University of South Florida's Midweek Blues: Thursdays Are So Cruel

Thursday, Thursday, can't trust that day...

Thursday, Thursday, sometimes it just turns out that way...

(with apologies to the Mamas and Papas)

If it's a football Thursday night and South Florida is 5-0, there's a loss coming for the Bulls.

That's the way it has been for three seasons and the way it was again Thursday night in Tampa.

That's the way it was for nearly 64,000 green-clad hopefuls—hopeful that their beloved Bulls would see a change in luck and perhaps break that awful Thursday night losing streak.

Those frenzied USF fans were hoping for the best against unbeaten and eighth-ranked Cincinnati. They were hoping that this 5-0 USF team would be different from the three that preceded it.

For one quarter of football, their hopes rose. USF got what it needed against those pass-happy Bearcats. The Bulls got off to an impressive start, just what the Thursday night losing streak doctor ordered.

There were the Bulls, harassing Heisman hopeful Tony Pike and his receivers. They were pressuring him, disrupting his rhythm, and hitting him, again and again.

There were the Bulls with a 7-3 lead, and their followers were even more hopeful.

As good as the first 15 minutes were, the next 15, then the next 15, and then the last 15 saw momentum disappear. Those 45 minutes saw lost USF opportunities. Those 45 minutes saw the Bulls' old nemesis—penalties—pile up and help Cincinnati turn the tide.

There was still hope at the half. Underachieving place kicker Eric Schwartz hit an amazing 50-yard field goal. It was 17-10, and the Bulls had grabbed some momentum after quarterback B.J. Daniels' second quarter interception went 83 yards the wrong way and made it easy for the Bearcats to score.

Then the "be careful what you wish for" axiom hit the Bulls squarely between their horns in the third quarter. They did the unthinkable: They knocked Pike from the game, damaged his left wrist, and forced him into the civilian clothes of a spectator the rest of the night.

What lay in store was storybook for the Bearcats, and nightmarish for USF. Cincy backup Zach Collaros stunned the stadium and buried the Bulls when he ran a draw, turned up field, and outran everyone for a 75-yard touchdown that made this Thursday a night like that of the previous three years.

It started a landslide of momentum that left the Bulls wondering what went wrong.

It was a simple fact that this Thursday night, the better team won.

The better coach, Brian Kelly, saw his team adapt and improvise when its leader was sent to the sidelines.

His team changed its spots and took to the ground to notch a sixth straight Bearcat win, their second in the Big East.

Leavitt admitted, "The better team won."

You can also call it the more opportunistic team, the team that didn't make big mistakes, the team that had fewer penalties and more big plays.

That's how a team lives in the Top 10.

And for the Bulls, it's how yet another Thursday turned oh so cruel.

It was 34-17 cruel in the end.

Thursday, Thursday, can't trust that day.

Thursday, Thursday, sometimes it just turns out that way.

And on this Thursday, that's exactly how it went down.