Big East Football: Season Ends in Disappointment for South Florida
While there are five Big East teams headed to bowl games, for three teams, the season has come to an end with one team having the most disappointing season in the conference.
Syracuse, South Florida and Connecticut all finished the season 5-7 after heading into Big East play above .500. For these teams, particularly South Florida the season was a major disappointment and one that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of players and coaches.
South Florida started off the season 4-0 with wins over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ball State, Florida A&M and UTEP.
There was talk across the conference that they were the favorites to win the league and the voters tended to agree.
They were ranked No. 16 in the country and headed to Pittsburgh for a showdown with the Panthers.
That game got ugly quick as the Bulls were dismantled 44-1. They followed that up the next week with 16-10 loss at Connecticut.
After two more tough three point losses, to Cincinnati and to Rutgers in overtime, South Florida got their only Big East win over Syracuse 37-17.
They finished the season with three losses in a row, including two on field goals as time expired.
The season finale against West Virginia was perhaps the most difficult as the Bulls led by seven midway through the fourth quarter.
After West Virginia tied the game, South Florida was driving inside the West Virginia 30-yard line with under three minutes to go and preparing for a game-winning field goal when quarterback B.J. Daniels fumbled.
The Mountaineers went down the field and kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to keep South Florida out of a bowl game.
That last drive showed just how the season went for South Florida and their frustration was clearly displayed on the field.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, they will have to watch the bowl games from their couch and wait until next season to get their revenge.
