Her (rubbing eyes): Why so late last night?
Me (after a yawn and stretch): Big game. My alma mater beat Auburn with a TD in overtime.
Her: Beat who?
Me: Auburn. That's Auburn University, in Alabama, not the town in Massachusetts. They're a major football power in the SEC. Ranked seventeenth in the AP poll going into the game.
Her (turning over): Oh. How'd the Red Sox do?
So it goes. It now seems unlikely the Bulls will be able to pull off any more surprises. After an off week, they play North Carolina at home on the 22nd, and will undoubtedly be favored. The pessimist in me sees this as a classic scenario for a letdown; I suspect USF has just enough Gator DNA to fall flat coming off a big victory. If they can get past the Tarheels, they face their really big test on Friday the 28th, when they host the currently number three ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, who will be itching for revenge.
It seems I may have been wrong in thinking that dumping Michigan from the top 25 because of their loss to Appalachian State was an overreaction. Unfortunately, their drubbing by Oregon (which must have Lloyd Carr perusing Monster.com) may serve to dim ASU's accomplishment.
Update: South Florida didn't make the top 25 in the AP writers' poll (which doesn't count for BCS purposes) or the USA Today coaches' poll (which does), though it gets strong honorable mention in both (you can see the poll results here). It's interesting to note that Oklahoma is ranked third and Florida fifth in the AP poll, while those rankings are reversed in the USA Today poll, in which Florida received seven first place votes. I can only conclude that Urban Meyer is much better liked by his fellow coaches than is Bob Stoops.
