What started as a blog post at the St. Pete Times has been picked up by the Tampa Tribune with multiple articles, some of it starting to investigate USF's knowledge of all of this.

According to the Tribune, Moffitt's wife went and spoke to the school about it. This story is denied by the university, but correlated through the account of a witness who saw the discussion take place. To take it a step further, the Tribune followed up with an article after retrieving a total of 9 papers from Shauna's personal computer. The University says there is no cause for investigation and there is no way to prove that Ben didn't take the online classes.

Side note: I don't know about you, but I remember having to show up in person with a student id to take online class tests. This was the same lack of common sense that plagued FSU, and likely plagues a lot of other schools. That seems to be issue #1 that needs to be addressed. Not just at USF, but in general

The liability USF just assumed by denying any investigation -- even a quick glance over/write off -- is amazing. They better be 100% sure these charges are false and that there isn't any other cheating going on that the media will uncover. If so, they now have documented reluctance to even bother with the most basic of investigations from what seems like fairly credible accusations.

We'll see if more and more media outlets start picking up on this story. Right now it seems to be nothing more than a local one.

"Why should the media be reporting this?"

It's a fair and reasonable question. This is, after all, a divorce, and divorces can get pretty messy. Not to mention it's all pretty accusatory even with the evidence, and we have no idea of Ben's side of the story.

Here's the kicker. The school promoted Ben as the shining example of USF athletics on national T.V. broadcasts, in national newspapers (remember the NY Times and ESPN puff pieces?), and in national awards. It was a well marketed, heart warming story.

"Linebacker. Leader. Husband. Father."

The truth, of course, was that Moffitt rode his first marriage all the way to graduation and the NFL only to file for divorce before the big pay day. While national awards were being lobbied for, Moffitt and his wife's relationship had already fallen apart. The school made Ben a public figure and now the people who were sold the story are finding out that it wasn't all that true. Hell hath no fury like media scorned. That and, you know, it's the off-season.

Combine it all with the rampant cheating at another nearby state school, and you have the perfect recipe for a story. Top it off with a sprinkle of university denials like this, and it would seem to have the potential to grow:

Even with this information, Gullette said, "there's really no change at this point" as far as the university is concerned.

"The information we have is information we're getting from reporters," Gullette said. "There's not much to do at this point."

USF President Judy Genshaft would not comment on how the allegations might affect the school's academic credibility, and she referred questions to Gullette.

Ken Cissna, chairperson for USF's Department of Communication, said he couldn't comment on students because of privacy issues. Moffitt is a communication major.

Ken's absolutely right about the privacy issue, but for the rest of it, USF better hope there isn't much to this and that someone doesn't uncover something else over there. The kind of liability that USF is assuming is the same kind that the NCAA doesn't take lightly to.

As the Sarasota Herald put it, USF is invoking the "Roger Clemens" defense. The question is which local journalist is going to play the role of George Mitchell?

I won't bother commenting on the relationship situation that USF's Ben Moffitt finds himself in, that's his business. What's more interesting, especially in light of the suspensions our friends up at FSU just handed out, is this:

"He is living a lie," she said. "He's lying to everyone. He's not helping (us) with anything." Their marriage of five years has deteriorated to the point that Shauna, 26, made public Thursday a larger allegation, saying that she had taken multiple online courses for her husband and written papers for his college classes to keep him eligible to play football.

"I have written every single paper he has ever written in five years at USF," said Shauna, who works as a data specialist in the Sumter County Appraiser's Office.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, USF officials had not responded to questions seeking comment on the academic allegations.

Yikes. This is fodder of course for everyone outside of USF who has questioned Coach Leavitt's discipline (or lack thereof) of his team over in Tampa. I'm sure this type of thing takes place not just on football teams but on college campuses at large, but man.. talk about continually fueling the fire that was kicked off by Nick Saban bashing USF's lowered acceptance requirements. This comes after ESPN ran a "behind the lines" on the school showing that close to half of the USF players were admitted under 'special circumstances' with the NCAA.

This kind of thing plays out one of two ways -- either they get past it unscathed and start recruiting legit kids, or they keep going until they implode from on and off the field issues. The big question that comes up when discussing the "timing" of a possible shakedown, is whether or not Leavitt will stick it out to be around when it happens. Personally, I think if he were looking to "upgrade" coaching positions, he would have already done it. Especially with all the openings this post season.

Man, yesterday was amazing. We were on campus for 12 hours tailgating and I have the sunburn to prove it. After morning mimosas with Screws and company, the parade set the stage. After the parade, there was a basketball game, then I believe a soccer game (that I didn't see), and then the marshall game. To have it all on UCF's campus, all on the north side that didn't even exist 3 years ago, was simply incredible. The administration over in east orlando has done a hell of a job, and the Knights are bowl eligible (6-3). Keep it up.

I've avoided saying much about USF since they dismantled UCF four weeks back. At three losses in a row though, I'm required. What the hell, bulls? At first, I was impressed with USF's almost-comeback last night. Then, I started reading things the fans are saying about the game. USF fans managed to piss off the entire nation with their arrogance while winning, and now they're pissing off everyone with their poor sportsmanship after losing. Learn to win, learn to lose. Can't say it's completely unexpected when The Jim is in charge over there though. Jim Leavitt has officially come off the hinges after swallowing his face with his lower lip against Rutgers. Last night, his team had 8 turnovers, the players ran out on to the field to cuss out the refs and his own players started fighting with each other on the sideline. Afterwards, he had the audacity to pin things on a possible blown call. Not to mention cry. You heard me. The man cried. At least he showed up to talk with the media this time (Which, you know, is his job, and one that he and his players have a reputation for not doing. That's going to hurt grothe's heisman hopes way more than his 4 picks.)

USF is a team that has two convincing wins this year -- UNC and UCF. Every other game has been questionable calls and turnovers. Basic statistics tells you that its going to balance out, and thats exactly whats happening. Bad calls go both ways. When you peak under the covers of the program itself, The Jim has a roster of 50% NCAA special exceptions (according to ESPN's outside the lines. It means it took lawyers to get them into school, and that Saban was right.), with most of the players being two and three star talent. That's not a likely formula to win the Big East, let alone a National Championship. What it will do though is make a competitive program with tons of off the field issues. Either you survive it and start recruiting legit kids, or it implodes and gets everyone fired. The jury is still out on what the outcome will be right now. And yeah, I get it. I'm a UCF fan. It must be jealousy. The kicker, of course, is that the entire sports world is now arriving at similar conclusions. I guess jealousy runs rampant. Stay classy, Tampa.

Ohio State over Wisconsin. I know everyone's doubting the big 10 (with reason), but OSU looks stronger each week. The biggest rivalry in the college game looms big. Michigan has been playing the way everyone expected them to play pre-app state implosion, and I believe they're playing up in the big house. Michigan had a hell of a rally yesterday over Michigan State.

Tough loss for ASU, but Oregon looks good. Real good. If I had a ballot, they'd pass LSU this week. LSU continues to play risky, and I'm wondering when it's going to bite them. And no, I don't believe that its because the SEC is "just that good." Not this year, friends.

NC State beat Miami.. you know what that means..... go knights!

FSU beat Boston College. I was disappointed to see their streak come to a close, but can't say that I was terribly surprised. BC's team GPA is just way to high... ;)

UConn beat Rutgers. I really though Rutgers would pull this one off. It's good to see a cinderella team still alive though.

And is it time to put Kansas in the top 5 yet?

Virginia Tech beats Georgia Tech while wearing GT uniforms. Well done!

ECU at Memphis next week. If Memphis can pull off the upset, UCF will be in the drivers seat for C-USA East with a shot at the Liberty Bowl. Not bad for a team that was 4-7 last year. Big win over Southern Miss tonight on the road for the knights. Tulsa last week, USM this week -- its amazing the things that can happen when you don't turn the ball over 5+ times.

Funny thing though, I believe the Papa John's Bowl is a Big East team vs. C-USA's #4 (off the top of my head). If UCF drops another game, and USF drops another game, we could be looking at a bowl matchup. I know, I know.. That'd be nuts after USF manhandled UCF for four quarters. The thing is, the Big East only has three bowl tie-ins. USF and the bowl committee might not have a ton of wiggle room. Of course, that means UCF is C-USA #4, and well, that would suck. Soo..

UF lost to UGA. Gotta love them dawgs.

Ohio State finally looked like a #1 team on the road against Penn State. Maybe, just maybe, we'll get some stability.

How about Matt Ryan? That's what I call a Heisman performance.

Arizona State over Cal, but it's Oregon who's looking like they're for real. Great match up ahead of us next week.

Man.. Best year of football ever.

BCS rankings came out. It would appear that USF is batting 1.000 with the computer rankings. Wow.

Here's the official top 10:

#1: Ohio State
#2: South Florida
#3: Boston College
#4: LSU
#5: Oklahoma
#6: South Carolina
#7: Kentucky
#8: Arizona State
#9: West Virginia
#10: Oregon

Complete BCS rankings

Sweet mother pancakes.

LSU and Cal both drop off.

If you aren't convinced that a playoff system is sorely needed in college football yet, something is deeply wrong with you. Let the BCS keep their if-this-were-a-"real"-business-it'd-be-an-illegal-cartel bowl system, just don't use it to determine the national champion. Let the national champion determine the national champion. NCAA 1a football is the only sport in college that doesn't do it. Play out the bowls, take the top 8 teams, and have yourself a few more ball games.

USF throttled, and I mean, throttled UCF yesterday. We've said it all year long around these parts, stop Kevin Smith and you've stopped the 1 dimensional knights. After the 64-12 whooping, someone asked me what I feel about the series -- I feel the exact same way I felt the other day. I'll take my medicine year in and year out, I thoroughly believe that its a good thing for "Orlampa." Heck, look at the UF/FSU series -- Florida dominates it 30-19. Most of FSU's wins probably come in the last 10-15 games. It takes awhile.

And I'll go ahead and attack this now. USF fan's are rightfully upset with so many people questioning their top 5 ranking. Let me explain why people are having trouble with it though.. USF is filled with 2 and 3 star talent. A few four stars, and a five star in Alabama-drop-out Mike Ford. Teams like LSU? All four and five stars. I'm not sure there is a legit blue chip anywhere on the sidelines for USF. A team like Oklahoma is bigger, stronger and maybe faster than USF. At least, on paper. The argument is either Leavitt is just that awesome, the Big East is just that lame, or the stars are just aligning perfectly for the Bulls. Or PCP. I mean.. It worked in Miami. Also, you can't under estimate Matt "Don't Poke Me, Bro" Grothe... Who knows though, and with the way this season is going... anything seems possible.

Ohio State is on a roll. Looking at the Big10, I don't see anything in their way. Then again, every time I try to predict who will run the table, they lose. Sooo.. Whatever. This season is getting ridiculous. Go bucks?

Anyone else watch the Hawaii shootout friday night? I'm not sure beating San Jose in overtime qualifies someone for a Top 20 ranking, but man.. that kid can throw.

Louisville drops Cincy. The Cincy vs. USF game should be an interesting one.

Auburn beats Arkansas 9-7. Nine to Seven. 3+0+0+6 = 9, 0+0+0+7 = 7. I'm bored just typing it.

East Carolina beat UTEP to screw UCF out of any CUSA consolation prize. Meanwhile, Marshall's working on a perfect losing season. We are... Horrible. Middle Tennessee, a powerhouse in the south, demolished Memphis. Man, CUSA football sure is impressive... :\

Oh my god! Stanford lost!!! .....Wait.

The saying goes that if internet message boards were purely representative of a fan base, every team would have a couple of starting quarterbacks and fire their coach three times a year. I think it's fair to apply that logic to what goes on over at TheBullsPen.com and other USF hangouts when it comes to discussing the UCF/USF game.

Their most passionate fans have followed Leavitt's lead in dismissing the UCF/USF game as nothing more than an annoyance. There's no rivalry because UCF isn't in a BCS conference, USF has "passed" UCF (certainly not in entrance requirements, graduation rates, campus life or facilities.. but I digress), USF "always wins" (0-2 on the series, USF won with a late touchdown in the 4th last year). Things of that nature.

Here's the rub, USF fans.

Rivalries, specifically "natural rivalries," have very little to do with on (or off) the field actions (or in UCF's case, inaction). A natural rivalry such as this is bigger than anything you say on a message board, any line your coach wants to pitch, any blog post we write and any final score on the scoreboard. It transcends conferences and alliances because it has very little to do with actual football. That's just where we get to watch the two schools face off in any "formal" fashion.

Two similar schools, similar history, similar age in the same geography. High school friends go their separate ways, families are split between them, co-workers work next to each other in cubicles while neighbors fly different flags. There's animosity over medical schools (USF lobbied against UCF's) and BigEast membership (UCF was on the list, crossed off in favor of a more successful basketball program at USF).

The two cities themselves have a history of animosity. Tampa successfully landed an NFL franchise rendering the Citrus Bowl close to worthless while Orlando landed an NBA team. Tampa, quite frequently, seemed to be waiting in the wings for the Magic had Orlando not approved the new arena. Ask residents here what they think about Tampa, and you'll hear a story of two sister cities. One, Tampa, a rowdy, drunken promiscuous sister, and the other, Orlando, a Disney loving, family oriented type. Not exactly a friendly setup for Thanksgiving dinner. (har har).

That sister analogy parallels to the routes each football program has taken as well. Leavitt, who of course denies Saban's comments on the subject, has in fact taken many athletes of questionable character. It worked for Miami in the 80s, and it seems to be working for USF 20 years later. I read somewhere the other day (and will search for the link when I have time) that mentioned USF has had close to 45 recruits ruled ineligible for college ball over the last 4-5 years.

George O'leary, on the other hand, has probably heard enough about the word character to last a lifetime after his resume debacle. There's very little tolerance for missteps at UCF. When he arrived, he kicked off so many players UCF wasn't able to field a spring game. When the season came, he had players playing both sides of the ball to make up for the lack of personnel. He went 0-11 that year, but damn it, they had the highest GPA in the NCAA.

One school has taken a fast paced, high octane route, while the other has made a choice to build up in a traditional, conservative manner. Two conflicting views, both with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. It's hard to deny Leavitt anything when he has his program in the top 5, but maybe it's the Orlando in me -- I prefer George's way even if it means we're shooting for the Liberty Bowl.

Is USF going to find similar feelings amongst fan bases from FAU and FIU? How about Miami or Gainesville? Not likely. I'm sure they would all be great games, as all in-state games are, but it'll never have that feeling of playing the town-down-the-road. David Whitley did some quality investigative reporting proving that the feeling is indeed mutual between UCF and USF students.

All of this adds up to one conclusion -- this game needs to be played, and it needs to be played often.I'm positive that USF will dodge UCF for as long as they can once this contract ends. I'm sure they will kick and scream and piss themselves with anger if UCF ever comes up for BigEast membership. In fact, I think we'll see a completely different BCS structure before USF votes for UCF inclusion. But none of that, absolutely none of it, will affect the behavior of the fans. Fans want this game, communities want this game, players want this game and the local economy wants this game.

The only people who seem to not want this game are Leavitt and all the USF internet dorks. It's a shame that they're more concerned with winning and rankings than they are with students, fans and the communities. The economic benefit, the entertainment enjoyment and the chance to start another proud Florida tradition will suffer because of it.

Can't wait for the game tomorrow. Here's to a fun, injury free one. (cheers)

When I first saw a thread on UCF rivals instructing people to poke the other teams QB, I paid no mind. This week, with USF QB Matt Grothe, I again passed up the opportunity. But, after reading this quote on tampabay.com, I think it's time I join in the fun:

"On Facebook, they have this stupid, ridiculous thing called Poke the Opposing Team's Quarterback," said Grothe, likely prompting much, more poking in the next four days. "I've probably been poked three or four times by other schools all year. I've probably been poked about 6-million times this week."

So there you have it. Sweet, sweet acknowledgment... Poke away ;)

UPDATE: Hah! Here are a few more players (thanks to Lisa on the rivals board): George Selvie, Amarri Jackson, Carlton Mitchell, Jessie Hester, Cedric Hill

ECU stomped UCF in greenville and won by two touchdowns. It wasn't quite a "rout," which was the headline the Sentinel ran with, but it certainly was convincing. UCF had 5 turnovers in the third quarter. You can't do that on the road against a team that was a popular pre-season pick to win our division (along with USM). It's easy to look at ECU's record and write them off, but with injuries and suspensions, last night was the first real game they've had with close to everyone on the field. My guess is ECU wins out. For our sake, let's hope they lose one more and we find a way to win the rest of our conference games. My expectation for UCF at the beginning of the season was to be bowl eligible. I stand by that. Three more wins knights, four for good measure.

You know who else had 5 turnovers? USC. All is right in the world when the media darling finally drops a game. To Stanford no less. Prior to the game, Jim Harbaugh, the coach for Stanford, called this year's USC the greatest college football team of all time. Stupid fantasy time zone and their cute little conference. Maybe they've been sleeping through noon kickoffs.

Cal on the other hand, might be the real deal. After the shakeups yesterday (when they had a bye week), where do you put them? #2, #3? #1 is obvious, of course. Good teams find ways to win, and LSU did that over a young gator team. The question there is what to do with UF. Do you keep a 2 loss gator team in the top 10? Being that they were already #9, I'd say that's a giant negative. Certainly top 15 though. At least until the South Carolina game.

Ohio State over Purdue. Finally, normalcy in college football.

Illinois over Wisconsin. Sorry Greg. That Ron Zook sure can coach, though.

Did anyone actually watch the USF game? I highly doubt it and I bet the polls will reflect it. FAU had the game in hand until a couple of Big East ref's blew a call on a fumble recovery. FAU punts the ball, two USF players run into each other and fumble. FAU recovers right outside the endzone, Big Easy ref's call interference on FAU. ESPNU announcers, who I believe were borrowed from the local high school press box, acknowledge the error and then immediately go back to blowing smoke up USF's ass. Sooner or later, someone's going to expose this team. For the Big East's sake, they better hope it's not in a bowl game blowout.

Rice over Southern Miss. Memphis over Marshall. Utah over Louisville (hah!). Tennessee over the Dawgs. OK over Texas. Kansas over Kansas State. South Carolina over Kentucky. Maryland over Ga. Tech (go terps).

Wowza.

If this weekend didn't prove the complete worthlessness of polls, then nothing will. Going forward, I think we're still in for some "adjustment" with the rankings. Something just doesn't feel right, and that's based on more than simply seeing USF at #6 ;)

Go SEC teams with Tiger mascots. Gotta enjoy watching grown men cry up in the swamp over a loss to Auburn. After the ref's hit Auburn with 30 yards in false penalties during the final minutes, I was glad to see the game go to the right team. UF may very well be looking at 3/+ losses this year. Call me crazy, but FSU has the same record right now, only their one loss came from an actual ranked opponent. ;) *chomp*

USF beat the crap out of WV Friday night in front of their first ever sell out. I really do think USF is a very good team, but it's hard not to wonder if the Big East will ever decide to play someone of substance out-of-conference. It's really hard to get a sense of how good they might be when there's not a single top 10 (maybe not even a top 25) OOC opponent on anyones schedule. Everyone loves to knock the ACC, but those teams are actually playing people. You don't earn respect from an inflated ranking. You earn respect from knocking out quality OOC opponents.

ESPNU just picked up the USF/UCF game for October 13th though. If the Knights can handle ECU the way they've been playing everyone else, we may have a decent OOC barometer for the big east. Should be an interesting afternoon. Thing is, UCF didn't look all that impressive against ULL (Hold on to the ball, Knights!), and ECU just surprised Houston.

Don't look now, but the Big10 suddenly looks strong again. OSU vs Wisconsin is shaping up to be interesting.

ND still sucks.

Texas finally succumbs to their suckatude. It's only going to get harder for the longhorns. If only they could look forward to playing ND.

Oklahoma, the team that was giving me nightmares for simply looking so nasty, lost to Colorado. Thank god I'm not all that big on gambling, I would have taken OK at 97 1/2.

If Southern Miss is Conference USA's flagship, the conference is in deep trouble. Boise took `em to the woodshed.

Not college related, but how about Daunte giving it to the Dolphins? I like the `phins and all, but man, good for him. Fun to see him find a little redemption in all that mess.

Games to watch next week - LSU vs. Florida: Predicted highlight: Dorsey choke slamming Tebow, nailing him with an elbow drop and pinning him for the three count and the intercontinental title belt. ECU vs. UCF: Predicted highlight: Kevin Smith runs from the 1 yard line all the way back to Orlando. In the first quarter. ECU 17, Kevin Smith - 645 miles.

I'm not a big ND fan. Actually, I despise ND. Talking National Championships, when was the last time ND was relevant? Yet every year, sports writers from around the nation talk about how ND is back and whatever other nonsense they can dream up. ND is now 0-4. "Rah! Rah! For Notre Dame," indeed. Someone yesterday told me that Touchdown Jesus has been renamed to Field Goal Jesus. I guess you have take what you can get...

What happens when a top 10 offense and a bottom 10 defense clash against one of the worst teams in the country? Louisville loses to Syracuse in a squeaker.

How `bout them bulls? USF is another team that I don't care much for, but they sure did throttle UNC. I don't think USF has beaten anyone ranked above #50 by Sagarin yet this year though. Lots of folks are questioning their top 25 ranking, wondering if it really is deserved. I actually think that it is. Grothe is simply incredible and Mike Ford has shown tons of potential. Next week against WV should be a great game.

Miami walked all over Texas A&M. Makes you wonder if OK is just that good, or if A&M was just that overrated. Kyle Wright is playing the way he knows how, so Miami may be on the verge of getting their act together. Randy Shannon is going to get them turned around in a hurry.

Speaking of Oklahoma. My god. That is all.

Florida showed some vulnerability against Ole' Miss. Either that, or they simply started to fall asleep in the third. I didn't see the game, but looking at the box score, that's probably about right.

I know some folks who were big on Alabama's team this year. I'm just not buying it and think it's another case of a storied program everyone wants to return to the prime time, but isn't quite there yet. Losing to UGA makes me feel a tad bit vindicated in that assessment. I wouldn't be surprised if they finish with 4, maybe 5 loses this year. A winning year, and something to be proud of, but certainly not the Alabama of old. We'll see.

And finally, UCF. Yesterday was a tremendous day out in east Orlando. Every kink that I noticed with the stadium against Texas was rectified. Water aplenty, perfect traffic flow, polite fans and most importantly, a big win. UCF has a long way to go until they're in the national limelight, but I'll tell ya, George O'leary is building the program up right over there. The foundation they've laid looks to be really strong. As far as the team, Kevin Smith broke 100 yards rushing in the 2nd quarter, and then pretty much sat the rest of the way. It was 42-0 by halftime. JuCo transfer and backup quarterback Mike Greco played for the first time in the 2nd. 11 for 12, 151 yards, 77 yards rushing on 10 carries. All he was missing was a jump-shot pass into the end zone. I like this guy, and I really like the idea of teams having to prepare for both Greco and Israel. Bring on the dual-qb threat, and bring on Week Five football!

In 2006, Orlando Business Journal listed UCF as a larger area employer than Lockheed Martin. The school is home to 46,000 residents, the majority of them under the age of 23 (largest undergraduate population in FL) Each year, the school pumps out thousands of educated professionals into the local economy.

In a town not known for much outside of tourism, UCF's growth is helping to diversify our economy. The addition of a medical research facility has the potential to radically affect the area. Investments into digital media by Orlando and UCF stand to further Orlando's technology sector. UCF's aggressive push to build state of the art facilities are already attracting major acts that would otherwise find themselves in Tampa. UCF has very quickly become a key ingredient to our booming economic and cultural development.

On Saturday, Orlando's newest venue opens up with a football game against the Texas Longhorns. While UCF has been playing ball in the Citrus Bowl, the move to an on campus stadium will bring a true sense of college football to Orlando for the first time. Affordable family entertainment against a nationally ranked team in a safe, clean environment. It's not just a win for UCF, it's a win for the city.

If you're an Orlando resident, there are numerous reasons to be excited about the developments going on over in East Orlando. Imagine if someone gave you the chance to design your very own university, what kind of campus would you build? Now drive out to UCF and take a look around, because that's exactly what's going down. A modern, clean, advanced college atmosphere.

With all that being said...

It surprises me how many folks look for reasons to talk down UCF, and it seems to almost always be UF alumni doing it. For years, Orlando has been a gator town. Gainesville is only about an hour out of Orlando, and UF is the big name public university. I'm just not sure if I see the threat, the comparison, or the need for college affiliations of a local region to be so exclusive. It comes across as nothing more than defensive.

My claim may seem anecdotal, but when you consider Facility Senate member Kathleen Price voted against (successfully) awarding Gov. Jeb Bush with an honorary degree because he approved funds for other state schools to have medical facilities (that is, UCF), or when Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler, who rumor has it is a UF graduate, needlessly bashes the home town team the week of the stadium opening, you have to wonder what their deal is (or, in the later case, if the Sentinel's traffic is truly that bad. Hope the link helps...;). Who, exactly, benefits from bashing and attacking the efforts of UCF to enter the "big time", when the city of Orlando gains so much from them doing so?

I often find myself preaching the Orlando gospel to folks outside of the area. It helps to find cities to compare us to, usually a more club-centric (ugh) version of Austin (in terms of size and tech. sector revenue), or a less sprawling version of Atlanta seem to fit (Charlotte and Atlanta are the only two southern-style cities that have a decent tech presence that come to mind for me).

Atlanta seems to be a fitting situation, and works perfectly in context to this post. UGA, Georgia's name brand university, is located in Athens about an hour out of town. Ga. Tech, an engineering school, is located inside the city. Add in George O'Leary and UCF's uniforms and I think we have a viable comparison. UCF is to Ga. Tech as UF is to UGA.

Maybe USF/UCF is not the budding state rivalry we all thought it was after all... ;) 20 years from now, FSU will be rebuilding after Bowden fires his grand children (even if he should pass, Bowden will still be coaching FSU from the other side), USF and Miami will be fighting over the definition of South Florida and UCF/UF will be engaged in a full out turf war. When it happens, remember that you heard it here first. God knows what the Sentinel's slant will be ;)

Man alive. What a great weekend of college football.

Typically, week one football is a mess. I guess, this year was no exception, except the outcomes were a bit different than usual. If you live here in the States and still don't know about the Michigan game, then you really need to consider canceling your WoW account and joining the rest of us in laughter. Suckers.

I had started the season thinking we could see another Big 10 vs SEC match up in the national championship. Ohio State has lost a little bit of its punch this off-season, and really, that only leaves big blue in the conference. Everyone else sucks (you heard me, Wisconsin.). The SEC, for the record, will be represented by LSU, not Tim Tebow (you heard me, Sentinel staff).

Turns out I was completely wrong about Michigan. Maybe Wisconsin does have a chance in the Big10. LSU vs USC in the NC game would be a media field day though, and may finally settle that tired debate once and for all (pac10 is overrated). I should make it clear that I'm not mentioning LSU over and over because I'm a fan of them or the SEC -- in fact, I'd enjoy nothing more than watching the SEC beat each other into irrelevance. It's just LSU's defense looked dang fast the other night.

ND got blown out by Ga. Tech, which makes Baby Jesus very happy, regardless of what TD Jesus has to say about it.

FSU lost to Clemson. I'm not sure what FSU did to justify a top 20 ranking, they finished the season last year completely out of it and then fired 5 of their coaches. If nothing else, their first half on the football field was going to be ugly as sin -- which is exactly what happened. The ACC should be fun to watch this year though. Clemson, Ga Tech, Wakeforest all have non-traditionally strong teams. Va. Tech showed weakness, FSU and Miami are rebuilding. I thought the OK/Miami game would be Randy Shannon's official coming out party, but after OK knotched up 70+ points on their cupcake opponent, I'm not so sure. Miami beat Marshall, but not by 70.

Cal over Tennessee -- pay back's a bitch.

UCF over NC State was absolutely thrilling to watch. The knights learned how to run to the ball and tackle. UCF developed a tolerable pass rush, and their corners are even better. Kyle Israel and his WR's need to work on their pitch and catch a bit though, because the defense looked beat up and tired in the second half. Kevin Smith can't do everything, even if he is a monster. An absolute monster.

Some big games coming up this weekend -- can't wait to see the Auburn/USF game, notably.

On the Game:

USF handed UCF their second loss of the season on Saturday. All over the Internet The few places on the Internet where people who follow irrelevant programs convene, are flooded with USF fans saying things like "I hope this puts to rest the rivalry" or something to that effect.

Here's the thing fellah's.. I'm not sure what game you guys watched, but from my seats on the 45 yard line, 2nd row behind USF's bench, I saw two equally matched small time programs struggle with both defense and offense. I saw a game that came down to one team driving on the ten yard line with 30 seconds left that couldn't get it done. In the middle of the third, I turned around to the gentlemen behind me and started discussing comparisons. A giant pillow fight is the best we could come up with.

I also saw a USF team up close that, frankly, looked almost identical to UCF (minus the house arrest anklets). I did see, though, that Grothe (USF QB) is in fact going to be an amazing player. It's not so much his talent, but the intangibles that you can't teach. He had composure, he had vision, he had leadership -- that kid won the game for South Florida. I will say that as a freshman, I worry for his safety against a team like WV. He can't be more than 6 foot and a buck eighty. I thought Ken Dorsey was small back in the day. God help him when he plays a team with an actual pass rush.

On USF trolls:

The difference I'm finding between USF fans and UCF fans is a sense of realism and humility. Going 0-17 will do that to ya (keep in mind, when our program was USF's age, we were 9-2 and just as cocky). There isn't a battle for "fourth" going on the state of Florida, like many USF supporters like to claim. There is a battle for "not last" in the state. The competition isn't UF, FSU, UM and UxF. Its FAU, FIU, USF, and UCF. I wouldn't be surprised if UNF decides to join the mix. The talent difference between the big 3 and the rest of us is so large its immeasurable (Yes, Miami fell out of the top 25, but there are some obvious coaching issues going on). UCF fans understand that we're building a program from scratch. USF's quarterback stated after the game that they could beat anyone in the country. I love that kind of confidence, and I wish Moffett had some of it, but please, don't be fooled. The way Troy has been playing, they'd dismantle both of us.

A reader posted earlier today that its all about the W, and he's right, but outside of that, it's the same tired comment that you read all over the place. The trolling students over at that school do is simply unmatched. "It's not a rivalry" we're just going to go around searching out blogs to talk shit on in our spare time..... Riiiight..

All cynicism aside, USF fans have do have a reason to celebrate. 3-0 is their best start since their first year, and it's certainly more impressive than UCF's current 1-2. Playing two div 1aa schools and then UCF would hardly qualify as impressive though, and I'm pretty sure any pollster or simple sports fan would agree. Now, that's not to say UCF is in a better position -- we're not. We lost to a team that UConn decidedly manhandled last season and we gave up 322 yards of offense to Villanova. We won't speak to what happened up in Gainesville.


On the Future of The Programs:

I've never claimed UCF was anything than more than what it is (a team one season removed from 0-11) and I don't think any serious fan would. I would just love to meet a USF fan who is willing to admit similar sentiments about their program (10-13 over the past two years. Hardly big time).

USF also has a great head start with their BCS birth. I'm just not convinced it will mean much in the long run (short run, sure). With USF playing the likes of UL, WVU, and Pitt year after year -- it's going to be awhile before they take home their conference championship. The BCS table alone hasn't done much for programs like Stanford, Duke, Illinois, and the majority of other schools in the ESPN bottom 10.

More to the BCS point, with the recent off-season changes, a team like TCU can nancy prance their way through a MWC schedule and receive an automatic bid. We're witnessing the BCS slowly being forced (remember, it's only a decade old) into what it's suppose to be (structure, mainly). Non-BCS TCU will make it to a BCS game long before USF gets there, and they'll have an easier time doing it.

The two schools are taking completely different paths. I think UCF's O'Leary is building the program up the right way (character and discipline). The best example of this was his decision to suspend our top player, Kevin Smith (rb), for the USF game because he missed team curfew. Meanwhile, USF's starting tightend was arrested two weeks ago for a DUI, and has served no suspension of any kind to date. USF lost close to half (nine) of this summers recruiting class due to academic ineligibility. UCF has the highest GPA in the NCAA. Everyone has their priorities.

On the Future of the Series:

At the end of the day, it was a ton of fun on Saturday. On that everyone seems to agree. For those of us who actually feel invested into our community down there in Central Florida (USF qualifies, ironically), it served as a great example of what's possible for both schools. The economic impact alone justifies the game. Both public schools are paid for with tax dollars and the community deserves such a huge economic opportunity. It's truly fantastic to see. After the game, I was 13 miles away in Waterford Lakes and there were USF fans everywhere spending money. I'm sure it was similar last year when UCF traveled to Tampa.

I think USF will have our number again next year. In fact, it could end up almost exactly like the UF/FSU series. It was a series that ended up having to be forced on both schools via legislation because of stubborn administrators. It was also a series that UF won for probably a decade before it became competitive. 20 years from now (tradition takes time), USF/UCF will be a spitting image and all of Central Florida will benefit.

It's a great time to be a fan -- witnessing the birth of something great. Congrats on the win USF, best of luck in your conference, and I can't wait to see you again at RayJay!

College Football:

Amazing weekend for college football. 7 top 25 match ups, and the beginnings of conference play for lots of folks. It's also the UCF/USF game. USF had to return half of their 5,000 ticket allotment last week. For a "BCS" team that's simply incredible. UCF is 70 miles down the road. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. Their first ever bowl game in Charlotte only drew a couple thousand USF fans. Attendance tomorrow is looking like 45-50k at the Citrus bowl though, so, it shouldn't matter all that much. Good times regardless! Go knights.

Emurse:

We did an Emurse ad on Fark classifieds the other week. I'm sure many of ya'll have heard how effective they're supposed to be, as had we. It's also a great way to get negative feedback. I know that sounds crazy, but negative feedback is truly the best kind. The community over there is overly cynical towards just about everything, and our product was no different. Evidently, Mike Propst used a "template" for the web design and none of us know anything about usability ;). But alas, these are users that are "thankful that Fark has avoided the web2.0 craze". It took me 15 minutes to figure out how to create a new account so that I could respond. Gotta love the irony, but to each their own. The take away from that is there may be a brewing backlash to the design trends as of late.. I certainly wouldn't doubt it -- buzzwords and trends all have a life span. Thankfully, Mike's amazing at what he does and our site is now completely skinnable in about 25 minutes.

Anyway..

Here's the traffic details from that $100 ad - about 386 clicks, which means a rock bottom ~0.25 cents a click. The thing is, it's not clicks we're after, it's actual conversions (signups). For comparison, Google will bring in let's say, 25% of that 386 for the same overall price on our keywords, but the kicker is we'll convert anywhere from 30-60% depending on the day of the week. Fark? A ~3% conversion rate ;) In the end, we'll get 3-4 times the number of new users via targeted advertising on Google than on Fark. It won't show up that way on a AWStats or Sitemeter graph.. but.. Yeah.

We'll keep exploring various sites and methods (on a strict budget) to see if we can find hidden gems.. but man.. Google is just straight up effective (then again, I remember the days when a 3% conversion rate would have been overwhelming positive.. and for some sites, it still might be.. I guess.)

Links:

• Alcohol use boosts income
• Giving usability methods the critical eye
• Are your employers leaving? The Unintended Consequences of Shining Up that (virtual) Resume
• Lessons Learned From a Job That Sucked