the
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: job here. He was basically installed as this is going
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: to be your job if you win the job. And
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: you can see there is arm talent there. There is
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: ability there. He's played a lot of games against Southeastern
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: Conference teams prior to that against Mississippi State. It's only
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: going to help you with his experience.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, watching him at LSU last year, I thought this
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: guy could actually be the starter, you know, with the
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: way Garrett Nussmeyer was playing.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: He was doing some pretty good things.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, overall, I just, you know, talking to Joshua Porter
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: the other day on the show, wasn't nervous at all
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: for that ball. And he said that it was, that
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: was the plan the entire time, because that was a
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: common question I got when I asked, you know, the audience, hey,
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: what do you want to know from Joshua Porter? Everybody
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: wanted to know, is that the initial call when they
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: got to the line of scrimmage? And he said it was.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: He said they've practiced that play many times. He knew
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: from the very moment when they snapped that ball, it
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: was coming to him. Just a hell of a throw
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: by Michael Van Buren Jr. and Joshua Porter to the
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: concentration on the ball to catch that in that kind
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: of moment.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: I think you're right.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: We are going to look back at that if they
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: do have success this year, which it looks like they can.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: We are going to look back at that moment. I
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: think that sets them up perfectly with Delaware State. I
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: think they're going to have a lot of confidence going
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: into this game if the true spread really is 37.5.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: I think they're going to cover it because I think
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: they're feeling really good. And you doing play-by-play, I know
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: you like USF, but that means you've got to come
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: up with all these stories that you're going to have
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: to be able to tell on the air because they're
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: up by so much.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: Let's hope that it's a great night in that regard.
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: We'll talk in a couple moments. Deshaun Jackson is the coach,
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: the former Buccaneer, the former Eagle. Receiver and returner. He's
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: got a different outlook on what this might look like Saturday,
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: but we'll see. But you just teed me up. You
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: want a little historical reference? For the longtime USF fans,
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: let's go in the Wayback Machine, and I'm going to
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: go back 19 years. Nick Wise might or might not
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: have been in middle school.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: I was out of high school. 19 years ago, 2007,
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: that's the year that USF rose all the way to
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: number two in the country.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: That I remember.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: In the Lord. And part of that was the September
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: game at Auburn. Auburn was in the top 15, if
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: not the top 10. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn. And it was
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: an overtime. The game went into overtime. And USF had,
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: I believe, held Auburn to a field goal in the overtime.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: And Matt Grothy, let's go for the nostalgia. Matt Grothy
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: is the quarterback. And Grothy found Jesse Hester, the son
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: of Jesse Hester Jr., the Florida State Seminole, Jesse Hester Jr.,
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: caught the winning touchdown, the walk-off touchdown, and the bedlam
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: of the Bulls just silencing Jordan-Hare Stadium, 85,000-plus, with a
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: walk-off overtime touchdown and all of them pouring into the
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: end zone to pile on Jesse Hester. So the magnitude
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: of that from 19 years ago is kind of in
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: its own category because they subsequently beat West Virginia in
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: a Big East game in Tampa in front of like 60,000 people,
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: and West Virginia was in the top 10, and that's
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: what helped them climb all the way up to number
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: two in the country. But the Auburn moment, the walk-off moment,
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: is kind of a nostalgia tie to now 2026, when
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: basically almost none of the players on this team were alive,
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: or if they were alive, they're in diapers or in
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: preschool 19 years later, and Joshua Porter is the name,
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: hauling it in from Michael Van Buren. It was not
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: a complete walk-off, but it's basically a walk-off with under
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: 20 seconds to go. What a moment again in the
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: lore for USF.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I missed the Big East back in the day.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: That was when college football was just pure, man. Those
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: Rich Rod teams at West Virginia were good.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: Miami dominating.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: USF, like you said, number two. Those were some good times. And, yeah,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: I think this victory sets them up nicely. We are,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: I think, look, if they win the games, they should win.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: They should be undefeated going into that UTSA game on
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: a Thursday night, which should be, I mean, just great
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Thursday night football. I'm excited for that one.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: They got to get there first, right?
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: They can't overlook anyone, but I expect them to be
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: favored in the next three games. and if they can
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: get to that football game undefeated, that's going to be
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: a massive conference matchup between those two programs, and UTSA's
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: been a really good program. They're young, and what they've
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: done there has been impressive, and it's a lot like
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: South Florida. You have a lot of talent in Texas,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: just like you do here. Not everybody can go play
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: for the Longhorns or Texas A & M, and so
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: they kind of get that influx of kids who want
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: to stay in the state, and that's what's made them
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: such a good program, and And South Florida has, you know,
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: the same benefits here. But, yeah, I think that victory
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: can absolutely set them up long-term. So yesterday you talked to,
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: because you are doing play-by-play on ESPN Plus for this game,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Saturday night, 7 o'clock, against Delaware State. You talked to
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: Deshaun Jackson, what was it, yesterday?
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: That is correct, yes.
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: About his team, because he.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: Is the head coach. What did he have to say
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: about his squad?
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: It was interesting because it's just like in my previous
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: role working with the Buccaneers and doing post-game interviews, you'd
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: interview him all the time at his locker, interview him
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: during the week at his locker. It was just like that.
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: He was in his office. He had the Delaware State
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: hoodie on, if you want to visualize that. And, you know,
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: I get the feeling. Let's set the stage this way.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: He took over a year ago with no head coaching experience.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: Here we go back to Brian Hartline. Never been a
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: position coach, much less a coordinator. But this is kind
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: of the new wave of former players coming in, essentially
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: as the CEO of a football program, if you want
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: to call it the head coach, et cetera. And that's
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: his role at Delaware State. They come in, Nick, and
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: win eight games right away last year. He's got a staff.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: He had players. They had won two total games the
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: previous two years, one game each at Delaware State in
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: 2023 and 2024. They won eight last year. So he's
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: got some swagger. And he said to me, I got
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: some dogs. He said, I got some running backs. I
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: got some receivers. I got some linebackers. I got some
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: defensive backs. I got some dogs. Of course, what do
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: you expect him to say? We're going to come in
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: and get our brains beat in? Of course, he believes that.
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: He's projecting that to his team. And when you look
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: at them, I watched some of their William and Mary
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: game two weeks ago. They have some skill players. They
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: have some guys that that can give USF some problems. Now,
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: the real issue is physicality up front, offensive and defensive line.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: They do not stack up the same way. This is
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: where an FCS program should and usually does get manhandled,
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: especially on the road in these situations. So let's see
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: if USF has their way. But Deshaun said a couple
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: of other things. I asked him, hey, what about coming
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: back here to the Tampa Bay area, coming back to
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: Raymond James Stadium where you played for the Buccaneers for
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: a couple of years? And he said, I got nothing
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: but good things to say about Tampa. I got a
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: lot of friends still there. I got a lot of
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: former teammates that are still living there. He said, I
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: built a home in the couple of years that he
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: was here. He goes, I ended up selling the house
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: a couple of years ago. He goes, but I got
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: nothing but fond memories. But he goes, I'm not going
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: to worry about that. I'm worried about trying to win
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: this game. I then asked him, do you have a
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: relationship with Brian Hartline? Because their careers, Nick, overlapped in
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: the NFL with Hartline as a receiver and Deshaun Jackson
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: as a receiver overall. and he answered, no, I have
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: not met him, I have not talked to him, but
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: I do have a lot of respect for what he's
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: done at Ohio State and the number, the drastic number
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: of players he's put in the NFL in the first
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: round of the draft. That speaks for itself. So he
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: was very complimentary of the job that Hartline had done there,
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: and they know, whether they want to talk about this,
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: they know they're a heavy underdog, and USF's got firepower,
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: and it's going to be everything they can do, we think,
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: to stay in this game. Now, do they stay in
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: it for a little while? Probably. Is it maybe a
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: 14 or 21 point game at halftime? Very possibly. Does
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: USF pull away in the second half? Very likely. Then again,
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: it's college football, brother. And if Delaware State gets some
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: confidence and USF's turning the ball over maybe, don't want that,
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: now we got a game. Now we got a game.
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: That's why we're all going to be there Saturday night
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: and we'll see what happens.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: The one good thing, there's plenty of good things, but
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: one of my favorite things about, I guess, two of
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: my favorite things about USF, they don't turn the ball over.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: They're one of very few teams that have yet to
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: produce a turnover, which is nice. I shouldn't say produce
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: because you're not necessarily producing turnovers on offense, but they
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: are one team that hasn't given the ball away. And
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: also they don't commit a lot of penalties, which is
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: kudos to Brian Hartline and his staff.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: This team, very disciplined.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: And I think that's going to go so far for
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: them as the season continues. But you brought up Delaware State,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: and it's interesting. We got wide receiver versus wide receiver
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: in the head coaches. That's probably the strongest room at
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: Delaware State is their wide receiver room. So I expect them,
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: and you mentioned the line of scrimmage is going to
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: be tough for Delaware State to control on really both
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: sides of the ball. I know on defense, doing my
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: preparations for this game, they're not confident in their defensive
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: line over at Delaware State. So this should be one
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: of those games where the offensive line should be able
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: to get some confidence there. And again, I think this
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: is where they should be able to kind of step back,
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: throw it around a little bit more, kind of figure
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: some things out with the offense, get in a groove.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: And I think the wide receivers for USF should have
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: a big day. But Delaware State, I think they're going
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: to try to have the same game plan as FIU.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: They're going to throw the ball probably 50 times in
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: this game. I like to, like I said earlier, I
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: think USF covers the spread. But like you just said,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: it's college football. We saw Western Michigan nearly take down Michigan.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: And we just saw Oklahoma State take down Oregon, who
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: lost to Tulsa, right, for the second year in a row,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: which is a great win for the American Conference.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: But, yeah, it's college football, man. It's been a weird year.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: But I think this is one of those games where
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: if they win, let's say, 21 by 21.
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: You're happy they won.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: But is that another one of those games like FIU
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: where they leave just kind of not satisfied with the victory?
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: Because I... Speaking for the fans, the fans aren't going
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: to like that.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: Under your scenario is the 21, though you win like
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: 45-24 because you scored 45 points and they scored some.
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: then you'd have some questions about your defense. Look, just
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: get out of here looking good and winning by a
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: couple of scores. And if you win by three or
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: four scores, so be it. No one will care about
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: this game like you were talking about when you get
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: into conference play coming up here. No one's going to
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: ultimately say, oh, well, you know, there were real problems
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: because you only won by 17 against Delaware State. Just
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: find a way, and it could be a big night.
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: One of the names that I'm paying attention to, and again,
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: I watched that William & Mary game, is Jalen Terzato.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: Terzato is a A bigger receiver, he's already got 10
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: catches on the year. That guy could make an impact,
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: and the USF secondary is going to be paying attention, obviously,
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: to him. Interesting for Delaware State, just as a quick
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: scouting report, they've been using multiple quarterbacks, including in all
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: three games, they have used at least two quarterbacks. The
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: first game of the year, they used three quarterbacks. So
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: one of the quarterbacks is still hurt, Collier, with a
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: shoulder injury. He's not likely to play. So they have
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: a California kid. with five letters in the first and
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: last name, Uwe Ehle is his name, U-I, Uwe Ehle.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: Ehle is a left-handed, better-throwing quarterback. They benched him in
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: the William & Mary game because the offense just wasn't moving.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: They went to a bigger running quarterback named Noah Brannick,
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: and Brannick led two touchdown drives at the end of
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: the William & Mary game and got him back in
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: the game. So Brannick started last week against Bowie State,
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: the Division II team, But Deshaun Jackson said to us
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: in the production meeting, he was really not happy, even
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: though he led an early touchdown. He wasn't happy overall
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: with how he played. They went back to Ailey, the
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: other quarterback. And so I said, what are you thinking
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: for this game here with who starts? And he said,
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: everything is on the table here midweek. So it could
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: be either guy. We'll watch how they warm up and
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: expect probably both of their quarterbacks will see some action
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: at some point, try to get something going. But Ailey
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: is the better thrower, the left-handed thrower. A quarterback from Carson,
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: California is the better thrower if he's in there.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would expect to see Ailey majority of this game,
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: I would think, because I think they are going to
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: have to pass because I think they are going to
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: be playing from behind. I think this could be a
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: huge game for the defensive line for USF. And they
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: got some talent up front and they're going to have
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: some opportunity to get some sacks in this game. That's
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: something they haven't produced a lot of. Obviously, when you're
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: playing against Army, you don't get a lot of chances.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: I did have somebody reach out. I do a segment
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: called the mailbag where I ask folks for questions and
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: we answer them on the show and Somebody brought up
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: CJ Hicks, and how come he hasn't got.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: A sack yet? And I'm like, well, you're not sacking
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: Army when they only drop.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: And even when they do drop back and pass, which
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: they did 10 times in that game, they get rid
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: of the ball so quick. That was one of the
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: disappointing things about the USF defense, because overall, I thought
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: the secondary played really good against FIU. They gave up
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: a lot of yards. They bent, but they never broke.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: They were all kind of between the 20s. Once they
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: got into the red zone, they were good. But FIU
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: threw it 50 times. So, of course, they were going
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: to gain some yards. I thought the disappointing part about
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: the defense last week was there was a situation at
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: the end of the half where you knew Army was
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: throwing the ball and you still let them throw it
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: over you. And that's when they went up 14 to
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: seven going into halftime. And to me, that's where USF
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: could have mentally fallen apart. And they went into the
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: locker room kind of down and out, just gave up
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: a brutal touchdown, broken coverage up in the corner of
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: the end zone. And it's Army throwing it all over you.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: And at halftime, Army had more passing yards than USF. Mentally,
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: they could have fallen apart. And I think that says
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: a lot about this coaching staff and these players, that
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: they are mentally tough and can overcome anything, just like
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: they did a week ago at Army. Let's talk about the,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: what did you think of the fourth down call? I
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: know you're very familiar with the Gramatica family. I'd never
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: seen this before. the camera pans to Nico and he's ripping,
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: sniffing salts on the sideline. I've never seen the kicker
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: do it. So I fell immediately. I went, Oh, he ain't,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: he ain't missing this. He's going to nail this kick.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: He's hyped.
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: All of a sudden the offense is coming out in, in,
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: in college football.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: I think a majority of coaches are going forward in
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: that situation, but a majority of coaches don't have a
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: guy like Nico grammatica, who has been just fantastic. He's
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: made 11 in a row. I believe he's too shy
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: from most field goals made in a row for, for USF.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: And he was four for four in week one, which,
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: by the way, kudos to the defense in week one.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: When the offense struggled, the defense and the takeaways just
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: kept putting them in a good position. And Nico Gramatica
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: going four for four was huge, obviously, in that game.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: But what was your overall thoughts? Were you shocked Brian
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Hartline sent the offense out there? With that play call specifically?
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: I was surprised after the timeout there that he didn't rethink, OK,
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: we've got a kid that can make it, but it's fringe,
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: it's 56 yards on the left hash on the road.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: It's a much bigger debate if that's like 51 yards.
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: If it's five yards closer definitely in his range, I
• 27:09
  Speaker 3: think it's a much bigger debate. And then it goes
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: back to what you said earlier in our conversation. If
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: you've got a play you really love, and here's another
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: cheat code because my analyst Henry Burris and I were
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: talking about this. If you go back and watch the
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: first down play and the second down play, Army's in
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: zero coverage on both of those plays, which again means
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: no deep safety help. They're pressed up on the line
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: of scrimmage, and there's nobody deep middle.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: It reminds me a lot of the Rams and Bucs
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: in 2021. It was a very similar play. There you go.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: And I'm not saying Joshua Porter lied. The only thing
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: that I was confused is he said he knew right
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: from when they broke the huddle, they knew it was
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: going to him. So did they just know they were
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: sticking in cover zero the entire time? I guess so.
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: I guess it's one of those where they've called the play,
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: and unless they're going to check out of it, it's
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: because they believe they're not going to have a deep safety. So, again,
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: credit Tim Beck. Credit, as you said, they were prepared
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: for that. They had been practicing that kind of play,
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: that kind of moment, because you're likely not going to
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: get another chance at that where you pull the surprise
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: and have it be a deep ball on the bomb.
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: Everybody's looking for it now. So there's the one chance
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: you had to pull it off here early on in
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: the year. So, of course, because it works, everybody's in
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: favor of the call. But I like what you said.
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: A lot of coaches would have probably copped out if
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: they have Nico as the kicker because he has shown
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: a rocket leg in the past. And you love when
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: I bring it back to the family and my 18-year-old
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: identical twins, Abby and Riley, who there they are on
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: the screen, are USF Bulls. They're my daughters. They are
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: on campus. and ready to go. And one of the
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: twins was in grade school, throughout grade school here in
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: North Tampa, with Gaston, with G, Grammatica, the younger brother.
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: So I was constantly on, like, field trips with Martine
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: and G and me and Abby when we would go
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: and do things with Abby and Riley. So I have
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: much love for the Grammatica family. And I, you know, again,
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: Martine would tell you, Nico would tell you, he's going
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: to make that. He's going to make that maybe 19
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: times out of 20. But Brian Hartline said, you know,
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: kind of like Bruce Arians, no risk it, no biscuit.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Let's go. Let's go for the win. Let's go for
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: the kill shot and the win. And I come back
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: to how much does that empower your team moving forward?
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Joshua Porter said when I talked to him on Wednesday,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: he said they definitely thought about it. And he said
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: Hartline just thought we deserve to win the game. And
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: he gave us the opportunity to do so. And they
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: were kind of in a soft zone coverage throughout those
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: final two drives. I understand you going for it and
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: trying to get in field goal range. For me, it
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: was just the straight bomb to the end zone. I
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: couldn't believe it. I mean, my heart stopped. I'm like,
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: this is, you know, I'm like the podcast is about
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: to be depressing and it's, you know, so I'm thinking
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: about that. I'm like the podcast is going to be
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: so depressing. And this is a game that, you know,
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: fourth and five, a wild call. And, and, you know,
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: they connect it and just unbelievable dramatic fashion.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: And, and, and you're right.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: You you've alluded to it a few times. I, this
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: is going to carry them. so far, it could carry
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: them so far into the season. So before we wrap
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: this up, just kind of your overall feelings of this
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: game and just kind of everything you've seen from USF
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: on film, Delaware State on film, how do you see
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: this game playing out on Saturday night?
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: I think ultimately, like we've talked about, they've got more
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: physicality up front, so this should be an easier game.
• 30:39
  Speaker 3: If you play clean, like you were talking about, don't
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: self-inflict with penalties, much less turnovers. You should be up
• 30:46
  Speaker 3: in this game. You're the better team. You should be
• 30:48
  Speaker 3: up 14 points in the first half. Don't go down
• 30:51
  Speaker 3: the FIU road of kicking field goals and not sustaining drives.
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: And then we'll see where they go from there. Hopefully
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: this is an easy second half. This is an easy night.
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: This is part of the reason why this team is
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: on the schedule, why an FCS team is on the schedule.
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: And we'll see if USF can't take care of business.
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: I'll just say this as we wind it down. I'm
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: thrilled to be on the call here. I'm somebody that's
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: been in and around this area since the inception of
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: of South Florida's football. I was at the opening night
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: game in September of 1997 that was almost like an
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: out-of-body experience. Old Tampa Stadium completely full. They scored Nick
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: that night any way possible. It was Lionel Richie all
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: night long. It was a fumble return. It was a
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: punt return touchdown. It was a bomb for a touchdown.
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: They scored 80 points in the first game. I don't
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: care if you're playing another high school team with all
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: these players they had that are brand new, having never
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: played a game before to score 80 points. What a
• 31:45
  Speaker 3: wild night, and it's been an interesting time over the
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: course of the last 30 years to see the rise,
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: and then kind of they would sink down on occasion.
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: But they've really, over the course of the last 15 years,
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: been a noteworthy program. They are a notch down, as
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: much as South Florida fans don't want to hear it.
• 32:04
  Speaker 3: from what the Gators do in the SEC or Florida
• 32:06
  Speaker 3: State and Miami do in the ACC, but they've held
• 32:09
  Speaker 3: their own with some significant seasons. I mean, Skip Holtz
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: wins a game at South Bend in the early 2010s
• 32:16
  Speaker 3: against Notre Dame. He also beats Miami at Miami, by
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: the way. They also beat, Jim Leavitt beats Florida State
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: at Florida State, and now Alex Golish has beaten Florida
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: at Florida. South Florida's program has wins at Notre Dame,
• 32:30
  Speaker 3: and I mentioned Auburn earlier, at Auburn, at Florida State
• 32:34
  Speaker 3: in a program at Miami, you have some significant wins
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: for this program. So there's a lot to like. There's
• 32:42
  Speaker 3: a lot to build on. That's why Brian Hartline was
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: attracted to this job and to the opportunity. So let's
• 32:47
  Speaker 3: see what kind of role they can get on. And
• 32:50
  Speaker 3: I'm going to have a blast on the call again
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: on ESPN Plus as somebody that has been here for
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: so long and knows the nostalgia and the background of
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: this program. It's going to be a thrill to be
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: in that booth on Saturday night.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the momentum of this program is unlike any other
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: program right now. Of course, with the on-campus stadium, that's
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: going to make it even just better. I can't wait
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: for that. I just think that's something that's so important
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: in college football. But yeah, a lot of momentum. And
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: them beating all of the big schools here in Florida.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: You know, they beat the Gators last year. It was
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: a down year for the Gators, but they still took
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: care of business. They didn't care that it was a
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: down year.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: For the Gators.
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: I know you're inclined to needle every now and then,
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: especially with the UCF people, right? Because the UCF people
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: all want to talk about what they've done.
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: I wish they'd bring their rivalry back.
• 33:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would love to see it, too. You know,
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: the Big 12 and whatever. For any of the South
• 33:38
  Speaker 3: Florida fans, just check in with UCF. You ever won
• 33:41
  Speaker 3: a game in Tallahassee? You ever won a game in Gainesville?
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: You ever won a game in Miami? USF's won in
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: all three places. Settle down over in Orlando.
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: That's an incredible stat. Let me get your take on this.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: If on the table there is a two-for-one on the
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: table where you've got to go to UCF twice and
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: they'll only come here once, would you take that?
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: Nope. Nope.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: And I get Rob Higgins not taking it, right? You've
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: got to kind of stand your ground. But as a fan,
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: I kind of wish they would just do it because.
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: I just want to see them play. Do a home-and-home.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: I say go up there, whip their ass, and be
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: out of business.
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: Well, true. Rob has been around when UCF, when Central Florida,
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: was begging to play USF. Yeah. When they were not
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: in the same conference and they didn't have a series.
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: So he's got a long memory on that. I won't
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: speak for him. He's got a long memory on that.
• 34:26
  Speaker 3: Do a home-and-home. Do the home-and-home. You don't want to
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: do the home-and-home? All right.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: You think it's really do you think it's really about
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: financials for UCF or do you more think it's like, hey,
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: we're going to treat you the way you treated us
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: back in the day and we're getting you back.
• 34:39
  Speaker 3: I think that's probably part of it. Yeah. And that's
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: part of the rivalry. But they used to be in
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: the same conference. And so, I mean, I would not
• 34:46
  Speaker 3: do a one for two with them. Would you do
• 34:49
  Speaker 3: a one for two with Florida?
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 34:50
  Speaker 3: Yes. Do a one for two with Alabama and some other.
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: UCF's not Florida. They're not Alabama. They're not. They're not.
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: An SEC powerhouse or a Big Ten powerhouse? Sorry.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: Do you think, you know, they beat Florida last year,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: they give Alabama a run for their money, and I
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: know Alabama canceled one of the games already because of
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: the new SEC schedule. Do you think it's going to
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: get harder for USF until they get into a bigger conference?
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: I think it's going to get harder for them to
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: schedule these programs. I know they've got Notre Dame coming
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: up too, but it's going to be tougher to get
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: these teams to want to come down and play USF
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: because they're.
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: Capable of beating you.
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: And, and when you're in those power four conferences, it's
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: a bad look to lose to a G six, but they're,
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: they're one of those G six teams like Boise state
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: where they can beat any program on any given Saturday.
• 35:36
  Speaker 3: And that, and you just touched on it and here's
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: the other big key. And I know you've got to
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: go in a minute. is if these conferences are going
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: to align with nine games within your conference and one
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: of your other three has to be a Power Four game,
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: has to be a Big Ten SEC, ACC, or Big
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: 12 game, that only leaves two games on the schedule.
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: So now you're looking at these programs that are saying,
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: why do I want the potential loss to South Florida
• 36:01
  Speaker 3: in one of those other two games, or to Boise State,
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: like the example you gave, or to Memphis, or some
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: of these other programs that in and around the Mac
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: or the Mountain West or whatever. So it is going
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: to get harder to answer your question here. And that's
• 36:14
  Speaker 3: the reason why on another day at another time, we'll
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: talk more about conference expansion. And if the moving and
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: shaking starts again, can the Bulls get into one of
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: those bigger conferences? We shall see.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'd love to see him get into the Big
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: 12 and bring that rivalry back. I feel like college
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: football has just gotten rid of too many rivalries lately,
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: and we need to be adding to them. You know,
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: I think it's a travesty. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State don't
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: play each other. I I don't like that Oregon and
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: Oregon State don't play each other in the Civil War.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: I don't like that Washington and Washington State, the Apple Cup,
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: is at the beginning.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: Of the year and not the end of the year.
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: Rivalry week at the final week of the year is,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: it's not as good as it used to be.
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: There's just not that many rivalries, unfortunately.
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: College football, every decision has been made with what puts
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: more money in our pockets and not necessarily what's in
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: it for the fan and I touched on that a
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: couple episodes ago and it just drives me nuts. I
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: think this bringing this rivalry back would be good for,
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: for the game overall. It'd be great for the state
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: of Florida. And it would just be awesome for these
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: two fan bases. And I think their fans, I know
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: on Twitter, they like to talk a lot of smack
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: and I always say Twitter represents the worst of every
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: single fan base out there.
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: It really does.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: But I think the average UCF fan is probably a
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: pretty great person and wants to see this rivalry continue and,
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: I wish they could put the financial stuff aside.
• 37:28
  Speaker 3: And just do it for the fans. We'll see if
• 37:30
  Speaker 3: it comes around. If UCF keeps losing enough, they won't
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: have as much leverage, and maybe it will be a
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: one-for-one because they've lost a lot in the last few years.
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they have.
• 37:39
  Speaker 3: We'll see. We shall see.
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: All right, TJ. I appreciate you hopping on today.
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: TJ Reeves is going to be on the call on TV,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: ESPN Plus, 7 o'clock, USF, Delaware State. Good luck not
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: trying to be a homer in the booth on Saturday night.
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: I know that's got to be difficult. We will be
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: down the middle, but you'll hear some enthusiasm for touchdown calls,
• 37:58
  Speaker 3: especially for the green and gold. I know whose stadium
• 38:01
  Speaker 3: we're in, and we'll see. We'll see how it goes.
• 38:04
  Speaker 3: Thank you for rolling out the red carpet. I'd love
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: to be back whenever you would have me. Keep up
• 38:07
  Speaker 3: the great work, Nick.
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: Thanks, brother. We'll talk soon, all right? Yes, sir.
• 38:11
  Speaker 3: I appreciate you.
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: Anytime.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: That is TJ Reeves, who will be on the call
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: again on ESPN Plus Delaware State on Saturday night. Cannot
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: wait for Saturday. We're doing this on a Thursday. If
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: you're watching on Friday or Saturday, all this content is
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: still relevant.
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: All good there.
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: Next show, I'm going to try to record actually Saturday
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: night after the game. Try to get you that on Sunday.
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: Last time the episode didn't come out until my recap
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: of the Army game didn't come out until late Monday night.
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: Monday was just kind of a scramble with the radio
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: show and then trying to get this. And so I'm
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: going to try, I'm going to try to, uh, Sunday
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: night or I'm sorry, Saturday night. I think there's a
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: Purdue UCLA, like 11 o'clock game. We'll have that on
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: in the background talking about a bulls win here on
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: fourth and bull.
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: Uh, that is the plan.
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: So when you wake up Sunday, I shouldn't, I'm promising
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: a lot right now, but when you wake up Sunday, there,
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: there should be, uh, an episode of fourth and bull,
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: unless I just, uh, Unless I pass out, but I'm
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: going to try to get that done for you guys
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: because I want you to have it as quickly as possible.
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: It's also beneficial to me to get it out by Sunday, too,
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: rather than Monday night. I appreciate you guys watching this.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys listening on iHeartRadio and Apple Podcast.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: Make sure you subscribe on both of those channels. Make
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: sure you are subscribed on YouTube. Make sure you follow
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: me on social media. If you're watching on YouTube, you
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: can see all the handles there in front of you.
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: At IamNickWise on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok for those of
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: you listening to the audio-only version. I want to thank
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: TJ Reeves again for coming on. Again, you'll hear him
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: on the call Saturday night. Good insight there. He talked
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: to Deshaun Jackson, who's the head coach of Delaware State.
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: So I feel like we got a lot of good
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: information for the game. We talked a little bit about
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: the Army game and FIU, just the season overall. And
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: USF has a really good opportunity here to get undefeated
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: into that UTSA game. I don't want to get you know,
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: I don't want to overlook the teams on the schedule,
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: but I do think they'll be favored in the next three.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: And then if they can just get their job done
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: and do what they're supposed to do, we're set up
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: for a fantastic game there in early October. All right,
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you guys soon. Thank you so much
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: for watching. Make sure you share this with as many
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: Bulls fans as possible. Let's let everybody know about 4th
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: and Bull. Thank you guys so much for watching, and
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: we will talk again soon. Go Bulls.