Rocky still undefeated

 

Rocky the Bull (11-0) has continued to blast through competition in Capital One’s 2013 Mascot Challenge as the only unbeaten mascot this season.

After a 53 percent win over East Carolina’s PeeDee the Pirate in Week 8, Rocky took down Wilbur T. Wildcat from Arizona with 82 percent of the vote. Rocky then stacked another 80-plus percent victory with 86 percent of the vote against Monte from the University of Montana.

USF football coach Willie Taggart’s former school, Western Kentucky University, didn’t escape Rocky’s winning streak either. Big Red made it interesting, but it wasn’t enough, as Rocky took 60 percent of the vote last week.

Rocky continues to dominate this week, collecting 61 percent of the vote against Smokey from Tennessee at time of print.

The Mascot Challenge is a series of matchups of university mascots, where each round is decided by popular vote and social-media usage among fans. Last year’s winner, Raider Red from Texas Tech, received a $20,000 grant from Capital One.

If Rocky continues the trend through the week, he’ll head into the final week of the regular season with a chance to go undefeated before playoff competition. Rocky has a two-game lead in the Mascot Challenge standings. His closest competitor is Sparty from Michigan State, who Rocky edged out with 52 percent of the vote in Week 1.

Staff report