South Florida Bulls and Syracuse March to the Same Tune

Got a call this week from a friend down south who inquired:

"Should I take South Florida minus the 10?"

Told him immediately that he might not want to do that.

Which brings us to the 2010 South Florida Homecoming game Saturday, high noon at Raymond James Stadium, actual home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 3-1 USF Bulls will face the 3-1 Syracuse Orange and with six wins between these two teams, only one thing is certain—neither team has beaten anyone.

USF's conquests include Stony Brook, Western Kentucky, and Florida Atlantic, hardly a who's who of college football.

The Syracuse win resume is equally unimpressive. Akron, Colgate, and Maine—well, you sure don't want to brag about those wins.

Each team has one big-time beat-down.

South Florida turnovered its way to a 38-14 loss to Florida while Syracuse was slapped upside the head at Washington, 41-20.

Two teams, very similar.

Doug Marrone is rebuilding at Syracuse. Skip Holtz has the helm and is charting new waters for USF.

Two coaches, both similarly excited about the futures of their programs. Their 3-1 record puts them atop the Big East with 3-1 West Virginia, but make no mistake about it, Syracuse and South Florida are NOT West Virginia.

Fans on both sides of this game have a lot to wonder about. How good is USF? How good is Syracuse? Are both these teams possible contenders in what sure as heck looks like a down year for the Big East?

Ryan Nassib has settled in nicely as the quarterback for the Orange. One of his main weapons is running back Delone Carter, who has put up 419 yards thus far and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. He'll present a nice challenge for the USF defense.

B.J. Daniels disappointed Holtz when he threw four interceptions at Florida and messed up a handoff that resulted in a fumble. Since then, the Bulls have run first, thrown later in their wins over Western Kentucky and FAU.

Mo Plancher put up 93 yards last week in the FAU win, while Demetrius Murray sat out with a bum ankle. Murray has stepped into the spotlight, and the Bulls will need for him to be a factor against Syracuse.

Nassib has proven a good manager of the ball for Syracuse, Daniels still needs to take better care of his passes as far as Holtz and his staff are concerned.

So many question marks, so few answers right now.

By late Saturday afternoon, there will be a lot of answers on both sides of the football.

The oddsmakers believe USF will emerge 4-1 for this first Big East encounter for both teams.

USF may be better, not sure they're 10 points better. Would bet that this one is close.

Real close.