Bucs, Bulls Win Openers
(September 5, 2000)

They won. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and University of South Florida Bulls won their season openers last weekend. The Bucs posted a 26-14 victory at New England and the Bulls shutout Jacksonville State 40-0 at Raymond James Stadium.

They won. Even with all the changes, for one game at least, the 2000 Bucs sure resembled the 1999 Bucs. Offense did just enough, defense held on. Mike Alstott ran for two touchdowns and a trick play gave Tampa Bay the momentum. Time was running out in the first half, the Bucs had driven inside the Patriots 10 yard line and when it looked as if Shawn King was going to spike the ball to stop the clock. But instead of going for the kill play, King lobbed an 8 yard TD pass to Reidel Anthony with 31 seconds until intermission.

They won, but expectations are high for this Buccaneers team and if they are going to be a Super Bowl contender, there are some things they need to work on. Special Teams. Karl Williams fumbled the opening kickoff and a punt return for a score resulted in ten New England points. Offense. While they played fairly well as a unit, the offense's failure to move the ball late in the game meant the Bucs had to rely on the defense to hold on.

Not that the defense doesn't enjoy its role. Keyshawn Johnson said, "They told us to score 21 and it'd be good enough to win. We did, it was." Warren Sapp talked of holding on for the win. "We seal the deal. We get one guy to strike a match and everyone else pours gasoline all over it." Tony Dungy seemed satisfied, "In the NFL, you can never be unhappy with a road win." Sapp, as is not uncommon, had the best quote, "We did some crazy things today, but that's just Bucs football."

They won. There were plenty of positives in South Florida's 40-0 victory over the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. Quarterback Marquel Blackwell threw for two scores and Rafael Williams ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Bill Gramatica kicked field goals of 25, 43, 43 and 41 yards, along with four PATs and total of 16 points, and appears recovered from last season's injury. The Bulls dominated the game and finished with a 513 to 151 advantage in total offense. Jim Leavitt was not happy with his team's 14 penalties for 135 yards. "We made too many mistakes," the head coach admitted.

With the Bulls playing a tougher schedule, beginning at Kentucky next week, a game against Jacksonville State may seem like a tune-up. They will have to play better to defeat Division I-A foes. Jim Leavitt said "It was the first game. We have a chance to be pretty good, but I think it's too early to tell."

On opening day, every team has optimism. They are all even, all contenders. After opening day, half of them have are 0-1. The thing about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and University of South Florida Bulls, they won.