This upcoming weekend, your University of South Florida Bulls finally get their first chance at the vaunted Florida Gators. This may be the most talked-about game of the season for Bulls fans, but head coach Skip Holtz has been drilling it into his kids' heads that this is just another game.
But it's not.
This will be an excellent test for the Bulls. The first game ever against the Gators, rounding out their inaugural tour of the state's Big Three college teams.
Some in the USF camp would like us to think that they should now be included in national discussion of the state's best college teams, expanding it to the Big Four. There was even a marketing push to make that claim last year leading up to the game against the Florida State Seminoles. Then, those Bulls went and beat the Florida State Seminoles (watch the auto-play volume).
But Bulls fans might also remember they have gotten whooped by the Miami Hurricanes twice.
Still, there is nothing wrong with striving for excellence. And scheduling games against perennial top 25 teams such as the Seminoles, Gators and Hurricanes will continue to provide an excellent measuring stick. And the matchup this Saturday against the No. 4 team in the nation should give us an idea of how the Bulls are coming along.