College football | USF hoping to flip script on archrival UCF

TAMPA -- Willie Taggart appears to have a little Joe Maddon in him.

Maddon, the Tampa Bay Rays' ex-manager, was always looking for a lift when his team was down, like snakes in the clubhouse and his noted fashion statements when his players would dress up as nerds.

Finishing up his second year as the USF football coach, Taggart is trying to generate some enthusiasm for the Bulls' final game of the season Friday at Raymond James Stadium against archrival UCF.

It's been a disappointing season for the Bulls (4-7), and Taggart will have his team wearing new uniforms and new helmets.

Taggart, the former Manatee High quarterback, has tried this tactic before, and it didn't do much good. But this is the seniors' final game against a hated rival, and that alone should spice up the players' adrenalin.

"It's really special because it's my last time in Raymond James Stadium," said center Austin Reiter, a Lakewood Ranch High product. "That will be my last game and against our rival. I don't think I could picture any other way to end my senior year."

USF under Jim Leavitt owned this rivalry when it first began, winning four straight, including the 64-12 slaughter back in 2007.

The teams stopped playing in 2008 until the series was resumed last season when they became AAC opponents. UCF won 23-20 in a game closer than expected.

This was a heated rivalry that created a lot of bitterness under Leavitt, who didn't want to play UCF after 2008 because he felt USF should move on to bigger opponents. Leavitt was fired after the 2009 season for allegedly hitting a player, and the program fell into hard times, first with Skip Holtz and now Taggart.

Taggart played the broadcasts of all the games USF won this week to his players in hopes of getting them stoked up.

"I think it's important we make sure they understand the importance of it (the rivalry), the importance of it to our fan base and everything," Taggart said. "There is a lot of learning going on with our football team and that's part of it. They have to understand the magnitude of this football game, the history behind it."

UCF won the AAC and defeated Baylor, 52-42, in the Fiesta Bowl last year, but the 2-12 Bulls made a game of it until the end. The Knights (7-3) are not as strong this year and lost quarterback Blake Bortles, picked third overall in last spring's NFL Draft.

It seems as if attitudes have switched in this series. UCF players were telling the media this week that this game is no different than any other, though head coach George O'Leary was playing up the 64-12 beating his team took the last time it visited RJS.

The Knights have their own reason to win. If they beat USF and East Carolina next week in their regular season finale, they will be at least conference co-champion.

"We're not just fighting because it's another game on our schedule. It's because just the natural hate those older guys have for UCF," senior defensive tackle Todd Chandler said.

Lost in all the hoopla, Taggart has brought stability to his roulette rotation at quarterback announcing early in the week that sophomore Mike White would make his second straight start.

White completed 21 of 35 passes for 244 yards in the Bulls' 31-21 loss to Memphis last week. He has started nine games this season and five last year.

"I thought last week Mike did a good job of coming back and getting his confidence back and playing with confidence," Taggart said.

It sounded as if the coach wants the leadership and experience White can bring over backup Steven Bench and true freshman Quinton Flowers, who have seen some action at quarterback this year.

"UCF is a senior-dominated football that knows how to win," Taggart said. "I'm excited about it; what a great opportunity for our football team. To go into the offseason with a win against a rival would be some good motivation, some good momentum and confidence for our football program."

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "College football | USF hoping to flip script on archrival UCF."