This, of course, has no bearing on the story below, but it's such an awesome picture that you bet your ass I'm putting it up.
No doubt, SMQ will cover this in much greater detail, but today's iteration of Top 25 Apocalypse forces a startling question:
Could South Florida play for the national championship?
It seems wildly absurd that the Bulls, barely on the right side of the "BCS" nomenclature, should be so close to contention for the title this year. But with the losses on the part of LSU and California, USF has risen to #2 in the nation behind Ohio State. And with their 64-12 romp against UCF, the Jim Leavitt-led Bulls look like they're only now hitting their stride.
Leavitt (who, as we will always gleefully point out, is a Hayden Fry disciple) and the Bulls will certainly have their chance to defend their top ranking. Their immediate upcoming schedule includes trips to New Jersey to face Rutgers next week and a spot at a well-coached Connecticut team. Still, neither team is ranked, and the only "real" test they've got left is a home date against Louisville.
But still, as the country asks itself, "are we ready for a female president," as if there were preparations one could undertake, an equally relevant question is, "are we ready for a South Florida champion?"
Rather than engage in idle hand-wringing, though, let's just go ahead and point out that if the Bulls keep winning, you sure as shit had better be "ready," because they'll be in the Tostitos Fritos Super Duper Cheetos Championship game on January 7th. And while it may seem jarring that a team that didn't even exist 12 years ago may be winning the title, it won't have any relevance to the legitimacy of the crown.
Of course, there's no telling who your January 7 contenders will be at this point. The way this season has progressed, anything can happen. Not in a "upset by Michigan State" kind of way, either; rather, it wouldn't be surprising if Jim Leavitt and Sweater Vest die in a "Dear Sister" type firefight before Week 10.