With all that’s been said about the entrance into a new conference, it is difficult to come up with something fresh to write, to think of a thought that has escaped everyone else or to type a wisecrack that is thought-provoking and unique.

Too bad it is kind of my job to do that.

Blah blah – the Bulls are going into the upper ranks of college football – blah blah – they must get ready for bigger, tougher opponents – blah blah – Andre Hall this and Andre Hall that – Bulls still searching for starting quarterback – blah blah – Coach Leavitt has come a long way in a short time-

This just hasn’t affected me. Anyone can see the complete disinterest in Leavitt’s face when he is asked, for the thousandth time, “What are your thoughts on joining the Big East?” He looks like UCF has just taken the lead late in the fourth quarter.

Well, since I have about 500 words left to write, I guess I’ll have to fill it with something.

Let’s see, um, aww, screw it.

First off, yes, the Bulls are going into the upper ranks of college football. Even non-conference opponents – Penn State and Miami, for example – are top-notch (incredible insight, I know). Also, for the first time in program history, the Bulls will not be afforded an automatic win in the form of a Div. 1-AA opponent. A winning record this season means Leavitt should be among the candidates for Coach of the Year.

And yes, the players this football team will face will be faster, smarter and bigger. My mom – who once asked why they don’t “just block the kickoff – it would be so easy!” – could tell you teams like Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, etc., have better athletes than, let’s say, Tennessee Tech.

As for USF’s best athletes, all the recognition Hall has received has been earned. He is the face of this football team, a guy with a good attitude and the player who will carry this team to a couple victories – even though he would never admit this – all by himself. USF fans are just hoping that Hall’s last year as an amateur football player is a winner.

As for the rest of the backfield, I have a simple solution to USF’s quarterback dilemma: Name whoever has the best handing-the-ball-off-to-Andre Hall skills as the starter.

Leavitt, who just eight years ago coached and recruited out of a trailer, has climbed the football ladder like a champion firefighter. The team’s ascension into a BCS conference is a huge step in USF’s never-ending quest to be mentioned in the same breath as UF, FSU and Miami. The Bulls are in college football purgatory right now – not as low as schools like FIU, FAU and UCF, for example, but still years from changing the term “Big Three” into the “Big Four.”

I guess I’m almost done. All that’s left is my thought-provoking, insightful, fresh, unique and brilliant thought, which seems quite obvious now: Nothing more can be said.

Let’s just play.