Music and sports have always brought people together, but even both of those things couldn’t bring a big crowd out to the football game Saturday.

I might have to enlist the help of Technotronic and rapper Ya Kid K to help me explain what I mean.

Get up, get up, get busy do it, get up and move that body.

In the first quarter, many of the players were imploring the crowd to get involved with the game. Amarri Jackson got his helmet knocked off then rose off the ground to show the fans he was alright. He then yelled in the direction of the student section so they would “stay pumped” and he could “get ’em off their seats.”

To be fair, the seats that were filled reacted in accordance. But it’s the seats that were empty that the Meineke Car Care representative saw.

Get up people, now get down to it before the night is over.

Yes, I know it was an early starting game and not the standard USF night game.

Even Jim Leavitt admitted that the time might have had something to do with the Bulls only being up 10-7 in the second quarter.

“There wasn’t as much electricity as there is during a night game,” Leavitt said.

But that doesn’t excuse the late arrivals and the early departures, or the obvious lack of energy and people in attendance – 27,204, the lowest attendance this season by more than 6,000 – at a historic moment in USF football history.

Before Saturday, USF was one of only two schools in nation that have not trailed this season at home. The other, USC, removed itself from the list when it fell behind Fresno State at home.

This means that if someone goes to a Bulls home game, it’s very likely that they will have something to cheer for. The Bulls have outscored opponents 85-14 in the first half, so at least it’s a reason to show up in the first quarter instead of the third.

Get up, get up, get busy do it. I wanna see you party.

It’s okay to celebrate – USF is going to a bowl.

But which one? No one’s sure.

Fans can hold up signs of BCS dreams, but with Louisville likely taking the Gator Bowl, the Bulls look destined for the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Maybe.

Meineke Car Care Bowl representative Will Webb was in attendance, but from his vantage point, I’m sure he saw the same thing I saw – a late-arriving and early exiting crowd.

By the time the Bulls play West Virginia, the bowl picture should be a little clearer, and the representative of the Bulls’ most likely bowl game will be in-house.

If USF pulls a noon starting time against the Mountaineers – which is looking more likely because of attractive evening matchups such as the SEC Championship – the Bulls will either need to win, or pack Raymond James full of loud, crazy fans to impress bowl reps.

No matter what happens at Connecticut, the West Virginia contest will be USF’s biggest game to date in terms of its postseason ramifications.

Get up people, now get down to it, before the night is over.