Saturday, 4 a.m.
He won a Super Bowl (for another team). He made a Pro Bowl here.
Now, as a coach, Trent Dilfer comes back to face a team from Tampa Bay
As a quarterback, he was less than satisfying. Even now, there are those who tell you that when his Ravens won a Super Bowl, he was the least dangerous quarterback ever to do so. He won 38 games as a Buc, and he lost 38, despite playing with one of the finest defenses the league has seen.
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Ah, but Dilfer always had the quick mind. It made him a fine analyst for ESPN, and it has given him promise as a coach. And now, he is a roadblock in the way of an improving USF football team.
Let's face it. When you're at home against a 1-4 football team, one that has given up past least 35 points in each loss, you should be favored. But USF is kind of new to this favorite stuff. They've been dreadful for years.
Dilfer has big ambitions for the Blazers. Already, he's talked about supplanting Auburn as the second-best team in Alabama, despite Auburn playing in the SEC and the Blazers just joining Conference America.
It sounds like a challenge for USF, a team that has broken 40 in its last two games. Still, the Bulls are still in the shallow end of the pool. If they want to be taken seriously, this is one they have to win.
Prediction: USF 22, UAB 21.
In other college games.
FSU 31, Virginia Tech 20.
Florida 20, Vanderbilt 14.
Miami 35, Georgia Tech 14.
Texas 32, Oklahoma 29.
Colorado 27, ASU 20.
And in the NFL:
New England 29, New Orleans 20.
Atlanta 24, Houston 14.
Detroit 27, Carolina 10.
San Francisco 32, Dallas 17.
Miami 28, N.Y. Giants 14.