The. more outspoken section of Bulls Nation has had a field day the last two weeks, finger-wagging and saying they knew all along that South Florida was not a good football team.
After all, the Bulls lost consecutive games on late touchdown drives by Temple and UTSA. That's proof positive, critics say, that the Bulls -- from the coaching staff on down -- are a lightweight in the American Conference.
You know what? Head coach Brian Hartline agrees with them, to a point anyway.
"We are getting better. It's just not good enough fast enough. And so as a group, we need to make sure we are continuing to put in the work to give ourselves a chance, and look forward to the day when the coin turns," he said.
He added, "You know, there's lots of flashes but not consistent enough."
The thing is, Hartline was saying basically the same thing when his team won its first four games of the season.
But where some of the fans are ready to cash in the season, that mindset hasn't penetrated the USF staff and players.
"I don't think it's necessarily guys can or can't do things. Um, but, you know, we have routine plays. We have to hit them. The passing game's got to continue to improve, be more consistent instead of so flashy and here and there. But we all, we'll keep putting the work in," he said after the Bulls 31-24 at UTSA.
"The work's been put in throughout the week. That's my biggest thing I'm probably most pleased with. I just wish the guys could reap the benefits of what that feels like consistently on game day, based on the workload they've been putting in. That being said, you know, season's halfway over. Looking forward to seeing what we do with the second half."
The second half starts Saturday when Kent State comes to USF for the final homecoming game the Bulls will have at Raymond James Stadium.
The Golden Flashes were a last-minute substitution after Alabama canceled this season's game against the Bulls and moved it to a later date.
On paper, this should be a get-well game for USF. Kent State is 2-4 after a 38-7 loss Saturday at Western Michigan. Then again, we all thought the Bulls' game at Bowling Green would be a cakewalk and it almost turned out to be a pie in the face.
Defensively, USF has to considerably tighten up. Trying to protect a 1-point lead with less than two minutes to play, the Bulls were scorched by UTSA, which drove 75 yards in 10 plays -- mostly on the ground -- for the winning score. That was reminiscent of Temple's 96-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to beat the Bulls.
The Roadrunners got two huge rushing plays in the final drive -- a 19-yard gain by quarterback Owen McCown on third-and-5, and a 26-yard scamper by running back Will Henderson III.
That can't happen.
"Obviously, if a guy's running for 19 yards, we got to do something better," he said.
And he said something else that would probably have critics nodding in agreement.
"In the third quarter. I don't even know if we had 10 plays in the third quarter. So that's on us. We do a better job with coaching -- a better job with selecting plays," he said.
For the record, the Bulls had eight offensive plays in the third quarter.
This upcoming two weeks will set the tone for the rest of the season. After Kent State USF has an open date before returning to American Conference play.
It's an opportunity to reset and refocus.
There is a lot of physical talent on this football team, but the Bulls have yet to put together a complete game.
As Brian Hartline would say, that's not good enough.
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