I lived in Florida for 20 years, so I know the state’s secret. Tampa is not as nice as it's advertised to be in the "Visit Florida" brochure. Here’s a hint for the Florida Tourism Council – don’t feature Tampa as a destination spot. It won’t encourage repeat business to the Sunshine State. My Florida friends and I refer to it as Tampon, Florida.

Granted, the stadium is located in the airport section of town – and these areas usually are filled with chain restaurants and hotels. But I’ve ventured well beyond Raymond James Stadium to adjacent areas, and with the exception of St. Petersburg and Bradenton, there is nothing impressive here. Flat as a pancake, sticky humid (even in the winter), and seedy strip joints galore.

This last one might sound like a real treat to some sports fans. However, most Central Florida strip clubs aren’t the Hollywood fantasy "Gentlemen’s Clubs." They’re old Stuckey’s Restaurants converted into places where truckers will stop. However, instead of getting a pecan roll and a Florida key chain, they pay a mom with three kids to pretend that she’s still hot…and that she’d be interested in them even if they didn’t give her a $20 bill.

There are wonderful places in Florida. South Beach and Coconut Grove in Miami are fun places to visit. Naples and Tallahassee are great places to raise your kids. Orlando’s Disney World is an amazing feat of engineering and city planning - a veritable oasis.

Tampa's amusement park (Busch Gardens) is a low rent, urban dump of a zoo located a few blocks from South Florida's campus.

Why do you think it took so long to develop a football program for Tampa's State University? Because USF is mostly a commuter school that no one outside of Tampa wanted to attend in the first place. And why is that? Because Tampon is a nasty place to live. If Newark is the armpit of New Jersey, I’ll let you surmise where I think this city resides on the body of land that is Florida.

While this may be bad news for tourists and residents, it’s good news for real football schools that recruit from this area. I’m confident the young athletes are anxious to get out of town. So, Let’s Go Mountaineers! Let’s beat the Bulls***, grab some Florida talent from the local high schools, and go home to a place where you only shower before or after work – not after touring the area around your football team’s stadium.

Most weeks, we like to sit down with the writers from our opponents' blogs for a little Q&A to get a feel for what the week's game will hold. Don't worry, we'll get to that tomorrow. Today, we have a special treat. The Smoking Musket has had the good fortune to get in touch with Follansbee, West Virginia native, ESPN analyst, former Notre Dame and South Carolina head coach and father of USF head man Skip Holtz---the venerable Lou Holth---for an exclusive interview in preparation for the upcoming game. Let's get to it:

The Smoking Musket: Hey, Coach Holth. Thanks for agreeing to do this interview with us. What's it going to be like sitting in the ESPN studio this Thursday night as your son, Skip, leads his USF Bulls against your home state WVU Mountaineers?

Hey, Muthket. Thanks for having me on, it's really a pleasure to be here. I'm so proud of my home state, it's really an honor to talk to guys who share my passion for the state of West Virginia. It's never easy watching two teams that you have such close ties to battle it out on the gridiron, but it's shaping up to be another outstanding matchup this year.

TSM: Speaking of two teams that you have close ties to, what was it like to play WVU in the Fiesta Bowl when you were at Notre Dame?

Why, I remember back in the 1890's...or was that the 1980's?...when I led my Notre Dame Fighting Irish against Don Nehlen's first undefeated team. It was a dandy of a game, and our boys fought through some adversity to pull out a win. One of my proudest moments coaching collegiate football.

TSM: Rumor has it you actually instructed your players to injure WVU's star quarterback. Any truth to that?

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With the basketball team taking on South Florida tomorrow, I thought we could all use a little bit more information about our opponent.  So, I did what bloggers do, and asked the guys over at Voodoo Five a few questions.  Ken DeCelles was gracious enough to share his insights:

TSM:  What do you consider the biggest factor in the Bulls' road struggles (besides the Big East meat-grinder effect) so far?

V5/KDC:  We aren't good?  We haven't played well anywhere this season, and turning the ball over 15-20 times a game doesn't help.  [Side note: We're all too familiar with turnovers lately, aren't we, By-Godders?]

TSM:  Gus Gilchrist is a name that most of us are familiar with...who else should we be aware of and why?

V5/KDC:  Jawanza Poland is a great athlete and is our best guard offensively.  He's good for at least one amazing dunk and has the Dominique Jones runner in his arsenal.  Jarrid Famous has done a good job in his senior season, and can score 20 points a game if he can crash the boards and score on put-backs.

More after the jump...

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Voodoo 5 from the USF blog, Voodoo Five, was kind enough to do a question and answer exchange this week with us.  Despite some vitriol towards the funniest kicker (and one of the best) in WVU history, he was very accommodating.  My responses to his questions can be seen over at Voodoo Five (direct link).

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

TSM:  How would you compare/contrast Jim Leavitt to Skip Holtz (other than intensity) and how is the fan base taking to Holtz (supporting or turning against at this point)?

V5:  I think Skip and his staff are more adaptable to the game in front of them. One thing you noticed in conference play the last few years with Leavitt is that there weren't too many adjustments, or different attacks for different opponents. They did what they did, and if you could stop them or exploit them, congratulations, you win. This year you're seeing specific game plans for specific opponents that make logical sense. Granted the execution hasn't been very good at times, but they are at least being set up to succeed.

After losing to Syracuse, I think some reality is setting in for our fans -- this team lost a lot of talent after last season, and even with what I would consider better coaching, there's only so much of that you can overcome. We might not go bowling this year, which is a tough pill to swallow, but the fans are pretty accepting of the fact that Holtz needs some time to get things set up the way he wants them. Losses are much less of a freak out than they were last year -- if USF has lost to Syracuse last year, the fan base would have reacted like a Paul Finebaum caller.

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This "article" officially ran just two weeks into the life of The Smoking Musket (nee West By God Virginia).  Back then, we had about three readers and even my mother was skeptical of the entire of idea of the site.  So, considering not many of you have read it, and the fact that I swamped at work today (people will NOT stop supersizing their meals), you get to enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Also, USF hasn't moved to a more appropriate geographic location and Jacksonville still sucks, so this piece is just as relevant today as it was then.  Enjoy...

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While the real south Florida -- aka Miami -- is known for some of the hottest and surgically enhanced women on the planet, USF has it's fair share of lookers. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the crowd looks like a roving band of carnies -- and smell like it too.

Though, we always try and focus on the positive here. Especially wanna-be Jenn Stergers.

Oh wait, that IS Jenn Sterger. What the fuck is she doing cheering for USF?

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Despite Delbert Alvarado's attempt at either the worst kicking performance of all-time or the most ill-conceived point shaving scandal in history -- sweet fancy Moses, 4 missed field goals! -- South Florida has beaten #17 ranked Auburn at Auburn.

This is good on so many levels: for USF's 12 year old program, the Big EAST, knocking the SEC down a level, making fun of Aubarn, etc.

Just wanted to take a moment and give dap for USF's big, big win. When the football schedules came out in the spring, this is one of those games that I certainly had circled. Great job going out and getting it done.

BIG. EAST. FOOTBALL.

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