I wouldn’t call it stooping. Maybe I’m just too confident.

I mean, if someone offers you a bet this sweet, you’d take it, right?

Such is the case between the managing editor of the UCF Future, Ashley Burns, and me. We’ve decided to take up a friendly wager for tomorrow’s game, and I must admit, there is a not even the slightest bit of regret on my part following the wager.

Depending on the outcome of the game, I will either have to don a UCF T-shirt following the game and give ole’ Knightro a big hug or, if the Bulls win, laugh until my sides split and I cry as Burns caresses Rocky the Bull, while wearing a USF shirt. For those attending the game, look for the mascots following the contest.

And to think, Burns and I used to be partners.

Following my transfer from the beachless terrain of Orlando to the Tampa Bay, it dawned on me that over the last six months or so, there has been a heated discussion as to which second-tier Florida university had the better sports program. Have the Bulls surpassed the Knights? Or will the older program have the last laugh, thus ending the nation’s longest losing streak?

The arguments have been raging along the message boards and blogs, and tomorrow it gets settled on the field. This is a statement game for the Bulls. Many question the choice of opting the Bulls for the Big East, and this game is a perfect example of how to silence the skeptics.

The Knights are a hungry team looking to establish themselves in this inaugural battle between the future rivals. Besides, a little humble pie is always tasty when the customer is boisterous.

It’s unnerving to watch a team be so cocky following a 16th straight loss. USF is getting absolutely no respect from UCF fans. It’s the same team that lost to Buffalo, though the Bulls are the same team that lost to Army.

While USF isn’t up to par with the upper echelon teams of the state, it’s still top priority to show prospects around the state who the dominant of the lesser schools is. To the victor go the spoils, but it’s more than that now. UCF embodies a conference that the Bulls abandoned after just two years of conference play in football.

USF joined a defunct league whose powerhouses abandoned them.

The Big East resembles a replacement team from the NFL strike era. The only solace I can find as a Bull is to trounce the dirty O.C. The Bulls won’t be overestimating the Knights.

I hope you brought your Bulls shirt, Ash. You guaranteed a UCF victory and marked your words, and now let’s see if you’ll have to eat them as well.