Is this the year USF legitimizes its top 4 status??

[Runole]

They have a long way to go before their considered a powerhouse. The stadium should be the least of their worries.

Yes, I think they should focus on winning the conference before we start talking powerhouse.

That most certainly would be a start.  USF has great potential but seriously until they win their conference ,and win a BCS  bowl game they haven't done anything that noteworthy.  When you speak of beating Louisville and WV as some great feat that is grasping at straws. If  USF beats Auburn that will be their first truly major win.

[olafberserker]

Louisville and WVU were top ten teams when USF took them down.  Those were major wins.  Let's not minimize what has been accomplished.

[BucsBullsBolts]

The University of Miami plays its home games in its own stadium. The January Orange Bowl game is played where the Dolphins play.

UM was a powerhouse before the Dolphins stadium was built.

But success aside, the atmosphere sucks when you can't have 10,000-15,000 students stumble to an on-campus stadium like in Gainesville or Tallahassee and then stumble out after the game and hit the bars and party. There's way too much traffic and busy roads around Ray Jay to have a comfortable party atmosphere like in smaller college towns.

You may want to put success aside but that's still the bottom line.... The tailgating atmosphere is just fine at RayJay. It'd be nice to have more of a USF feel inside but it really is not that big of a deal in the overall scheme of things.

UCF is going to have an on-campus stadium in another year or two

This year actually .... FIU has one in the works too and FAU is also talking about one .... not sure, though, what this has to do with this conversation.   

[BucsBullsBolts]

They have a long way to go before their considered a powerhouse. The stadium should be the least of their worries.

Yes, I think they should focus on winning the conference before we start talking powerhouse.

That most certainly would be a start.  USF has great potential but seriously until they win their conference ,and win a BCS  bowl game they haven't done anything that noteworthy.  When you speak of beating Louisville and WV as some great feat that is grasping at straws. If  USF beats Auburn that will be their first truly major win.

Beating qualty ooc opponents is definitely needed before any powerhouse talk but I wouldn't downplay beating WVU AT Morgantown as grasping at straws, though...

[olafberserker]

Again, while the stadium atmosphere is good for a USF game it wouldn't compare to the atmosphere if there was an oncampus stadium.  It's not something that I think is imperative to having a successfull program, but I think it would definitely add to the overall atmosphere of a college football game.

[Mumblingjoe169]

USF may end up with a better record than FSU and Miami again this year.I doubt Miami or FSU are going to be able to put together a offense this year that will enable them to win the ACC or get to a Bowl game. I see both teams as 4 or 5 loss teams again.

if you don't think Miami and FSU will make a bowl game, much less challenge for the ACC, then you probably have no business talking college football right now. In their two worst years in recent memory(and no, its not going to get any worse for either of them)they made bowl games.

[GameTime]

if you don't think Miami and FSU will make a bowl game, much less challenge for the ACC, then you probably have no business talking college football right now. In their two worst years in recent memory(and no, its not going to get any worse for either of them)they made bowl games.

isnt that what the preseason is about, considering all possibilities?  lets not pretend here, both fsu/mia squeeked into bowl games last year.  and fsu certainly has a tougher schedule this year.  while both could very easily challenge for the ACC title, with some bad breaks they could both be fighting for a bowl game as well.

[olafberserker]

if you don't think Miami and FSU will make a bowl game, much less challenge for the ACC, then you probably have no business talking college football right now. In their two worst years in recent memory(and no, its not going to get any worse for either of them)they made bowl games.

isnt that what the preseason is about, considering all possibilities? lets not pretend here, both fsu/mia squeeked into bowl games last year. and fsu certainly has a tougher schedule this year. while both could very easily challenge for the ACC title, with some bad breaks they could both be fighting for a bowl game as well.

FSU won't be fighting for a bowl bid.  BCS bowl bid maybe, but not a bowl bid.  They will be a much improved offensive team this year.  Miami on the other hand, I'm not sure about.

[GameTime]

i think fsu will be more likely to contend for an ACC championship as well, but a bad season is certainly a possibility. 

[krazybuc]

the atmosphere at usf games is a complete joke compared to at a real powerhouse program. they need to have a stadium on campus where students can just walk to and support their football team. imo, if you want to be a powerhouse, you need the support of the students... and a lot of students dont go to the usf games. if they were on campus, i bet you'd see a huge boost in attendance and football support.

[cheveliar]

the atmosphere at usf games is a complete joke compared to at a real powerhouse program. they need to have a stadium on campus where students can just walk to and support their football team. imo, if you want to be a powerhouse, you need the support of the students... and a lot of students dont go to the usf games. if they were on campus, i bet you'd see a huge boost in attendance and football support.

First of all where is the money coming from?  Then where you gonna put it, the stadium?  Sure a walk up helps, but less than half, last time I heard, of all USF students live off campus.  Add in that we live in Florida, Central Florida at that, where people have more places to spend their entertainment dollars means that the team needs to win before they get what you're talking about.  Not shooting down your idea, just telling you my reasons I think it's rather premature.  I think they have a better chance by getting better incrementally as they are, and luring the regular football guy and Buccaneer non-season ticket holder...JMO

[olafberserker]

You're right Chev.  The number of students that would within walking distance of an on campus stadium is very small.  The vast majority of USF students are communters.

[BucsBullsBolts]

the atmosphere at usf games is a complete joke compared to at a real powerhouse program. they need to have a stadium on campus where students can just walk to and support their football team. imo, if you want to be a powerhouse, you need the support of the students... and a lot of students dont go to the usf games. if they were on campus, i bet you'd see a huge boost in attendance and football support.

I'll repeat it again. The team in Florida with more NC's than the other Fl teams combined didn't have a stadium the students could walk to so you don't need that to be a powerhouse... and while the atmosphere at RayJay is not close to the traditional programs yet, it's not a complete joke either, IMO. What the traditional programs have is better attendance numbers plus the tradition that gets fans going to crap 1AA games and still cheering like crazy. RayJay has rocked for USF games against the better, more well known competition.
Plus, moving on campus, at this point in time, would not give them a huge boost in attendance unless they replicated a smaller version of RayJay out there. I don't think students would make up for the ones wo have been spoiled by the amenities at RayJay and the thought of aluminum bench seatin makes them cringe ..... like me. 

[olafberserker]

Yeah it's hard to compare USF to the 100's of years of tradition at Michigan, USC, Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc.

[BuckEmUp]

The stadium is not the issue.  If the school built their own stadium they would have to come up with the funs and not sell alcohol.  I don't know if they get any of the money from sconsesions at Ray Jay but the fact that they play there is not the issue. 

Students can stumble into Ray Jay just as easy as an on campus stadium and can attend bars afterward with greater ease.  The problem is that Football is new and that the fan base from the school is not huge.  People have grown up watching FSU, UM, and UF so there is more loyalty to the teams they have watched for years then a school they attended 30 years ago and didn't have a football teamm

A few years and a little more tradition and the school wil be even bigger.  Look how far they have came already.  It is only a matter of time and the stadium is already get more and more crowded.